How to cook Sicilian Cannoli: the original recipe and its history

The history of Sicilian Cannoli has very ancient origins, the name of Cannoli takes inspiration from the river reeds used to roll the dough and then fry it in lard, but there are various legends that greet its beginnings. The first hypothesis is linked to the city of Caltanissetta and the period of Arab domination, in this city, where the name probably has Arab origins Kalt El Nissa, Castle of the Women, stood a harem, where the women constantly waited for the return of the emir, to pass the time they invented this dessert. The second theory takes us to the female monastery of Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto in Palermo, where the cloistered nuns invented the dessert to play a carnival joke.

Sicilian cannoli are among the delicacies to taste in Sicily, they are made up of a wafer of fried dough, made up of flour, eggs and butter, filled with a velvety sheep's ricotta cream, flavored with orange peel and cinnamon, then garnished with candied fruit, cherries, orange peels, chocolate chips or chopped dried fruit such as pistachios and hazelnuts. As with every recipe, there are also variations for both the filling and the garnish. In this article we will explain to you step by step how to cook Sicilian Cannoli, following the original recipe and we will also give you some suggestions for variations of the recipe, so you will be free to make the one you like best.

To cook Sicilian Cannoli you will need to obtain the ingredients both for the dough to make the wafer and for the filling and garnish. The quantities we indicate are used to make approximately 30 Sicilian cannoli. An important thing to know is that for the frying phase it is necessary to have a cannoli mold, to wrap the pasta and fry it and a slotted spoon to place the cannoli mold in the oil. Alternatively, you can make cannoli mold yourself, there are tutorials on the internet.

Ingredients for the waffle: 

- Flour 250 g

- Lard 30 g

- Sugar 30 g

- Eggs 1

- Marsala 50 ml

- White wine vinegar 10 ml

- Orange peel 1

- Cinnamon powder 2g

- Peanut oil

- A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling :

- Sheep's ricotta 800 g

- Powdered sugar 320 g

Ingredients for the garnish :

- Candied orange peel q.s

- Candied cherries q.s

- Chopped pistachios q.s

- Powdered sugar q.s

Now that you have prepared the ingredients, let's see how to cook Sicilian cannoli following the original recipe. 

To cook the Sicilian Cannoli, sift the flour into a sufficiently large bowl and combine it with the cinnamon, add the lard, sugar and grated orange zest and start kneading. Also add the whole egg, the salt that you have dissolved in the vinegar and the Marsala drizzle into your dough. Continue kneading by hand in the bowl until the consistency is good, then you can transfer to a pastry board. When the dough becomes elastic and compact, cover it with transparent film (or a cloth) and put it to rest in the fridge. Clearly you can do the same process with a mixer, we are for hands that always add value to recipes.

While the dough rests, dedicate yourself to the filling, take the fresh ricotta, before working it, make sure to drain it well in a sieve to eliminate the whey; then, add the icing sugar, mix it with a spatula (or with an electric whisk), until you obtain a smooth and velvety mixture, this will be the filling for the cannoli, you can put it to rest in the fridge until ready to fill. Then take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin or a sheeter to a thickness of 1.5 mm. Using a 10 cm spherical cutter, cut out discs from the dough. Remember to work a little dough at a time, so as not to let the rest dry out. At this point you must wrap the discs of dough around a cannoli mold, remember to seal the external edges well with a little pressure, as they are ready place them under a cloth to preserve freshness. Then, with the help of a slotted spoon, dip the cannoli in the boiling peanut oil, turn them delicately to let them fry on both sides, in a few seconds bubbles will form and they will be ready, put them to drain on the paper.

Remember that the filling you prepared previously should only be added a short time before serving to keep the dough crunchy. Then you can garnish your Sicilian cannoli as you prefer with candied cherries or orange peels, chopped pistachios or hazelnuts, chocolate chips and icing sugar. If you don't like sheep's ricotta, you can alternatively use cow's milk ricotta.

Now that you know how to cook Sicilian Cannoli you can enjoy your recipe and don't be discouraged, it takes a bit of practice before an optimal realization, but they will still be delicious. However, if you happen to go to Sicily you will absolutely have to taste the Sicilian Cannoli prepared by the local pastry chefs. It is fair to say that in any city in Sicily you will be able to taste excellent cannoli and notice the differences between one city and another, for example in Modica in the Val di Noto, famous for its chocolate, they will inevitably be garnished with Modica chocolate. While it is said that in Palermo the cannoli filling is softer and creamier.

Our favorite Sicilian Cannoli are in Erice, a wonderful medieval village perched on the mountain of the same name in northwestern Sicily. Here you can enjoy a delicious, crunchy and very light cannoli, with a sweet and tasty filling, take some and savor it in front of the stupendous panorama, in front of you the surrounding countryside, the salt pans of Trapani and in the distance the Egadi islands and further to the left when the sky is clear Pantelleria island. Eating this delicacy will be a very pleasant memory of the Sicilian land.