Sicilian cannoli with ricotta cream, grandma’s recipe for a perfect ricotta cannolo like all the Sicilian ricotta desserts we love most!

Once a typical Carnival recipe, the Sicilian cannolo filled with sweet ricotta cream is now made in Sicily all year round and, perhaps even more than the cassata, has become a symbol of Sicilian pastry tradition around the world. Probably of Arab origin, it was passed from them to the Sicilians and it is possible that a Muslim woman converting to Christianity and entering a convent passed the recipe to her fellow nuns, then from them to families and from families to the whole region. The cannolo takes its name from the mold with which, until a few decades ago, they were made — literally a piece of cleaned and smoothed river reed called a “cannocciu”; today molds are made of steel and can be easily found online or in kitchenware shops. The cannoli, or rather “i scoccia, de cannola” — literally “cannoli shells” — are made from a simple and inexpensive dough, with a crisp, flaky texture and intense flavor. The cannoli cream is made with sheep’s ricotta and must be delicate, velvety and not overly sweet, creating a wonderful contrast between exterior and interior. But what is grandma’s recipe for a perfect Sicilian cannolo? In reality there are few secrets, but they are fundamental: first, create a crunchy, dry and flaky shell; second, prepare a smooth cream without lumps. How do you make the ricotta cream for cannoli? For the cannoli cream you need fresh, well-drained ricotta, which should then be passed several times through the fine meshes of a sieve. The more the ricotta is sieved, the better the cream will be. Please, never blend the ricotta, as it would become too liquid. If you want to discover how to make ricotta cannoli, follow me in the kitchen and I’ll explain step by step how to do it!

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Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Rest time: 2 Hours
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Cooking time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 25 cannoli
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients to make ricotta cannoli

to taste high-oleic sunflower oil
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour ("farina 0")
3 1/2 tbsp lard (cannot be substituted)
3 tbsp powdered (confectioners') sugar
6 tbsp red wine (approximately, to form the dough (about 90 ml))
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (or white)
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (heaping)
1 egg (small)
2.2 lbs sheep's ricotta (dry, very well drained (about 1 kg))
1/2 cup granulated sugar ((about 120 g))
1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
to taste powdered sugar
to taste ground cinnamon
to taste chopped pistachio
to taste orange zest

Tools

10 cannoli molds
Round cutter 4 in
Frying pan
Skimmer
Plate
Bowl
Sieve fine mesh
Piping bag

How to make Sicilian ricotta cannoli

To prepare the cannoli you will need dry, well-drained ricotta; start with at least 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) of fresh ricotta, gather it in a cotton cloth, make a bundle and place it on a sieve set over a bowl. The drier the ricotta, the better the result, so put it in the fridge and let it drain for at least 24 hours, changing the cloth if it becomes too wet or placing it on top of another one.
To make the cannoli shells, mound the flour on the work surface, make a well, add the egg, the sugar and the lard. Mix roughly, then add the vinegar, the wine and the cocoa.
The dough for the cannoli should be fairly soft, so add the wine little by little so you don’t add too little or too much. Once you have a smooth, homogeneous dough, let it rest in the fridge or in a cool place for at least 2 hours.
Then roll it out with a rolling pin to create a thin sheet.
Cut out discs of dough 4 inches in diameter, slightly elongate them to make an oval shape, moisten one side and wrap them around the mold, overlapping the edges slightly. Roll the cylinder between your hands so the dough adheres to the mold.
Fry the cannoli in plenty of vegetable oil, turning them often and keeping the oil below 356°F (do not let the oil get too hot and it must not smoke). Remove the cannoli from the oil and let them drain on paper towels; once cool they will easily slip off the mold.
The cold shells can be filled immediately or stored in a tightly closed tin box for about fifteen days. We will fill them right away.
After the resting time in the fridge, the ricotta should be dry, cold and firm; place it in a bowl, add the sugar and the vanilla extract and mix well. If you like, you can also add chocolate chips or candied orange peel, chopped, or simply cinnamon. I chose the classic filling with ricotta, sugar and vanilla extract.
Fill a piping bag and pipe the cream into the cannoli just before serving. Finish with chopped or ground pistachios, a few candied fruits and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Fill only the number of pastries you plan to eat, since the shells will become soft within a few hours as they absorb the moisture from the ricotta and lose their crispness.
Ricotta cream keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days and should not be frozen.
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