The cannoli is a decadent, rich, and absolutely irresistible staple of Italian cuisine. If you've ever wanted to know more about the tubular dessert (including what it is, where it comes from, and how to make one at home), you've come to the right place. Here's what you need to know about cannolis:
What Is a Cannoli and What Is It Made Of?
A cannoli is a tube-shaped Italian dessert that consists of fried pastry dough stuffed with a sweet, creamy cheese filling.
The crispy pastry shell is made with the usual suspects: flour, sugar, whole eggs, and butter. It's usually spiked with marsala, a fortified wine that adds distinct flavor and sweetness. The alcohol also helps tenderize the pastry, ensuring a pleasantly flaky finished product.
The creamy filling (often spiked with lemon or orange zest for subtle brightness) is made with sugar and ricotta cheese, but mascarpone is sometimes used. Finished cannolis are often dusted with powdered sugar.
In many parts of Italy, a singular cannoli is called a "cannolo" and multiple cannolis are simply called "cannoli." In the U.S., however, the accepted usage has become the singular "cannoli" and plural "cannolis" – so that's what we'll stick with for the remainder of this article.
In Italian, "cannoli" is the plural of "cannolo." "Cannolo" roughly translates to "little tube."
What Does a Cannoli Taste Like?
In a word, heavenly. Cannolis taste sweet, but not cloyingly so. The filling is rich, creamy, and smooth with a slight cheesy flavor. The shell is subtly sweet and crispy, but sturdy enough to support the thick filling.
7 Ways to Cannoli
Cannoli History
Sugar was introduced to Sicily sometime between 827 and 1091, when the island was under Arab rule and known as the Emirate of Sicily. This introduction paved the way for all sorts of Italian sweets we know and love – including the cannoli. The dessert was once known as cappelli di turchi, or Turkish hats, which proves that Sicilians believed the earliest cannolis had Middle Eastern roots.
The cannoli is considered a modern day Sicilian staple, but it's particularly associated with Carnevale. Some say it originally served as a fertility symbol during the festival season.
Cannoli vs. Cream Horn
Cannolis and cream horns are both tube-shaped Italian desserts. However, they're not exactly the same thing.
The cream horn has a puff pastry shell that's filled with sweetened whipped cream or custard. The cannoli, meanwhile, has a fried pastry shell that's filled with a ricotta mixture that tends to be denser than cream horn filling. Cannoli shells are generally much thinner and crispier than cream horn shells, which have the light and fluffy texture that's associated with puff pastry.
Cannoli Variations
There's more than one way to make a cannoli. Traditional cannolis have a simple filling of ricotta (or mascarpone), sugar, and sometimes vanilla extract. Here are a few common additions and variations:
Chocolate chips or candied fruits add welcome bursts of sweetness to the filling or the shell
Chopped pistachios lend color, nuttiness, and crunch to the filling or the shell
Finished cannolis are sometimes dipped in melted chocolate for a touch of elegance and flavor
How to Make Cannolis
Though making bakery-worthy cannolis isn't exactly easy, it's probably not as hard as you think. You just need to know what you're doing. Here are some of our best tips and tricks to make perfect cannolis every time:
The Shell
Roll the dough as thin as possible (while maintaining enough sturdiness to hold the filling) to ensure a perfectly crispy texture.
Use a candy or deep fry thermometer to make sure the oil stays at the temperature your recipe requires. If it's too hot or too cold, your shells might end up underdone and soft or overdone and burned.
You'll need cannoli molds to roll the shells into the right shape. A wooden dowel, an aluminum foil tube, or even a spare curtain rod will work in a pinch if you don't have commercial cannoli molds.
Note: Of course, if you're short on time, you can always buy pre-made cannoli shells at the grocery store. They're usually found in the baking aisle or the international foods aisle.
The Filling
Use paper towels to strain the ricotta before adding the sugar. This way, the mixture won't end up too wet.
Don't fill the cannolis until right before serving so the filling doesn't seep into the shells and make them soggy. If you need to fill them more than a few hours before serving, store them in the freezer.
Is your filling a bit too stiff to pipe into the shell? No problem! You can thin it out with a splash of cold milk or half-and-half. Just don't add too much to prevent a soupy texture.
Cannoli Recipes
Ready to try your hand at making cannolis at home? We've got you covered. Try one of our favorite cannoli recipes:
Cannoli
Unholy Cannoli
Cannoli alla Siciliana (Sicilian Cannoli)
Pumpkin Cannoli
Cannoli with Chocolate Chips
Explore our entire collection of Italian Desserts.
