Sicilians are most famous for their Italian Cannoli Recipe. And guess what? Sicilian cannoli aren't difficult to make at all. All you need is a few cannoli shells and delicious creamy ricotta filling to make a delicious treat just like an Italian bakery.
These homemade authentic Italian cannoli will become your favorite dessert for that special occasion, next to this amazing cannoli cake with creamy ricotta filling!
If you love traditional holiday desserts, try our recipe for Cuculi Calabrese or Calabrian Turdilli a classic Italian dessert.
Jump to:
- What's the difference between Cannoli Custard Filling and Cannoli Ricotta Filling?
- How Should you Serve Italian Cannoli?
- How Many Calories in Cannoli with Ricotta?
- Ingredients
- How to Make Italian Cannoli with Ricotta
- Top tip
- Substitutions and Variations
- Equipment Recommended
- Storage
- Other Desserts
- PIN It Here
- Recipe Details
- Food Safety
- Comments
What's the difference between Cannoli Custard Filling and Cannoli Ricotta Filling?
Custard filling is made using egg yolk, sugar, milk and all purpose flour which is cooked in a double boiler until thickened. Sometimes, cocoa or chocolate is added to make a chocolate custard.
Ricotta filling on the other hand is made with just ricotta cheese and powdered sugar. Sometimes people add chocolate chips or candied fruit.
People may also use a combination of both custard and ricotta filling to get the best of both worlds. And, some use a combination of mascarpone cheese, ricotta and sugar for a creamy filling to make cannoli with ricotta.
The outer edges of the crispy shell are sometimes dipped in chocolate and pistachios for a unique look.
You can save time by buying store-bought shells at your local grocery store. However, if you are feeling inspired, you can try and make homemade cannoli shells. Just google "how to make cannoli shells" and make sure you have Marsala wine and cannoli tube on hand!
Generally the shells come in two sizes a small 3 inch shell or larger 6 inch shell. I personally like the smaller shells because they make the perfect bite sized pastry for a special treat.
How Should you Serve Italian Cannoli?
For the best Cannoli serve freshly filled with custard filling or ricotta filling and served with your favorite freshly brewed espresso coffee, Arabica coffee or tea. For the best results serve fresh by piping just before serving and make sure that you keep them refrigerated. Leaving them out at room temperature could result in the cheese filling spoiling.
How Many Calories in Cannoli with Ricotta?
Small ricotta filled cannoli will contain 91 calories, primarily comprised of 3 grams of protein, and 4 grams of fat per each 3 inch cannoli.
This recipe for cannoli pastries was inspired by my love for dessert quite frankly. If you are like me, you'll like this Apple Crumble Cheesecake, an easy Homemade Strawberry Sfoglia cake or a Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake.
If you are looking for other individual desserts to make for a party, you can also try these Individual personal Assorted Flavor Desserts with different flavor profiles.
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Ingredients
Ingredients you'll need for this Italian Cannoli recipe are so very easy to make and require 5 ingredients at most to make the cannoli ricotta cream:
- Ricotta Cheese
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
- Mini Chocolate Chips
- Premade Cannoli Shells or Cannoli Tubes
- Powdered Sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Italian Cannoli with Ricotta
The ricotta filling recipe is pretty easy to make. To prep the cheese, you will need some cheesecloth. Take the drained ricotta and wrap it in cheese cloth, twist it to squeeze as much of the water out as possible.
If you have time sit it on top of a fine-mesh strainer and bowl refrigerated overnight, lightly covered with a paper towels and plastic wrap.
Mix the ricotta, sugar, extracts in a bowl using a spatula until the ricotta mixture is somewhat smooth. (It will never be real smooth, you just want to ensure all ingredients are incorporated and that there aren't any lumps of sugar).
Add chips and mix (optional).
Use one hand to hold the premade cannoli shell and the other to push the cannoli filling out of the pastry bag. Repeat and dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.
Top tip
You can make the filling for ricotta cannoli in advance for special occasions and store it in the fridge. For the best flavor, let the ricotta mixture sit in the fridge as long as possible. For a crunchy cannoli, assemble the pastries just before serving by piping the filing into the shells.
Hint: Pipe your premade cannoli shells just before serving.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few ways to make your Italian cannoli recipe a little different and unique:
- Candied Fruit - replace chocolate chips with candied fruit
- Lemon Flavor - add lemon juice to the ricotta filling
- Orange Zest - add orang zest for a citrus flavor
- Chocolate - add cocoa or chocolate chips to the ricotta filling for a chocolate cannoli option
- Custard - add custard to the ricotta filling for a half and half filling
Got other ideas? Go for it and let me know how you made these cannoli with ricotta filling unique. Drop your comments below.
Equipment Recommended
This recipe doesn't require a lot of equipment. You'll need cheesecloth and a piping bag and tips. A serving tray will come in handy to serve the pastries to your guests.
Storage
Unfortunately Cannoli pastries don't refrigerate well after they have been assembled. That's why it is best to fill the shells just before serving. The ricotta filling can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Once the cannoli shells are filled, serve immediately or with in the hour.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
Other Desserts
PIN It Here
Recipe Details
Italian Cannoli with Ricotta
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caEquipment
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz Mini Cannoli Shells 24 shells
- 15.8 oz Ricotta Cheese
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Almond Extract
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- To prep the cheese, you will need some cheesecloth. Wrap the ricotta in the cheese cloth, twist it to squeeze as much of the water out as possible. If you have time sit it onto of a strainer and bowl overnight, lightly covered with plastic wrap.
- Mix the ricotta, sugar, extracts in a bowl using a spatula until the mixture is somewhat smooth. (it will never be real smooth, you just want to ensure all ingredients are incorporated and that there aren't any lumps of sugar).
- Add chips and mix (optional). If adding chocolate chips make sure that you have a pastry attachment that is large enough to pass the chocolate chips
- Carefully place the filling into a pastry bag and fill the cannoli. Use one hand to hold the shell and the other to push the filling out of the pastry bag. (if you don't have a pastry bag/attachment, just use a ziploc bag.
- Arrange in a serving plate. Repeat and dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.
Nutrition
Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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