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Italian

Cannoli siciliani

Non-vegetarian

Crisp, blistered fried pastry tubes made with Marsala, filled at the last minute with sweetened sheep's-milk ricotta, chocolate and candied peel.

Cannoli siciliani is an Italian pastry from Italy, ready in about 2 hours 30 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, marsala wine and ricotta. It serves 16 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
1 h
Cook
30 min
Rest
1 h
Total
2 h 30 min
Serves
16
Level
Advanced
Calories
205

Plus overnight draining of the ricotta.

Ingredients

16 cannolis

Shells

Filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, sugar (opens in a new tab), cocoa and salt, rub in the lard (opens in a new tab), then add the egg (opens in a new tab), Marsala (opens in a new tab) and vinegar and knead to a firm, smooth dough. Wrap and rest 1 hour.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Beat the drained ricotta (opens in a new tab) with the icing sugar (opens in a new tab) until smooth (press it through a sieve for the silkiest result), fold in the chocolate and peel, and chill.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Roll the dough very thin (1–2 mm) and cut 10 cm rounds or ovals. Wrap each loosely around a metal cannoli tube and seal the overlap with egg (opens in a new tab) white, pressing firmly.

    Wrap loosely: the dough tightens as it fries and is hard to slide off.

  4. Step 4

    Heat the oil to 175 °C. Fry 3–4 at a time on their tubes for 2 minutes until blistered and deep golden. Drain, and when cool enough slide the shells off with a cloth. Cool completely.

    Food safety: Use a deep, heavy pan no more than a third full of oil, keep a lid nearby and never leave hot oil unattended. The metal tubes get extremely hot — use tongs and a cloth.

  5. Step 5

    Just before serving, pipe the filling into both ends of each shell, dip the ends in pistachios (opens in a new tab) and dust with icing sugar (opens in a new tab).

About this dish

Origin
Sicily (Palermo area), Italy · Well documentedTraditionally made for Carnival; now eaten all year.Also popular in United StatesMore food from Italy
Dish
Dessert · Snack · Pastries · Desserts
Cooking method
Deep-fried, No-cook
Taste
sweet, creamy, nutty
Diet
No main diet labels
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Beef-free · Low-sodium
Without the optional extras: No nut ingredientsWith the listed swaps: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Pescatarian, Pork-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Marsala wine · Ricotta · Sugar · Cocoa powder · Lard
Techniques
Deep-frying · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom ricotta, chocolate chips
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains, can be adapted: Tree nutsfrom pistachios
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
  • May contain: Soyfrom chocolate chips
  • Contains: Sulphitesfrom marsala wine, wine vinegar, candied mixed peel

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

205 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 71 g · recipe makes 16

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 9%
  • Carbohydrate 49%
  • Fat 43%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy205 kcal289 kcal
Protein4.5 g6.4 g
Carbohydrate24.6 g34.7 g
Net carbohydrate24 g33.8 g
Sugars9.8 g13.9 g
Added sugars9.2 g13 g
Fibre0.6 g0.9 g
Fat9.6 g13.5 g
Saturated fat3.7 g5.2 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol29 mg41 mg
Sodium50 mg70 mg
Salt equivalent0.1 g0.2 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
107 mg
Calcium
70 mg
Iron
1 mg
Magnesium
15 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
43 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0.2 µg
Vitamin B12
0.3 µg
Folate (DFE)
49 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: candied mixed peel, pistachios.
  • Marsala wine: Sweet dessert wine (FDC 173176) used for Marsala, a fortified Sicilian wine.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Common mistakes

  • Filling the shells in advance — they go soft within an hour.

Food safety

  • Keep cream- and custard-filled pastries refrigerated and eat within 24 hours.

Storage

  • Unfilled shells keep a week airtight; filling keeps 2 days in the fridge.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What goes inside

Filling

Used in steps 2, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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