It looks like a lot of countries around the World have their own name for this fabulous dessert. In the UK they are called cream horns, in Poland rurki z kremem, in Italy they are called cannoncini, in Greece kornedákia. I also heard that in the US this dessert is called lady locks cookies or clothespin cookies. What are they called in your country? Please let me know in the comments below. Today I am sharing chocolate version of my beloved dessert – dark chocolate cream horns.
Cream horns are so delicious and a real crowd pleaser. They always disappear first from my dessert table. If you are looking for an easy and delicious dessert recipe you need to try making cream horns. Yes, they are time consuming to make, but the effort is so worth it!
How to make dark chocolate cream horns
In order to make cream horns, you will need special metal moulds. I used cannoli mould ( for tube like shapes). I think this is what people are using to make lady locks cookies. For the real cream horns shape, I used cone shape moulds. I have seen people also making their own mould our of aluminium foil but I am not sure if this would work great.
This recipe for dark chocolate cream horns, lady lock cookies is very simple and it is made from scratch. I have seen many recipes that use puff pastry, which is fine. In my opinion homemade shells are so much better.
TIPS:
- In order to get flaky pastry use cold butter cut into tiny cubes, or just grate butter the same way you would grate cheese. You can also use frozen butter if you want.
- I do not grease my metal moulds, as amount of butter in the dough is enough for shells to come off easily.
- Make sure that when wrapping dough around the mould, the dough is overlapping.
- I did not add egg wash on top and sprinkle granulated sugar on top as cream horns will be drizzled with dark chocolate and then I recommend adding some chocolate sprinkles.
- This recipe is great to make in advance. You can make the dough and store it in the freezer and then use it when needed.
What do dark chocolate cream horns cookies taste like?
Cream horns are one of my favourite desserts. They are so addictive and one is never enough. The consistency is so light that it is actually hard to believe that you are having a dessert. The shell is flaky, crunchy and delicate. The consistency is similar to puff pastry, but better! The addition of cocoa powder and lack of granulated sugar on top make these shells less sweet. The dark chocolate filling is decadent, smooth and very light. Drizzle of dark chocolate and sprinkle of chocolate sprinkles makes these cream horn the perfect dessert for everybody who loves chocolate.
How to store this wonderful dessert
You can store empty shells at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Just make sure that the environment is free from any moisture and dampness. I store my shells on a large baking tray and cover them lightly with cling film and never had any issues.
Please note that cream horns taste the best when they are filled on the day of serving. If you have any pastries left, I would recommend storing filled cream horns, lady locks cookies in the fridge for up to 3 days. Please note, that consistency of pastry can be affected and it can become a little soft. This is because of the moisture from cream.
I would not recommend freezing this dessert as shells can become soggy and soft after defrosting. They will still taste good, but quality will not be the same.
If you are looking for more recipes for cream horns, lady locks I can recommend you the following:
Vanilla cream horns, lady locks cookies
Click this link to see all recipes for cream horns on my blog
I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.
Recipe source – my Mom’s notebook
Enjoy!
Dark chocolate cream horns
Light, buttery and flaky cocoa flavoured pastry filled with creamy, smooth and rich dark chocolate cream. This incredible dessert is a little time consuming but the effort is so worth it. I have drizzled more dark chocolate on these beauties and added chocolate sprinkles as well. This is the ultimate dessert for all dark chocolate lovers.
Ingredients
Cream horns
Dark chocolate cream filling
Instructions
Making cocoa horns shells
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Please read recipe post as well. It includes storage direction and other useful information.
I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients as it helps to achieve the best results. The US measurements in cups are the estimate and I can not guarantee the best results. For this recipe is used metal moulds for cannoli and cream horns.
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In a medium bowl add flour, cocoa, salt, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix.
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Add cold butter cut in small pieces. You can also use grater to grate butter. Then add sour cream. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a dough. Make sure that butter is fully incorporated.
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Wrap dough into a cling film and place it in a freezer for 2 hours. Putting dough in the freezer will help to achieve flaky and light cream horns. You can leave dough in the freezer for longer if you want. Just let dough to defrost when you are ready for baking.
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When you are ready to bake, prepare 2 large baking trays lined with baking paper, set aside.
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Divide dough into 4 portions and roll each portion into a rectangle if possible. I rolled mine until I got about 30 cm (12 inch) long dough. 0.3 cm (0.11 inch) thick I cut it into stripes, 2 cm (0.8inch) wide. My moulds are quite big so you have to judge yourself what length of pastry you need.
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Wrap each dough stripe around a metal tube making sure that stripe is overlapping. There should be no spices between the layers of the dough. It will create holes. When you are done with wrapping the mould make sure that at the end you press the last piece of the dough together. It will prevent cream horns from opening up.
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Place each mould wrapped in dough on the prepared baking tray.
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Preheat oven to 190C fan (374F).
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Bake dough for about 15-20 minutes until golden.
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Remove pastries from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes and then gently separate pastries from moulds. Let them cool down completely.
Making dark chocolate cream filling
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Melt chocolate over a water bath or you can use a microwave if you want. When chocolate is melted, let it cool down but make sure it is not hard as you need to pour it to the cream mixture. Remember to save some of this chocolate to drizzle on top.
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In a medium bowl add cream, mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla and whip until hard peaks form.
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When chocolate is cold but pourable, gently add it to the cream mixture (save some of the melted chocolate to drizzle on top) and using a spoon, fold all the ingredients together until fully incorporated.
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Spoon the chocolate filling into the pipping bag and fill pastries with it.
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Warm up the remaining chocolate if needed so it is pourable and drizzle it on each cream horn. Add chocolate sprinkles on top.