TABELIAAUTHENTIC ITALIAN RECIPE
Authentic Sicilian CannoliCannoli Siciliani
Sicily’s iconic fried pastry tubes, the Marsala-spiked shell rolled and fried, filled with sheep’s milk ricotta and chocolate chips just before serving. The filling must go in at the last moment.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
This is the standard recipe, exactly as it’s made where it comes from — the highest Authenticity Score possible. Substituting ingredients changes this score; the app shows exactly how, ingredient by ingredient.
Ingredients (8 servings)
- All-purpose flour250 g
- Sugar30 g
- Lard or unsalted butter30 g
- Egg1
- Dry Marsala wine80 ml
- White wine vinegar10 ml
- Unsweetened cocoa powder10 g
- Salt1 g
- Frying oil1000 ml
- Fresh sheep's milk ricotta (drained)500 g
- Powdered sugar200 g
- Dark chocolate chips80 g
- Candied citron30 g
- Powdered sugar15 g
Method
Drain the ricotta
Drain 500g ricotta in a colander overnight, about 12 hours. It’s ready once the liquid has fully drained off — excess moisture will make the cream collapse, so start this the day before.
Make and rest the dough
Mix and knead the flour, sugar, lard, egg, Marsala, vinegar, cocoa and salt into a dough. Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, until elastic and smooth.
Shape the shells
Roll the dough out thin, 2–3mm. Cut into 10–11cm circles. Wrap each around a cannoli tube and seal the edge with egg white — press the seam firmly, or it will come apart while frying.
Fry the shells
Heat the frying oil to 180°C. Fry the cannoli on their tubes for 3–4 minutes, until golden. Lift out of the oil and immediately pull the tube free using a cloth — take care, it’s hot — then let cool completely.
Make the cream
Smooth the drained ricotta with a spatula. Mix in the powdered sugar and chocolate chips until smooth and even, then transfer to a piping bag.
Fill and serve
Just before serving, pipe the cream into the shells from both ends. Garnish the ends with candied citron and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately — filled too early, the shell turns soft.
About this dish
Cannoli are said to have originated in Sicilian convent pastry kitchens. The theory that they began at the Carta Nuova convent near Caltagirone is well known, and today they’re recognised around the world as one of the dishes that defines Italian cooking.
Draining the sheep’s-milk ricotta begins the day before. If it’s not drained well enough, moisture migrates into the shell the instant it’s filled, and the texture changes within minutes. That’s exactly why real pasticcerie in Sicily fill each shell to order. The contrast between a just-fried, crackling shell and cold, moist ricotta is a contrast that disappears as time passes.
Anyone who’s eaten one filled to order can never quite think of the pre-filled, shelf-stocked versions as the same thing as a “cannolo” again. That difference in experience is exactly the line between the real thing and the commercial product.
Bring the full course home next weekend.
Bring every dish to the table at its best.
Choose the dishes you want to cook, and Chef Authen handles the shopping list and the day-of schedule. The Tabelia app turns everything from starter to main into one coordinated course in your kitchen.
- One shopping listBuilt automatically from your menu and any substitutions, ready to check off.
- One timelineEvery dish’s waiting and cooking time combined into a single schedule.
- Answers beyond the recipeFrom judging the heat to adapting on the fly, Chef Authen answers with concrete criteria, not guesses.