Cannoli
Crisp pastry shells with ricotta
Crisp Sicilian pastry tubes hold sweet ricotta cream, with chocolate or pistachios at the ends and a light dusting of sugar.
Crisp shells with ricotta & contrasting finishesA crisp shell,
cool ricotta cream.
Cannoli pair a brittle fried pastry shell with a cool ricotta filling. The shell breaks cleanly under the teeth; the cream inside should be thick enough to stay in place. Sheep’s-milk ricotta is a familiar Sicilian choice, although cow’s-milk versions are also widely made.
At a Sicilian pastry shop, look for shells filled close to the moment of serving. Chocolate, candied fruit and pistachios are common finishes, and sizes vary from small bites to generous individual pastries. This home preparation uses ready-made shells so you can concentrate on draining and flavoring the filling.
Explore by food: Desserts
Let’s make cannoli.
A home version using purchased pastry shells and a freshly mixed ricotta filling.
Makes 12 small cannoli using ready-made shells; serves six at two each.
What you’ll need
- 600 gwhole-milk ricotta, sheep’s or cow’s milk
- 90 gpowdered sugar, plus 1 tsp for dusting
- 40 gsmall dark chocolate chips
- 12ready-made small cannoli shells, about 10 cm long
- 25 gunsalted pistachios, finely chopped
Shell size varies; use 12 small shells that together hold about 600 g filling. Purchased shells are an explicit shortcut here; the pastry dough and frying are not part of this recipe.
How to make it
- 01
Drain overnight
Set the ricotta in a fine sieve over a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Discard the collected whey.
- 02
Mix the filling
Press the drained ricotta through the sieve into a clean bowl. Stir in the 90 g powdered sugar until smooth, then fold in the chocolate chips. Keep refrigerated until serving.
- 03
Fill at the last moment
Spoon the filling into a piping bag and fill the shells from both ends. Divide any remaining filling among the shells. Dip the exposed ends in pistachios, dust with the reserved teaspoon of sugar and serve immediately.
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