Cannoli

Quick answer

Total time: 50 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 7

About this dish

Cannoli are Sicilian pastries built around a crisp, tube-shaped shell and a sweetened ricotta filling.

The shell dough is enriched with lard, rolled very thin, and wrapped tightly around narrow metal tubes before being lowered into hot oil, where the fat in the dough creates multiple flaky layers that shatter with a clear snap on first bite. The ricotta filling is sweetened but left slightly grainy rather than smooth, a deliberate texture that gives the pastry a lighter, less dense quality than a conventional cream filling. Chopped pistachios, candied orange peel, or chocolate chips are pressed into the exposed ends to provide color and a contrasting flavor note. Filling the shells more than a few minutes before serving is a mistake, because moisture migrates from the ricotta into the fried dough and turns the crisp shell soft. In Sicily, cannoli were historically associated with Carnival celebrations, though today they appear year-round in pasticcerie across the island and throughout the Sicilian diaspora.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

all-purpose flour180 gg

sugar40 gg

unsalted butter25 gg

egg1 eaea

ricotta cheese250 gg

powdered sugar50 gg

dark chocolate chips40 gg

Shop All Ingredients

As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Season

Combine 180g flour, 40g sugar, 25g unsalted butter, and 1 egg, then knead until smooth.

Wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2

Prep

Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 2mm thickness.

Cut into 8cm rounds, wrap each diagonally around a cannoli tube, and seal the overlapping edge with egg white.
3

Heat

Heat oil to 175°C and fry the dough on the tubes for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and crisp.

Drain on kitchen paper, cool completely, then carefully twist and slide out the metal tubes.
4

Season

Mix 250g ricotta with 50g powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.

The filling must be lump-free so the piping bag does not clog.
5

Step

Fill a piping bag with the ricotta filling and pipe from both ends of each shell toward the center.

Fill just before serving to prevent the shell from absorbing moisture and going soft.
6

Finish

Press each end lightly into 40g dark chocolate chips to coat the edges.

Dust with a little powdered sugar to finish.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Lard-enriched Sicilian dough rolls paper-thin, wraps metal tubes, and fries until the shells shatter.
Finish cue: Press each end lightly into 40g dark chocolate chips to coat the edges.
Storage and reheating: Wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.