A cannoli is a tube-shaped Italian dessert that consists of fried pastry dough stuffed with a sweet, creamy cheese filling. The crispy pastry shell is made with the usual suspects: flour, sugar, whole eggs, and butter. It's usually spiked with marsala, a fortified wine that adds distinct flavor and sweetness.
Cannoli is an Italian dessert made from deep-fried pastry. The tube-shaped shell ranges in size from 9 to 20 cm in length. They are filled with a sweet, creamy filling made from ricotta cheese, lemon zest, and chocolate chips and are commonly garnished with candied orange slices and a dusting of icing sugar.
For a cannoli to truly taste its best, it needs to be filled as quickly as possible. If it is filled too late, the cannoli itself will taste soggy. Typically, the filling is fresh ricotta mixed with sugar, and the mixture is piped directly into the pastry as quickly as possible.
Is Cannoli Served Hot or Cold? Cannoli are always served cold or at room temperature. If the filling is added while the shell is still warm, it can cause the filling to melt.
The best way to eat a cannoli is to take small, delicate bites to savor the flavors and textures. Start by enjoying the crispy shell and then move on to the creamy filling. Should I eat a cannoli with my hands or with a utensil? Cannoli are traditionally eaten with your hands.
The filling in cannoli traditionally consists of ricotta, but mascarpone is also sometimes used or a combination of both. In Sicily fresh sheep's milk is used to make the ricotta. The cheese is sweetened with sugar and often flavored with vanilla, honey or a small amount of cinnamon.
Made with sweetened ricotta cheese and deep-fried pastry shells, cannoli are typically high in calories. While these Italian desserts may be hard to resist, they're best left for rare occasions if you're trying to manage your weight.
A cannoli is a tube-shaped Italian dessert that consists of fried pastry dough stuffed with a sweet, creamy cheese filling. The crispy pastry shell is made with the usual suspects: flour, sugar, whole eggs, and butter. It's usually spiked with marsala, a fortified wine that adds distinct flavor and sweetness.
What are the ingredients of Sicilian cannoli. The cannolo dough is made of flour, sugar, egg, lard, vinager, marsal wine. The dough is worked by hands, stretched and finally rolled around the mould. The fragrant paste is gently killed in lard (pig fat), deep fried in it with no mercy.
A sour smell coming from the ricotta or the taste of stale oil from the shell is a sign that the cannoli needs to be discarded. And of course, evolving microbial colonies such as mold are definitive signs that the cannoli has gone bad.
Cannoli should be eaten immediately, otherwise they will go soggy, but you can make the shells in advance and keep those in a tupperware at room temperature for 4 or so days.
In Italian, the word cannoli is plural and cannolo singular, but in English they are almost invariably referred to as cannoli. The name comes from canna, for the river reeds that were cut into sections and used as a mold to fry the pastry shells. Nowadays, commercially available metal tubes are used instead.
Cannoli are without a doubt Sicily's most famous contribution to the world of pastry, and although Gabriella Marchetti was not born in Sicily (she is from Abruzzo), her cannoli were as good as any I've had and better than most: crisp-fried tubular shells that crunch and shatter just a little — not completely — when you ...
Yes, they are simply dessert, but sometimes they have fruit. That makes it good enough for breakfast in my opinion… Think of how great they would pair with a refreshing mimosa. Honestly, if we get to have pastries at breakfast, cannolis should be included.
Dip your cannoli into a glass of Vin Santo for a decadent combination that will make you feel like you're dining in a Tuscan villa. If you're looking for a more robust wine to stand up to the rich flavours of cannoli, consider a tawny or ruby port.
Have you ever tried fresh ricotta cheese? If you did it then it's easier for you to recognize a good cannolo. The cannolo's cream must taste, look and feel as close as possible to the ricotta cheese (many sicilians want to feel a cheese aftertaste in their cannolo!). The ricotta cream must be simply imperfect, foamy.
Cannoli Shells are the start of a fabulous Italian dessert! To make the best cannolis, you need a buttery, crispy, crunchy shell and creamy ricotta filling. I'll walk you through the steps and show you how to make this mouthwatering, classic holiday dessert!
The Sicilian recipe blends cinnamon, coffee, and cocoa for added layers of depth. But the definitive star of an authentic cannoli dough is the Marsala wine. This sweet, fortified wine from Sicily imparts another layer of mild sweetness similar to what you'd get from dried fruit.
Ricotta cheese, the traditional cannoli filling, can be grainy due to its mixture of curds and whey. The moisture content in ricotta can make the gritty, grainy feel stand out.
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