Cornucopie alla Crema (Custard-Filled Cornucopias)

“Cornucopie” are Italian sweets, typical of Campania. The term cornucopia literally means “horn of abundance” (from the Latin “cornu” horn and “copiae” abundance) and signifies wealth, happiness and harmony. The traditional recipe calls for “struffoli” as filling (small balls of sweet dough that are fried and then dipped in honey and decorated with sprinkles and candied fruit). My version is definitely lighter; I fill them with lemon-flavored custard (organic lemons, of course!). Lemon zest can also be replaced with vanilla.
The “horn” bases can be prepared with crunchy almonds or with puff pastry. I prefer the puff pastry, one of my favorite crusts.

CORNUCOPIE ALLA CREMA (CUSTARD-FILLED CORNUCOPIAS)

Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 7-8 minutes Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

230 g (8 oz) puff pastry, rectangular roll (size 25×33 cm, 10×13 in))
12 stainless-steel cones (size 10 cm, 4 in height, 4 cm, 1.5 in diameter)
Unsalted butter
Toasted sliced almonds and powdered sugar to decorate
Custard see strawberry cake  recipe

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F)
2. First prepare the custard
3. Cut the puff pastry into 12 strips (size 2× 33 cm, 3/4×13 in). Lightly grease the steel cones with some butter. Wrap one strip of puff pastry on each cone
4. Bake the cones on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cook for about 7-8 minutes until the “cornucopie” are lightly browned. Remove and allow to cool. Remove the pastry cones from the steel forms
5. Fill the pastry cones with custard using a pastry bag. Decorate the custard with almonds and sprinkle the “cornucopie” with powdered sugar.

Note: Once filled, they should be eaten within a few hours. Otherwise the dough will lose its crispness.