Active Time

　　2 hours

　　Total Time

　　3 hours

　　Cannoli—crispy pastry shells filled with a creamy mix of ricotta cheese and powdered sugar—are some of the most beloved Italian desserts. This cannoli recipe makes a fantastic version of the classic treats, which were invented in Sicily and traditionally served during Carnival celebrations. Here, the candied orange peel, chopped pistachios, and chocolate (chopped fresh from a bar, not chocolate chips) are mixed right into the ricotta filling, so that you get some of each flavor in every bite. (We also add a bit of tangy goat cheese to the mix, to replicate the taste of traditional sheep’s-milk ricotta, but you can leave it out and add a bit more ricotta instead if you prefer.)

　　You’ll need to set aside a fair amount of prep time to make homemade cannoli, but the final product is well worth the effort. For the shells, you’ll make a dough flavored with lard, cocoa powder, and sweet wine; roll it through a hand-cranked pasta maker; cut it into rounds that wrap around specially designed metal cannoli forms; and deep-fry the rounds until they’re golden brown and crunchy. To make things easier, you can make both the cannoli shells and the filling ahead of time—store the cooled fried shells in an airtight container for two days, and refrigerate the cannoli filling. Then you can assemble the treats with a piping bag just before you serve them, so that both elements retain their ideal crunchy and creamy textures.

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 10 desserts

　　

For cannoli shells:

1 cup all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting

　　3 tablespoons sugar

　　1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

　　¼ teaspoon cinnamon

　　¼ teaspoon kosher salt

　　⅛ teaspoon baking soda

　　1 pound cold lard

　　2 tablespoons sweet Marsala wine

　　1 large egg, separated

　　About 3 cups vegetable oil

　　

For filling:

1 pound fresh whole-milk ricotta (2 cups)

　　2 ounces soft mild goat cheese

　　¼ cup powdered sugar

　　1 tablespoon minced candied orange peel

　　½ teaspoon orange-flower water (also called orange-blossom water)

　　¼ teaspoon cinnamon

　　⅓ cup shelled unsalted pistachios (not dyed red), chopped

　　2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped (½ cup)

　　Special Equipment: a pasta maker; a 4- to 4¼-inch round cookie cutter; a deep-fat thermometer; 6 (roughly 5⅝- by ⅝-inch) metal cannoli molds; 2 heavy-duty oven mitts; a pastry bag fitted with a ¾-inch plain tip

　　

Make dough for shells:

Step 1

Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add 2 tablespoons lard and blend in with your fingertips until combined. Add wine and yolk and stir until a dough forms.

　　

Step 2

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Form dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

　　Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 day before frying shells and chilled. Let dough stand at room temperature 1 hour before rolling.

　　

Make filling:

Step 3

Beat together ricotta, goat cheese, powdered sugar, orange peel, orange-flower water, and cinnamon in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed 1 minute (do not overbeat). Fold in nuts and chocolate until combined and chill.

　　

Make shells:

Step 4

Set smooth rollers of pasta maker at widest setting. Unwrap dough and cut in half, then lightly flour 1 piece (keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap). Flatten floured dough into an oval and feed through rollers. Turn dial down 2 notches and feed dough through rollers again. Continue to feed dough through rollers, making space between rollers narrower by 2 notches each time, until narrowest setting is used.

　　

Step 5

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Transfer rolled dough to a lightly floured surface and cut out 4 or 5 rounds with floured cutter. Transfer rounds to baking sheet and keep covered with more plastic wrap. Roll out remaining dough and cut rounds in same manner. Gather scraps and let stand 10 minutes. Roll out scraps and cut in same manner.

　　

Step 6

Heat remaining lard with 1¼ inches oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until it registers 350°F on thermometer.

　　

Step 7

Meanwhile, lightly oil cannoli tubes. Lightly beat egg white, then brush bottom edge of 1 dough round with egg white. Wrap dough around a tube, overlapping ends (egg-white edge should go on top), then press edges together to seal. Make 5 more shells in same manner (keep remaining rounds covered with plastic).

　　

Step 8

Fry dough on tubes 1 at a time, turning with metal tongs, until 1 shade darker, about 45 seconds. Wearing oven mitts, clamp end of hot tubes, 1 at a time, with tongs and, holding tube vertically, allow shell to slide off tube onto paper towels, gently shaking tube and wiggling shell as needed to loosen. (If you allow shell to cool it will stick to tube and shatter when you try to remove it.) Transfer shells to paper towels to drain and cool tubes before reusing. Wrap remaining dough around tubes and fry in same manner.

　　

Step 9

Spoon filling into pastry bag and pipe some into one end of a cannoli shell, filling shell halfway, then pipe into other end. Repeat with remaining shells.

　　Do Ahead: Shells can be fried 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept, layered between paper towels, in an airtight container at room temperature. 

　　Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in the May 2005 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared on Epicurious in April 2005. Have leftover ricotta after making this Italian bakery favorite? We have ricotta recipes to help you use it up →