Look no further for the best cannoli recipe! Cannoli are Sicily’s most popular dessert, renowned all over the world. This authentic recipe for cannoli shells is straight from Sicily, exactly as my mother’s family has always made them. These crisp and light shells are filled with a vanilla and lemon scented pastry cream. Follow my easy step by step instructions and tips to make the best homemade cannoli every time!
In my humble opinion there is no better dessert than a delicious Sicilian cannoli. However, being of Sicilian descent I guess I’m a little biased! But how can you go wrong with a crisp, flaky shell filled with a luscious pastry cream (crema pasticcera) garnished with chopped pistachios (from Sicily of course!) and chocolate?
Of course I do enjoy my ricotta filled cannoli, as I previously shared with you here. However there are many including my mother and relatives back in Sicily that will opt for cream filled cannoli! And so I decided it was time to post a pastry cream filled cannoli recipe.
I was actually quite surprised to hear that my relatives prefer cream filled cannoli, after all Sicily is renowned for it’s ricotta filled cannoli, right? Here’s what I learned!
Origins of this recipe
My mom and cousin shared with me that ricotta was not always available. After all, it takes quite a bit of milk to make a small amount of ricotta. And since my grandparent’s resources were limited, my nonna reserved most of the milk from their goat to make cheese. As you can imagine, they didn’t just stop by the grocery store to buy ricotta back then!
Therefore they filled their cannoli with pastry cream or more often than not with biancomangiare, a traditional Sicilian milk pudding. Which, by the way, is also delicious layered with cookies!
Growing up in Sicily, all special occasions were celebrated with either cannoli or pignolata for dessert. And in fact they still are. This is the cannoli shell recipe that was, and still is, used in the town of Naso, Sicily where my parents are from.
Whether you prefer your cannoli filled with ricotta or pastry cream, this is the best cannoli shell recipe you’ll ever try and I’ll tell you why!
Why is this the best cannoli shell recipe?
- This recipe for cannoli shells is 100% authentic and directly from Sicily, just like my mother’s family made! I have not modified it nor is it a copycat recipe.
- Take a look at the bubbles on the shells! This is proof of how light, crisp and flaky they are. And that is what you want for the perfect cannoli shells.
- You can prepare the shells in advance and keep them stored in an airtight container for a couple of weeks and fill them just before serving for a special occasion.
- The shells can be filled with a variety of cream fillings such as the pastry cream recipe included in this post; with ricotta cream or Sicilian milk pudding. So many choices to suit everyone’s taste!
What special tools do you need to make cannoli?
Cannoli molds are necessary to wrap the dough around in order to fry the cannoli shells. My mother brought these cut pieces of bamboo from Sicily over 40 years ago! Notice how they have developed a lovely, slick patina from years of frying.
Cannoli mold alternatives:
If you don’t have the fortune of having bamboo molds handed down to you, there are other options!
- You can purchase aluminum or stainless steel molds here.
- Some readers have shared with me that they sanded and cut old broom handles into pieces. Genius! Just be sure to sand them properly if they are varnished and give them a boil to sterilize them.
- Finally, a last resort option are pieces of rolled aluminum foil.
Ingredient list
For the shells:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- An egg: plus an egg white for sealing the dough
- Milk
- Red wine: may be replaced with Marsala
- Vegetable oil: both in the dough and for deep frying the shells
For the pastry cream:
- Milk: preferably whole milk
- Egg yolks
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- A strip of lemon zest
- Pure vanilla extract
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare the pastry cream:
- In a small sauce pan, heat milk, a strip of lemon zest and vanilla extract. Do not bring to a boil. Set aside
- In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Add flour and whisk.
- Pour half of the warm milk into the egg mixture and whisk until incorporated.
- Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan with the remaining milk. Place on the burner over medium-high heat and whisk continuously until it comes to a gentle boil and thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Remove and discard the strip of lemon zest.
- To ensure your pastry cream is completely smooth and free of lumps, force it through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl.
- Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream in order to prevent a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate until completely cooled, about 2 hours.
Prepare the cannoli shell dough
- While the pastry cream cools prepare the shells by stirring together all-purpose flour and sugar in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the milk; red wine; vegetable oil and egg.
- Use a fork to whisk the wet ingredients and slowly begin incorporating the flour into the wet ingredients to form a dough.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
To shape
- This dough does not require a resting period and can be rolled out immediately. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, keep the remaining pieces covered to prevent the dough from drying.
- Use a pasta roller (or rolling pin) to roll out the sheets of dough until the second to last setting. Lightly sprinkle your sheets with all-purpose flour as needed if they are sticky. Keep the sheets of dough covered to prevent from drying.
- Cut the dough into 4 inch rounds with a cookie cutter or any other household item of similar size. For years my mom used a mug with a 4 inch opening.
- Wrap the dough around the cannoli molds and seal both ends with egg white (reserve an egg white from the pastry cream). This is crucial to prevent them from unwrapping from the molds during frying.
