Name: How to make cannoli
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour, plus extra for dusting; 30 gm caster sugar; 1½ tsp Dutch-process cocoa; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 30 ml vin santo or Marsala; 20 gm butter, melted, cooled; 1 egg, lightly beaten; For moulding: cannelloni pasta tubes; 1 eggwhite, lightly beaten; For deep-frying: vegetable oil; For dusting: pure icing sugar or Dutch-process cocoa, sieved; Ricotta filling; 700 gm firm ricotta; 50 ml vin santo or Marsala; 40 gm pure icing sugar, sieved; 20 gm slivered almonds, roasted; 15 gm each glacé orange and cedro (see note), finely chopped; Chocolate ricotta filling; 600 gm firm ricotta; 120 gm dark chocolate (54% cocoa solids), melted; 40 ml Marsala; 40 gm pure icing sugar, sieved, plus extra for dusting; Finely grated rind of 1 orange; 20 gm roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped; 20 gm glacé orange, finely chopped

Learn how to make one of the most iconic Italian dessert – cannoli. Gourmet Traveller’s cannoli guide will give you perfect, crispy pastry and creamy ricotta cheese filling every time.

Step into any pasticceria worth its salt – or should that be sugar? – and pride of place is likely to be taken by a pile of crisp-shelled cannoli bursting with a creamy ricotta filling and snowy with a dusting of icing sugar. They’re arguably Italy’s most recognised pastry, and once you bite into one, it’s easy to understand why: these Sicilian delicacies are difficult to beat.

What is cannoli?

Cannoli are Italian pastries made from crispy, fried pastry dough that moulded into a tube-like shape and filled with a sweet, creamy ricotta filling.

Where does cannoli come from?

It’s thought cannoli originated in western Sicily, around the Palermo region. The pastries were considered a springtime delicacy, as they were served as a treat during the Carnevale celebrations that took place before Lent. The original filling is believed to have been a combination of wine, rosewater and ricotta; traditionally it was made with sheep’s milk ricotta, which, with Sicily’s lush green spring pastures, was plentiful at that time of year.

How to make cannoli

Making your own cannoli may seem like a difficult task, but if you have a pasta machine and are willing to put in a little elbow grease, it’s easier than you might think. And the dividend is well worth the effort: a freshly filled cannolo, with its shell still crisp, is a very different thing from most shop-bought versions, which often have been filled several hours earlier and are on the soft side as a result.

Cannoli dough is simple to make. Flour, sugar, eggs and butter are given a burst of flavour with the addition of vin santo and ground cinnamon, while the merest smidge of cocoa gives the finished cannoli a beautifully dusky tone. We found that kneading the dough by hand, rather than in a mixer, limited the risk of over-working the dough and gave the best result. As with any dough-making, resting time (for the dough, not the cook) is important, as it allows the strands of gluten in the dough to relax. Then it’s just a case of rolling and folding, rolling and folding through your pasta machine until the dough is 2mm thick.

Cannolo – the singular form – is derived from the term canna, which means a cane-like reed such as sugar cane. In earlier centuries, this is what the cannoli pastry was moulded around. These days, cannoli can be moulded around purpose-made metal tubes, available from specialist kitchenware shops. Unless, however, you’re a truly dedicated cannoli pasticciere, it’s more practical to use dried cannelloni pasta tubes, as we have here. There are cannoli as thin as a cigarette (aptly called sigaretta) and as big as a fist, but we found the dried cannelloni produced an ideal size that are easy to handle and, more importantly, just the right size to warrant seconds.

When wrapping and sealing the pastry around the cannelloni it’s important to ensure no eggwhite gets onto the pasta tube; if it does, it makes it very difficult to remove the cannoli shell from the tube once it’s cooked and ready for filling. You can re-use the cannelloni tubes if you like, cooking one batch and sliding the cannoli from the tubes before assembling more; just make sure you keep an eye on the cannoli as they cook, and be sure to turn them frequently so they cook evenly.

How to make cannoli filling

Traditionally, cannoli filling is made from Sheep’s milk ricotta, however, the cannoli we devour today are made from ricotta cheese.

Although a crisp and crunchy shell is imperative for achieving a quality cannolo, the perfect filling is also crucial. Sheep’s milk ricotta is traditional, but it’s not readily available, and today in pasticcerie and Italian delicatessens you’ll find many cannoli made with cow’s milk ricotta. That said, using the best-quality ricotta you can find will significantly influence the result. Buy ultra-fresh firm ricotta from a delicatessen or a deli counter with a high turnover, and if it looks a little watery, drain it overnight in the fridge in a muslin-lined sieve placed over a bowl.

The ultimate key to cannoli success is to fill the cannoli shells only moments before they’re served.

Ingredients

150 gm (1 cup) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

30 gm caster sugar

1½ tsp Dutch-process cocoa

½ tsp ground cinnamon

30 ml vin santo or Marsala

20 gm butter, melted, cooled

1 egg, lightly beaten

For moulding: cannelloni pasta tubes

1 eggwhite, lightly beaten

For deep-frying: vegetable oil

For dusting: pure icing sugar or Dutch-process cocoa, sieved

Ricotta filling

700 gm firm ricotta

50 ml vin santo or Marsala

40 gm pure icing sugar, sieved

20 gm slivered almonds, roasted

15 gm each glacé orange and cedro (see note), finely chopped

Chocolate ricotta filling

600 gm firm ricotta

120 gm dark chocolate (54% cocoa solids), melted

40 ml Marsala

40 gm pure icing sugar, sieved, plus extra for dusting

Finely grated rind of 1 orange

20 gm roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

20 gm glacé orange, finely chopped

Method

Main

1.Sift flour, sugar, cocoa and cinnamon into a bowl. In a separate bowl combine liqueur, butter and egg. Pour into flour mixture and stir until a dough starts to form.

2.Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest (1 hour).

3.Cut pastry into four, dust lightly with flour, then, working with one piece at a time, feed through the rollers of a pasta machine, starting on the widest setting, rolling and folding and reducing settings notch by notch, until dough is 2mm thick.

4.Place pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut into 9cm squares.

5.Working with one square at a time (keep remainder covered with a tea towel), place a pastry square in the flat of your hand with a corner at 12 o’clock, then place a cannelloni tube on top so it lays from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock. Fold the pastry corners inwards around the tube so the corners overlap, brush lightly with eggwhite (be careful not to brush eggwhite on the tube, or the cannoli shells will be difficult to remove) and press together to seal.

6.Heat oil in a deep-fryer or deep saucepan to 180C. Deep-fry cannoli in batches, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden (2-3 minutes; be careful as hot oil will spit), drain on absorbent paper, cool slightly, then slide cannoli shells off tubes. Cannoli shells will keep in an airtight container for a week.

7.For ricotta filling, process ricotta, liqueur and icing sugar in a food processor until smooth, then stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm star nozzle. Pipe into cooled cannoli, dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

8.For chocolate ricotta filling, process ricotta, chocolate, Marsala, icing sugar and orange rind in a food processor until smooth, stir in remaining ingredients and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm star nozzle. Pipe into cooled cannoli shells, dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Note Cedro is the glacé fruit of the citron tree. It’s available from good delicatessens; if it’s unavailable, substitute candied lemon peel.
Notes

Styling by Emma Knowles