Cannoli is one of the most known desserts in Italy. They are made out of shells made of golden pastry, wonderfully and crisply crumbly shells stuffed with beautiful creamy cinnamon and chocolate-flecked ricotta, and oh, without a doubt, a gorgeous and delicious candy. I will demonstrate to you homemade cannoli filling and shells!
Serve cannoli with hot coffee at dinner parties for a visually striking dessert. You can prepare delicious Italian goodies in your own kitchen even if there isn’t an Italian bakery nearby, and yes, the shells are homemade!
I believe it’s worth it to indulge yourself (and your loved ones) occasionally because my cannoli recipe is a labour of love, requiring some hands-on time and specialised equipment, but the outcomes are so wonderful.
The recipe is delicious and fun and will help you bring some sense of Sicily into your dinner table, whether you know your way around cannoli or not. Read on, and you will learn how you can make cannoli at home as beautiful and wonderful tasting as those that you can find in any of the pastry shops in Palermo.
Cannoli: What is it?
Cannoli (singular cannolo) are the literal translation of the Italian words meaning little tubes because the crisp shells of pastry are formed in tubes.
The famous confectioneries were invented in Sicily which forms part of Southern Italy. As flavours they have candied orange peel, dark chocolate, candied cherries or pistachios.
They consist of two primary parts. First, the pastry shells, traditionally fried in lard and fashioned from a dough mixed with marsala wine. Next, a fluffy ricotta cheese filling that is creamy. And lastly, a little ornamentation! Sometimes the filling is filled with extras that are folded in up or the shells dip in chocolate. It is often served with a small decoration of chopped nuts or powdered sugar.
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Cannoli Recipe
Ingredients to make this recipe
The 2 main ingredients of cannoli are the shells and the filling and whatever finishing touch that you prefer. You’ll need the following:
Homemade Cannoli shell
The dough for cannoli shells is a hybrid of pastry and pasta, but it’s not hard to produce. What goes into it is as follows:
- All-purpose flour: The flour is used to make the base of pastry dough and help in preventing sticking of the pastry dough as you roll it out with your work surface.
- Salt: There is a pinch of salt to enhance the other flavours in the dough.
- Sugar: Two tablespoons of granulated sugar will ensure that the shells of the cannoli turn out a very gorgeous golden brown and add a hint of sweetness.
- Butter: Butter provides the cannoli pastry a crunchy texture and a rich flavour. Salted butter may give the dough too much salt, which is why I would recommend using unsalted one.
- Eggs: Beaten eggs are used to adjust the dough mixture and to make it have a golden color.
- Marsala wine: it might not appear to be an appropriate addition to a dough, the wine adds the intriguing bubbly texture to the pastry shells, adds some sweetness and tenderizes the crust. When the shells are cooked it also evaporates.
- The egg wash, which is made of egg white and water, helps keep the cannoli shells closed and maintain their tube shape while frying.
- Oil: Cannoli shells can be deep-fried to give them stunning crunchy texture. Extra virgin olive oil may be used to fry, however, the more cost-effective options would be vegetable or canola oil. Take the temperature of the oil by a thermometer!
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Ricotta cheese filling for cannoli
I prefer creamy plant-based cannoli packing that is flavoured with cinnamon, chocolate and citrus.
- Ricotta cheese: Cannoli filling can also use whole milk ricotta cheese in which some liquid has been pressed out to obtain the unique flavour. Do not use low-fat or fat free ricotta on this dish and it will have a sandy texture on it instead of a smooth texture on it.
- Chocolate: The filling is flavoured with finely shredded chocolate which we also sprinkled on the top. You may use milk chocolate but I choose dark chocolate because I do not want the filling to be too sweet. One may also use mini chocolate chips.
- Confectioners sugar is added to the cannoli filling which mixes completely with the cheese thus forming a smooth texture. Add some cinnamon as well.
- Candied fruit: To give some citrus flavor to the filling, I prefer to chop part of candied orange peel.
This ingredient is optional, but you can make your own or get it from the majority large local grocery stores!
Ingredient Spotlight:
Ricotta cheese is one of my favourite baking ingredients and a product that cannoli filling has to include. Ricotta produces a rich yet light chocolate citrus cassata cake, a light and delicious orange cake, very light lemon cake, and an indulgent cheesecake in case you are after a dessert but not way too sweet.
