Description

These crispy flaky sweet cream-filled Italian pastries are delicious. We love cannoli and have eaten more than our fair share of them throughout the years and this cannoli recipe uses an authentic Sicilian recipe that I’m happy to share with you. And it’s passed the taste and authenticity test by our Sicilian friends. Check out the step-by-step recipe photos if this is your first time making cannoli.

Ingredients

Scale

Cannoli Shell Ingredients

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons 00 flour (or all-purpose flour) (100g)*
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (20g)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder (3g)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 tablespoon lard, cold (10g)
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons dry Marsala wine (25g)
freshly grated orange zest to taste (or 8 quick bursts on a Microplane)
1 egg beaten (for the egg wash to seal cannoli dough when wrapped around the metal tube)

Original Ricotta Filling

8.8 ounces sheep’s milk ricotta (or goat or cow’s milk ricotta), strained overnight (250g)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
pinch of salt

Pistachio Ricotta Filling

8.8 ounces sheep’s milk ricotta (or goat or cow’s milk ricotta), strained (250g)
1 tablespoon natural pistachio cream (15g)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
pinch of salt

Strawberry Ricotta Filling

8.8 ounces sheep’s milk ricotta (or goat or cow’s milk ricotta), strained (250g)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon homemade strawberry sugar (60g)
pinch of salt

Topping Garnish Options

candied cherries
toasted pistachios
mini chocolate chips
candied orange zest

*I use 00 flour when I’m in Italy, and King Arthur all-purpose when I’m in the States. And the weight of these different flours varies based on the humidity content of the flour and also the environment you’re living in. No matter where you live, just be sure to use the ‘scoop and level’ method to measure your flour into measuring cups and spoons and the recipe works perfectly every time.

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark even when your hands have flour all over them

Instructions

Strain the ricotta cheese overnight. Place the ricotta cheese into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight (and up to 24 hours).
Make the ricotta cream filling. Press the strained ricotta cheese through the fine mesh strainer and into a clean bowl. Repeat this process one more time, add sugar (and pistachio cream if using), and whip the mixture using a rubber spatula to combine well. Cover the ricotta cream and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours before placing it into a piping bag and filling the shells.
Make the cannoli shell dough. Add the marsala wine to the egg yolk and whisk it lightly to blend and set aside. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, orange zest, and lard to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (or to a large mixing bowl if kneading by hand). Stir the ingredients together with your hands, or a fork to blend. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg mixture, increase the speed to medium-low and knead it just until you have a somewhat smooth and compact dough (or about 6 to 7 minutes or for about 10 minutes if kneading by hand). Cover the dough and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to 1 hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Roll out the cannoli dough. Pat the dough down into a disc and flatten it with a rolling pin and cut it in half. Cover any dough you’re not working with, to keep it from drying out. Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold it over onto itself like you’re folding a business letter. Dust it with flour and run it through the pasta machine starting on the widest setting “0”. Repeat the letter fold again and run it back through the pasta machine. Pass the dough through the pasta machine increasing the number each time (making the dough thinner and thinner) and doing the letter fold each time until you reach a thickness of about 1/8 inch (3mm) or thinner. If you do not have a pasta machine, simply roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you’ve reached the desired thickness. *I made my cannoli thinner than 1/8 inch (3mm) because I wanted it to be more of a plated style dessert.
Cut the cannoli dough rounds + seal them onto the metal tubes. Using a 3 1/2 inch (or smaller or larger) round pastry cutter, cut circles from the rolled-out dough. Wrap a piece of dough around the cannoli tube and seal it together by brushing one side with egg wash and lightly pressing down. Repeat with remaining tubes and fry in batches. Allow the tubes to cool before wrapping more dough and sealing. *Be sure to not get egg wash on the metal tube, or the shell may have a more difficult time releasing from the tube once it’s been fried.
Fry the cannoli shells. Preheat 1 to 2 inches of oil in a deep fryer, or other deep heavy-gauged pot to 320°F/160°C. Lower the cannolo one at a time into the hot oil with a spider strainer holding it there to support the cannolo for just about 5 to 10 seconds before releasing it into the oil. Allow it to cook for about 30 to 40 more seconds, or until perfectly golden brown being sure to turn the cannoli over halfway through cooking time to ensure even browning. Remove them from the hot oil to a paper towel-lined platter. When just cool enough, carefully remove the tube from the crispy cannoli using a spoon to tap on the top of one end while holding the cannolo to allow it to release. Allow the cannoli shells to completely cool before filling them.
Assemble the cannoli. Place the cannoli cream filling into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (809 or 805 work just fine) and pipe the filling into each cannolo starting from one end and repeating on the other end, sprinkle with chocolate chips, pistachios, or desired topping, and Enjoy!

Notes

You may substitute powdered sugar in a 1:1 ratio for granulated sugar, but it will change the texture of the cream filling due to the cornstarch that is in powdered sugar.
You may add up 3/4 teaspoon of white wine vinegar to the cannoli dough along with the marsala wine if desired, but I did not.
If your cannoli shells break or crack, fill them anyway or turn them into cannoli chips and dip.
If you don’t have cannoli tubes to shape and fry the shells, just cut the dough into chip-sized pieces using a pizza cutter or a knife. Fry them and serve them chips and dip style. This will actually save you a ton of time (and effort) and you’ll still get a great tasting cannoli.
If you don’t have a sieve or fine mesh strainer, you can also use cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Just be sure to allow space for proper drainage.
When you’re rolling out the cannoli dough, it’s important to do the “letter folds” periodically because it strengthens the dough and helps create bubbles when frying later on, and helps get a more rectangular piece of dough to cut circles from.
If the dough pieces get too long as you’re rolling them out, simply cut them in half and roll each piece out one by one. This often happens when making cannoli dough and also homemade pasta so make it easy on yourself and divide the dough in half to make it easier to work with.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Rest Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Deep Fried
Cuisine: Italian (Sicilian)

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 large or 2 Small Cannoli