Cannoli

Cannoli Siciliani

Sicily's signature pastry: crisp, wine-flecked shells fried until blistered, filled at the last moment with sweetened sheep's-milk ricotta and studded with candied citrus, dark chocolate and pistachio. The non-negotiable rule is to fill them just before serving, so the shell shatters when you bite.

Prep

45 min

Cook

20 min

Total

65 min

Serves

12 cannoli

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •250 g (8½ oz / about 2 cups) 00 flour or plain flour, Italian 00 gives the tenderest shell; AP works fine
• •15 g (1 tbsp) caster sugar
• •5 g (1 tsp) unsweetened cocoa powder, optional, for half the dough
• •2 g (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
• •2 g (½ tsp) fine sea salt
• •30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter, lard is more traditional and gives a flakier, more authentic shell
• •60 ml (¼ cup) dry Marsala wine, substitute dry white wine or red wine if unavailable; omit and use extra water for an alcohol-free version
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) white wine vinegar
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) cold water, plus more as needed
• •1 whole large egg, for egg wash, optional
• •500 ml (about 2 cups) neutral frying oil, sunflower, peanut or vegetable oil; not olive oil
• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) sheep's-milk ricotta, drained overnight; cow's-milk ricotta is the common substitute but is wetter and less tangy
• •200 g (7 oz / 1 cup) caster sugar
• •60 g (½ cup) dark chocolate chips or finely chopped 70% chocolate
• •60 g (⅓ cup) candied orange or citron, finely diced
• •40 g (⅓ cup) shelled pistachios, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
• •1 tsp vanilla extract or orange-blossom water, orange blossom is the Sicilian choice
• •1 pinch fine sea salt
• •12 whole cannoli tubes or stainless steel cannoli forms, about 10-11 cm / 4 in long, 2.5 cm / 1 in diameter

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: sift the flour, sugar, cocoa (if using), cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter (or lard) with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add the Marsala, vinegar and water and bring together into a stiff, smooth dough, adding a teaspoon more water only if it will not come together. Knead briefly on an unfloured surface until just smooth, wrap in cling film and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. 2 Drain the ricotta (do this the day before for best results): set a sieve over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth, spoon in the ricotta, cover and refrigerate overnight. Weigh out 400 g / 14 oz of the drained ricotta.
3. 3 Roll out the rested dough on a lightly floured surface (or through a pasta machine) into a thin sheet about 2 mm / 1/16 in thick. Cut into rounds about 10 cm / 4 in across. If using cocoa dough and plain dough, layer and roll them together for a marbled effect, which is traditional in Sicily.
4. 4 Wrap each round around a cannoli tube, brushing a little egg white or water at the seam to seal, and overlapping the edges slightly. Press gently so the tube is fully covered.
5. 5 Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan to 170-175°C / 338-350°F (a 2 cm / ¾ in cube of bread should turn golden in about 60 seconds). Fry 2-3 shells at a time, turning, until deeply golden and blistered, 2-3 minutes total. Lift out with tongs, drain on paper towels and let cool just enough to handle, then slide the shells off the tubes. Cool completely on a rack; they must be room temperature before filling.
6. 6 Make the filling: whisk the drained ricotta with the sugar, salt and vanilla or orange-blossom water until smooth and pipeable, about 2-3 minutes. Fold in the chocolate and candied citrus; keep the pistachios for garnishing.
7. 7 Spoon the filling into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm / ½ in round or star tip (or use a sturdy freezer bag with the corner snipped). Pipe into each shell from both ends so the filling meets in the middle.
8. 8 Dip or roll each filled end in the chopped pistachios, dust the middle lightly with a little extra sugar, and serve within 10-15 minutes. The shells go from crisp to chewy as they sit, so traditional Sicilian practice is to fill only what you will eat immediately and store the unfilled shells in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks.