Cannoli, a tube-shaped pastry filled with ricotta or mascarpone, is a famous dessert originating from Sicily. It is often served in Italian-American bakeries and can be flavored with various ingredients such as Marsala wine or vanilla extract. The pastry is best eaten immediately after filling and can be made at home using traditional recipes.
In The Godfather one of the most famous lines is “Drop the gun, take the cannoli”. The line implies that even die-hard Sicilians who just committed murder aren’t about to forget this famous dessert, which originated in Sicily over 1,000 years ago. Murder is fortunately not a prerequisite for making good cannoli, often mistakenly called “cannoli” by people in the United States. Italian-American bakeries showcase this pastry in all seasons, not just as a dessert Carnivale, which the story suggests as an inspiration.
A single cannolo is called a cannolo, meaning “tube,” but many can’t eat just one of these amazing pastries; hence the plural term is heard more often. They’re actually a fairly simple dessert, and although called dolce by Sicilians, most Americans find them not overly sweet. It is a tube-shaped pastry, pointed open on each side, that is quickly fried, cooled, and then filled with lightly sweetened ricotta or mascarpone.
Bakers often add filling additions such as citron pieces, small chocolate chips, or candied cherries to both ends of the pastry. Less commonly pistachios can be chopped and used. In Sicily, the cannoli filling could be flavored with Marsala wine, vanilla extract or rose water. In the United States, vanilla extract is used the most, but you can find the occasional Marsala cannoli in very traditional Italian bakeries or restaurants. Whole ones are often decadently sprinkled with powdered sugar.
You can find cannoli in Italian American bakeries, particularly in major cities. In Sicily, where the dessert is revered, they can come in numerous sizes. A popular version is the length and width of the fingers, called cannulichi. Most often in the US, they are about 1″ wide and about 5.08-7.62″ long.
Eating cannoli is almost as much art as making them. They are best eaten almost immediately after the shells have cooled and filled. One of the worst culinary disappointments is mushy cannoli, which have sat around too long before anyone has a chance to serve or eat them. Fried dough dough does not stay crispy, especially when filled, for more than a day. Refrigeration, essential due to the cheese filling, can sometimes help maintain the freshness of the outer shell.
If you’d like to make cannoli, recipes abound on the internet and in Sicilian cookbooks. A common scam is buying pre-made shells from Italian shops or delicatessens. The end result won’t be the blend of crunchy and creamy (perhaps the original crunchy cream dessert) as the pre-made shells don’t hold the same crunchiness. You should also inspect pre-made shell packets as they are delicate and often break. Both ricotta and mascarpone are considered acceptable and traditional bases for the filling. Mascarpone is a little creamier and blends easier than ricotta, but it can be harder to find.
When preparing the cannoli filling, be careful of recipes that call for a lot of sugar. The traditional filling isn’t very sweet, particularly to American taste buds. You should be able to taste the cheese and the flavoring more than just tasting something that resembles cream cheese frosting.
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