To Fry
- Fill a deep heavy bottomed pot (or use a deep fryer if you have one) with about 2 inches of vegetable oil.
- Heat the oil. In order to verify if the oil is hot enough try out my mom’s easy method: place the end of a wooden spoon directly in the middle of the pot, if the oil immediately bubbles and sizzles around the handle it’s ready for frying.
- Fry 3 or 4 cannoli shells at a time until golden. Avoid overcrowding your pot as you may have to hold them down to ensure that all sides are evenly fried. They sometimes roll over when you try to flip them!
- The shells are ready when they are golden and bubbly. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate or tray.
- Use two paper towels to carefully separate the cannoli molds from the shell (be careful, they will be extremely hot!).
- Wrap more dough around the molds and continue fry the remaining pieces of dough.
Fill the cannoli shells
- Fill the cannoli shells once they are completely cooled.
- Place the cooled cannoli cream in a pastry bag with a star or round tip attachment. Alternately use a freezer bag with the tip cut off.
- Pipe the cream at both ends of each cannoli shell making sure that the cream reaches the center of the shell.
- Dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle some chopped pistachios and chocolate chips or grated chocolate on each end (optional).
- Fill up to 4 hours prior to serving to ensure the shell stays crisp.
- Refrigerate the filled cannoli shells.
Recipe Notes
-If you prefer ricotta cream filled cannoli, click here for the recipe.
-Dip each end of your cannoli shells in melted chocolate and let it harden prior to filling them.
-Top each end with chocolate chips instead of grated chocolate.
-Add chopped candied orange peel to your cream mixture.
This may occur if your oil is not hot enough. To test if it’s hot enough, try out my mom’s easy technique: place the handle of a wooden spoon right in the center of your pot with oil. If it immediately begins to bubble vigorously around the handle it is ready for frying.
If you follow this recipe exactly as is, you should have perfect crisp cannoli shells. However, if after storing them you feel they have not kept their crisp texture simply warm them in a 300 degrees F preheated oven for 5 minutes. Let cool completely before filling with cream.
Store the shells in an airtight container lined with paper towels to absorb any moisture for up to 2 weeks.
Fill the shells up to 4 hours before serving to prevent them from becoming soggy.
Filled cannoli must be refrigerated because of the cream filling. It is best to consume filled cannoli as soon as possible as they will become soggy within hours.
Pastry cream (not already in the cannoli shells) can be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days.
–Roll the dough very thin (I roll until the next to last setting on my pasta roller) to ensure crisp shells.
–Recruit a friend or family member to make the cannoli shells. It’s helpful to have someone to help remove the molds from the just fried cannoli and wrap more dough around them to continue frying.
–Use caution when removing the cannoli molds from the fried shells, they are extremely hot! I use two paper towels, one to grasp the shell and the other to gently tug at the mold and slide it out.
-This recipe can be doubled.
-If you have any extra pastry cream enjoy topped with fruit for a simple sweet treat.
Did you try out this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
*****
More traditional Sicilian dessert recipes for you to try!
- Sicilian Cannoli with Ricotta Filling
- Traditional Sicilian Pignolata Recipe
- Sicilian Cassatelle with Ricotta
- Chiacchiere di Carnevale
- Baked Zeppole with Ricotta Filling
- Sweet Rice Sfinci
- Cassatelle with Chickpea and Chocolate Filling
- Potato Sfinci for Sasn Martino
- Biancomangiare
- Sicilian Milk Pudding with Cookies (biancomangiare con biscotti)
Ingredients
For the pastry cream
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 inch strip of lemon zest
- 8 large egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
For the cannoli shells
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup red wine or Marsala
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp. milk
- 1 egg white (for sealing the edges of the dough) (reserved from the pastry cream recipe)
- vegetable oil for frying (sunflower or cannola oil can be used)
For garnishing
- powdered sugar optional
- chopped pistachios optional
- grated chocolate or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
Prepare the pastry cream:
- In a small sauce pan, heat milk, a strip of lemon zest and vanilla extract. Do not bring to a boil. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Add flour and whisk.
- Pour half of the warm milk into the egg mixture and whisk until incorporated.
- Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan with the remaining milk. Place on the burner over medium-high heat and whisk continuously until it comes to a gentle boil and thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Remove and discard the strip of lemon zest.
- To ensure your pastry cream is completely smooth and free of lumps, force it through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl.
- Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream in order to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cooled, about 2 hours.
Prepare the cannoli shell dough
- While the pastry cream cools prepare the shells by stirring together all-purpose flour and sugar in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the milk; red wine; vegetable oil and egg.
- Use a fork to whisk the wet ingredients and slowly begin incorporating the flour into the wet ingredients to form a dough. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Shape the cannoli shells
- This dough does not require a resting period and can be rolled out immediately. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, keep the remaining pieces covered to prevent the dough from drying.
- Use a pasta roller (or rolling pin) to roll out the sheets of dough until the second to last setting. Lightly sprinkle your sheets with all-purpose flour as needed if they are sticky. Keep the sheets of dough covered to prevent from drying.
