The cannolo siciliano is a fried pastry tube filled with sweet ricotta; in Palermo it is decorated with candied orange zest, and it began as a carnival sweet.

Some food historians place the origin of cannoli in Caltanissetta between 827 and 1091, in the Arab period; Gaetano Basile argues they come from the Palermo and Messina areas and were first a carnival treat. Italian Wikipedia says Palermo's convents and pastry shops, including the tradition of the monastery of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, shaped the Baroque form of the cannolo and spread it, and that the suppression of religious orders in 1866 and 1867 let recipes leave the cloisters. The pastry is on Italy's list of traditional agri-food products.

Where to eat Cannolo Siciliano in Palermo

4 editor picks for Cannolo Siciliano in Palermo, ranked by editorial score. All Palermo signature dishes · Cannolo Siciliano across every city.

Book food experiences in Palermo

Sicilian Cooking Class★ 5.0 (315)

Viator · 4.5 h

Sicilian Cooking Class

The Sicilian Pantry is a family run cookery school located in the heart of the Historical centre of Palermo. We offer daily market tours & cookery lessons of tradition...

fromEUR 98 Check dates

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Make it at home

Serves 123 hrIntermediate

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.

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

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Nuts.