Cow’s milk is used to make American ricotta products, which are frequently found in grocery tubs. Sheep’s milk or a blend of milks, such as cow, goat, sheep, or even water buffalo milk, is frequently used to make Italian ricotta brands, which are frequently offered in tiny mesh baskets.
The ricotta I recommend to use in this Delicious lemon cake recipe is whole milk ricotta as it tastes and tastes the best. So as to ensure that your cannoli filling is not tacky, but creamy, drain it off in a refrigerator overnight.
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Easy Homemade Cannoli Tools
A few additional pastry-rolling necessities and one instrument unique to the cannoli-making process are required. What you should have on hand is as follows:
Paper towels or cheesecloth: It is very important to clear the ricotta of unnecessary liquid. A flour sack-style cotton or muslin dish towel, several thicknesses of sturdy paper towels or a folded layer of cheese-cloth can be used.
Rolling pin: The greatest secret in the quest to get crisp and snappy cannoli is by rolling the dough as thin as possible the rolling out of the dough serves to enable evaporation of moisture to be even and fast during frying. To do this, use a pasta roller or a wide rolling pin!
Moulds for cannoli: Cannoli forms resemble brief lengths of stainless steel pipe. They function by encircling them with dough and then deep-frying the entire thing. Although they’re frequently offered in sets of four, I believe it’s preferable to work with six or eight at a time because doing so speeds up the forming and frying process!
3-inch cutter: A sharp-edged cutter makes it simpler to cut the pastry precisely, but you can alternatively use a drinking glass.
When you’re ready to serve the cannoli, the ideal technique to add the filling to the dough is with a piping bag or pastry bag.
It is most convenient to use high bag so that I would not have to replenish it.
thermometer: A thermometer can ensure your oil is at the right temperature to fry and you can use an instant-read thermometer or deep-frying thermometer when cooking this recipe. When it becomes too warm, then the shells of the cannoli may darken too quickly and begin to be bitter.
The shells will be mushy and pallid if it’s too cold.
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Make Cannoli
On special occasions, I especially enjoy serving cannoli to small groups of people. Beautiful and sophisticated, cannoli are a visually striking dessert that goes well with a strong cup of coffee. Here’s how to accomplish it:
A day ahead: Empty the Cheese
Ricotta cheese should be strained. Over a bowl, place a fine mesh sieve. Use a flour sack towel or two layers of cheesecloth to line the sieve. Using the back of a spoon, smooth out the 12 ounces of whole milk ricotta cheese until it is uniformly thick. Let the ricotta drain in the fridge for the entire night.
To Create Shells for Cannoli
Get the pastry ready: In a large mixing bowl, sift together 2 cups (256 grams) all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of salt. Mix in 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and rub with your fingertips until a gritty mixture arises. Blend 3 tbsp of Marsala wine and 2 beaten eggs. Once the dough has been moved onto a lightly floured surface, knead by hand until it becomes smooth. Add flour a little (at a time) and knead (until able to make a smooth ball; in case of extreme stickiness). Once the dough is placed back into the bowl, allow it to rest in the refrigerator for one hour.
Creating the shells for the cannoli:
To produce an egg wash, whisk together one egg white and one tablespoon of water. Each pastry round should be wrapped around a cannoli mould after being dusted with flour. Seal the two corners of the circle together where they meet in the centre by pressing the dough’s edge, dampened with the egg wash. Once the shells have been shaped, place them back in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook them.
Fry the shells of the cannoli:
Pour a third of the oil into a saucepan. Oil should be heated to 350°F. Use a paper towel to line a plate. Deep-fry the cannoli shells a couple at a time for a few seconds, or until they are evenly golden and crisp. Move the moulds to the prepared dish with a big slotted spoon or tongs. When the moulds and shells are cool enough to touch, twist the cannoli forms to loosen the pastry shells. Keep shaping and frying the cannoli shells until they are all done and put them aside to cool down completely. Once the shells are cooled, store them in an airtight container until you need them.
Make Homemade Cannoli ricotta cheese Filling Recipe
Prepare the filling: In a mixing dish, put the drained ricotta, 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 ounces of finely grated dark chocolate, 1/2 teaspoon of powdered cinnamon, and, if you wish, 3 ounces of finely chopped candied fruit and mix thoroughly. As necessar,y combine in a piping bag after mixing until thoroughly mixed. Hold on ice until you are ready to serve.
After filling the cannoli, serve. Spoon or pipe the filling into the cannoli shells right before serving. Add more grated dark chocolate and a considerable amount of confectioner’s sugar to them.
