History

Cannolo originated in the Sicilian Arab kingdom around the 10th century as a carnival treat; its form (the tube around a horizontal stick) traces to Arab pastry technique. Sicilian convents of Caltanissetta and Palermo refined it through the 18th century. The pasticceria Bar Alba and Cappello fill cannoli to order, which is the only correct way to serve them.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Nuts

Make it at home

Yield Makes 12 cannoliHands-on 60 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 300g plain flour
  • 30g caster sugar
  • 20g cocoa powder
  • 20g lard or butter
  • 1 egg
  • 120ml Marsala wine
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 litre sunflower oil for frying
  • 500g sheep's-milk ricotta, drained 12 hours
  • 200g icing sugar
  • 80g dark chocolate chips
  • 50g chopped candied citron
  • 50g crushed pistachios
  • Icing sugar to dust

Method

  1. Make pasta frolla: rub flour, sugar, cocoa, lard and salt together; add egg and Marsala. Knead briefly to a smooth dough; rest 1 hour.
  2. Roll the dough 2mm thin. Cut 10cm circles, then wrap each around a metal cannolo tube (oiled).
  3. Heat oil to 175 degrees Celsius. Fry the dough-wrapped tubes for 90 seconds until blistered and golden. Drain.
  4. Once cool, slide the tubes out. Store shells dry until ready to fill.
  5. Beat ricotta and icing sugar smooth. Fold in chocolate chips and chopped citron.
  6. Pipe the filling into the shells just before serving. Dip the ends in crushed pistachios; dust with icing sugar.

Tip from the editors. Never pre-fill cannoli. The ricotta turns the shells soggy within an hour; pipe to order or carry the shell and filling separately.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat cannolo siciliano

Cannolo Siciliano in Palermo

Bar Pasticceria Alba ★ 4.5

Sicilian breakfast brunch€8-18libertaTue-Sun 06:30-22:00, closed MondayNot necessary

Bar Alba on Piazza Don Bosco in Palermo since 1955 is the city's reference morning brunch room, granita with brioche col tuppo, cannoli filled to order, arancini and espresso.

Order: Granita di mandorla with brioche col tuppo, the Palermitan summer brunch standard.

Tip: Arrive by 10:00 for the local crowd. Cannoli filled to order; never pre-filled.

Piazza Don Bosco 7/C, 90143 Palermo Book →

Pasticceria Cappello ★ 4.8

albergheriaTue-Sun 07:00-21:00, closed MondayWalk-in onlySetteveli chocolate cake, Sicilian pasticceria

Pasticceria Cappello on Via Colonna Rotta in Palermo has run since 1950 under AMPI master pastry chef Salvatore Cappello, home of the Sicilian Setteveli seven-veil chocolate cake and the city's defining pasticceria.

Tip: Setteveli (the Sicilian seven-veil chocolate cake) is the headline order. Second branch on Via Nicolo Garzilli 19 in Politeama.

Worth the queue: Torta Setteveli (seven-layer chocolate cake)

Via Colonna Rotta 68, 90134 Palermo

I Segreti del Chiostro ★ 4.7

loggia

I Segreti del Chiostro inside the Santa Caterina d'Alessandria monastery on Piazza Bellini in Palermo bakes Sicilian convent sweets from 21 historic monastic recipes since 2017.

Why locals love it: Tourists walk past the Santa Caterina monastery without knowing the active dolceria inside bakes from the 21 closed-convent recipe books of Palermo's monastic past.

Tip: Enter through the monastery cloister. Cassata and cannoli are the canonical orders; closed during religious holidays.

Piazza Bellini 2, 90133 Palermo Book →

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