The perfect Italian dessert for Christmas Day? It’s hard to decide, we know. There are so many to choose from! 

Well, for the family at Olive & Angelo it’s cannoli. Cannoli is a Sicilian pastry made up of a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet and creamy filling. The great thing about cannoli is that you have so much liberty with how big or small you want them, what filling you decide to put in them and how many you want to eat on Christmas Day! 

Angelo’s father is from Sicily, the island just off the toe of Italy’s boot, so this Sicilian dessert has been a staple made by his mother in his house growing up. It’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about cannoli, so here is our cannoli recipe that will have you and all your friends and family salivating on Christmas Day. 

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Tips from the Chef 

A pasta machine is ideal for making the shell to achieve a smooth and thin shell 
Whole milk ricotta is essential for getting a rich and creamy filling. If you’re making ricotta from scratch, great! If you’re buying from the store, try draining it to remove some of the liquid 
Get some extra hands to help. Not only will it help with making it a smoother process since there’s a bit of work involved, but it’s also fun! 

You’ll need cannoli tubes or a small tube that you can wrap your dough around to make and deep fry your cannoli shells  

The Recipe 

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Additional time: 2 hours 
Total time: 3 hours 45 minutes

Serves: 20 cannoli 

Ingredients 

Shells: 

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour 

• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of white sugar 

• A pinch of ground cinnamon 

• 2 tablespoons of shortening 

• 6 tablespoons of sweet Marsala wine 

• 4 teaspoons water 

• 2 teaspoons of distilled white vinegar 

• 1 small egg 

• 1 small egg yolk 

• 1 small egg white 

• Oil for frying 

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Filling: 
Angelo likes cannoli with ricotta cheese filling, but you can change out the filling as you wish! You could even make a variety of fillings so guests can choose their favourite on Christmas Day.

• 600g of ricotta cheese 

• ⅓ cup of icing sugar 

• 75g of chopped chocolate (optional)

• ½ teaspoon of lemon zest 

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Method 

 

1. Compile all your ingredients 

2. Start on the cannoli shells. To do this, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a medium sized bowl. Gradually cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly.

3. Create a well in the centre of your mixture and add the Marsala wine, vinegar, water, egg and egg yolk. 

4. With a fork, mix the dough until it becomes stiff, then knead by hand on a clean surface until well combined (~10 minutes). Add more water if needed. Once combined, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

5. Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into three balls. Flatten the balls and insert into your pasta machine. Roll the dough repeatedly through the machine until you have reached the thinnest setting. Repeat for each of the three balls.

6. On a lightly floured surface, place the thin dough and use a cutter to cut into 11-12cm circles.

7. Dust the circles of dough with a little bit of flour which will help with removing the shells from the tubes later on. Roll the dough onto your cannoli tubes and use the egg whites on the edges to seal them. 

8. Using a deep fryer or a deep skillet, heat the oil to 190°C. Fry the shells while still on the tubes in the hot oil for about 2-3 minutes or until they’re golden brown.

9. Remove the tubes from the oil and place them on a cooling rack and let them rest until you can safely remove the tubes from the shells. 

10. Make the filling! Mix ricotta cheese and icing sugar in a large bowl until it’s well combined, then fold in the chopped chocolate and lemon zest.

11. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe the shells, starting from the centre to one end and then doing the same from the other side. 

12. Dust with extra sugar if you feel like it!