- Cut the dough into 4 inch rounds with a cookie cutter or any other household item of similar size. For years my mom used a mug with a 4 inch opening.
- Reroll any scraps of dough and cut out more circles.
- Wrap the dough around the cannoli molds and seal both ends with egg white (reserve an egg white from the pastry cream). This is crucial to prevent them from unwrapping from the molds during frying.
Fry the cannoli shells
- Fill a deep heavy bottomed pot (or use a fryer if you have one) with about 2 inches of vegetable oil. Heat the oil.
- In order to verify if the oil is hot enough try out my mom's easy method: place the end of a wooden spoon directly in the middle of the pot, if the oil immediately bubbles and sizzles around the handle it's ready for frying.
- Fry 3 or 4 cannoli shells at a time until golden. Avoid overcrowding your pot as you may have to hold them down to ensure that all sides are evenly fried. They sometimes roll over when you try to flip them!
- The shells are ready when they are golden and bubbly. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate or tray.
- Use two paper towels to carefully separate the cannoli molds from the shell (be careful, they will be extremely hot!). Wrap more dough around the molds and continue fry the remaining pieces of dough.
Fill the cannoli shells
- Fill the cannoli shells once they are completely cooled.
- Place the cooled cannoli cream in a pastry bag with a star or round tip attachment. Alternately use a freezer bag with the tip cut off.
- Pipe the cream at both ends of each cannoli shell making sure that the cream reaches the center of the shell.
- Dust with powdered sugar (optional) and sprinkle some chopped pistachios and chocolate chips or grated chocolate (optional) on each end.
- Fill up to 4 hours prior to serving to ensure the shell stays crisp. Refrigerate the filled cannoli shells.
Notes
-Dip each end of your cannoli shells in melted chocolate and let it harden prior to filling them.
-Top each end with chocolate chips instead of grated chocolate.
-Add chopped candied orange peel to your cream mixture. My shells did not bubble when I fried them: This may occur if your oil is not hot enough. To test if it’s hot enough, try out my mom’s easy technique: place the handle of a wooden spoon right in the center of your pot with oil. If it immediately begins to bubble vigorously around the handle it is ready for frying. My cannoli shells are not crisp, how can I fix them? If you follow this recipe exactly as is, you should have perfect crisp cannoli shells. However, if after storing them you feel they have not kept their crisp texture simply warm them in a 300 degrees F preheated oven for 5 minutes. Let cool completely before filling with cream. How to store cannoli shells: Store the shells in an airtight container lined with paper towels to absorb any moisture for up to 2 weeks. How long in advance can the cannoli shells be filled: Fill the shells up to 4 hours before serving to prevent them from becoming soggy. How to store filled cannoli: Filled cannoli must be refrigerated because of the cream filling. It is best to consume filled cannoli as soon as possible as they will become soggy within hours. How to store pastry cream: Pastry cream (not already in the cannoli shells) can be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days. More tips: –Roll the dough very thin (I roll until the next to last setting on my pasta roller) to ensure crisp shells.
–Recruit a friend or family member to make the cannoli shells. It’s helpful to have someone to help remove the molds from the just fried cannoli and wrap more dough around them to continue frying.
–Use caution when removing the cannoli molds from the fried shells, they are extremely hot! I use two paper towels, one to grasp the shell and the other to gently tug at the mold and slide it out.
-This recipe can be doubled. -The total number of cannoli shells you obtain may vary according to how thin you roll your dough and the size of the cutter you use to cut the dough into rounds. -If you have any extra pastry cream enjoy topped with fruit for a simple sweet treat. Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact ingredients used and portion size.
Nutrition
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These shells look and sound the closest to Aunt Carmela’s. Our family was also from Sicily, So light and crisp and we always used chocolate and vanilla custard for filling so I have always looked for a reason in the variation in filling.
Christmas she would have the shells made. In her small kitchen, uncles would be stuffing and sprinkling the powdered sugar and pass them on to someone who would bring them out to the living room.
I am definitely a cannoli snob! I don’t care for ricotta filling and thick hard shells so I rarely attempt to get one out.
Hello Myra, indeed these shells are light and crisp. The secret is getting all those wonderful little bubbles on them as they fry! I am the total opposite as I tend to prefer ricotta filled cannoli. But I know exactly what you mean when you refer to thick hard shells which is often what you find with purchased shells. I do hope you get to try my mom’s amazing recipe! Thanks for your comment!
The original is always the best. Good job Mangia Bedda! I love that you used the original Bamboo Cannoli molds. I haven’t seen those in a while.
Thank you very much FM! These bamboo molds are definitely priceless and I treasure them!
I’d like to try the chocolate-dipped cannoli, but the last time I tried to make them the chocolate hardened so much we couldn’t even bite through it. Was I using the wrong chocolate (it was melted Callebaut, I think)?
Hello Janet, I once tried this with regular dark baker’s chocolate. I lightly dipped just the ends of the cannoli and they turned out fine. Hope this helps!