Short answer
Cannoli are Sicilian pastries made of a crisp fried dough tube filled with sweet ricotta cream. Cannoli is the plural and cannolo is one pastry. The shell stays crisp only if it is filled shortly before serving.
Cannoli are Sicilian pastries made from a crisp, fried dough tube filled with sweet ricotta cream, with cannolo as the singular form. The shell is rolled around a tube, fried until blistered and filled only shortly before serving so it stays crisp. Chocolate chips and pistachios are common finishing touches.
What are cannoli?
Cannoli are a traditional Sicilian pastry in which a fried, tube-shaped shell holds a creamy sweet filling. The name comes from canna, the Italian word for reed or cane, which relates to the hollow shape.
The pastry is closely tied to Sicily, and cannoli are also a staple of Italian-American bakeries. The shell is crisp and slightly bubbled, and the filling is cool and creamy, so the contrast between the two is what people look for.
Cannoli can be small, sometimes called cannoncini, or large enough to share. They are eaten as a dessert, a snack with coffee or a feast-day sweet.
What is in a cannoli shell?
A cannoli shell is made of flour, sugar, fat, a little vinegar or other acid, egg and water or milk. The dough is rolled thin, wrapped around a tube and fried.
| Ingredient | What it does |
|---|---|
| Flour | Forms the structure of the shell |
| Sugar | Adds slight sweetness and helps the shell brown |
| Fat such as butter or shortening | Makes the shell tender and crisp |
| Vinegar | Helps the dough relax and the surface blister |
| Egg | Binds the dough and gives colour |
| Cocoa or instant coffee | Optional, for a darker shell |
The dough is rested, rolled thin and cut into circles or ovals. Each piece is wrapped around a metal tube, sealed with egg white and fried until golden. The blisters on the surface come from the thin dough puffing in hot oil.
What is the filling in cannoli?
The traditional cannoli filling is sweetened ricotta, strained until smooth and mixed with sugar. Many bakeries add chocolate chips, candied peel or chopped pistachios.
- Classic ricotta: sweet and slightly tangy, with a lightly grainy or silky texture depending on how it is strained.
- Chocolate: ricotta with chocolate chips, or a chocolate cream.
- Pistachio: ricotta or cream with ground pistachio, often with the ends dipped in chopped nuts.
- Mascarpone or cream blends: a richer, smoother filling that holds its shape.
Traditional Sicilian bakers use sheep’s milk ricotta, which is richer and tangier than the cow’s milk ricotta common in North America. Straining the ricotta well matters, because wet filling softens the shell.
Where do cannoli come from?
Cannoli come from Sicily, and the pastry is traditionally linked to Carnival season. The exact origin is not documented with certainty and several Sicilian towns claim the pastry.
Stories about the dish range from convent kitchens to Arab-era sweet making, and none of them is confirmed. What is clear is that cannoli became a symbol of Sicilian pastry and travelled to North America with Sicilian emigrants. Today the pastry is sold year-round, not only at Carnival.
How do you eat a cannoli?
Eat a cannoli with your hands, and bite from one end. The shell should crack, and the filling should be cool and smooth.
- Hold the cannoli in the middle so the ends do not break off.
- Bite from one end, then turn it and eat from the other.
- Expect crumbs and a little filling, so keep a napkin ready.
- Eat it soon after it is filled, since the shell softens over time.
Many bakeries sell a large, filled cannoli that is meant to be eaten on the spot, and some sell shells and filling separately for assembly at home.
Why do cannoli shells go soft?
Cannoli shells go soft because the filling is moist and the shell absorbs that moisture. The longer a filled cannoli sits, the chewier the shell becomes.
Bakers manage this in a few ways: filling the shells to order, brushing the inside of the shell with melted chocolate to act as a barrier, and straining the ricotta so it is drier. At home, filling the shells just before serving is the easiest fix. The shells themselves keep for days in an airtight container.
What is the difference between cannoli and a cannoli cake?
A cannoli is a single fried shell filled with cream, while a cannoli cake is a sponge or layered cake flavoured like cannoli, usually with ricotta-style cream, chocolate chips and pistachios.
The two share flavours but not texture. A cannoli is crisp and creamy, and a cannoli cake is soft and moist. Both are on the list of items Cordi Italian Bakery is reported to sell, according to the directory entry, which also lists cannoli with a cheese filling and with a chocolate filling.
What are the common cannoli varieties?
Cannoli vary by size, shell and filling, and the same bakery may offer several. The table shows the usual choices.
| Variety | What is different |
|---|---|
| Large cannoli | Full-size shell, often filled to order |
| Mini cannoli | Bite-size shells, popular for trays and parties |
| Chocolate-dipped ends | Shell ends dipped in chocolate, then in chopped nuts |
| Pistachio cannoli | Ricotta or cream with ground pistachio |
| Cannoli cream in a cup | The filling served without a shell |
Choosing between them is a matter of taste. Mini cannoli suit sharing, and large ones suit a single sit-down dessert. The shell and the filling can also be bought apart in some bakeries, so the cannoli can be assembled at the table.
How should you store cannoli?
Store filled cannoli in the refrigerator and eat them within a day. Store unfilled shells in an airtight container at room temperature and fill them when needed.
Shells can be kept for several days if the container is dry, and they can be frozen. Filling can be kept chilled in a sealed container and piped into the shells before serving. Do not fill a batch for next-day eating, or the shells will be soft by then.
Does Cordi Italian Bakery sell cannoli?
Yes, according to its directory listings and a 2013 blog review. Cordi Italian Bakery in Mississauga, Ontario is reported to sell cheese-filled cannoli and chocolate-filled cannoli, along with a cannoli cake. The bakery has no official website or published menu, so this is based on third-party sources.
No prices were found, and which fillings are available on a given day is not known. The guide’s menu page lists the pastry items as recorded, and the hours and location page gives the address and phone number for checking stock. Ordering and prices are handled by the bakery, not by this guide.
Common questions
Is it cannoli or cannolo?
Cannoli is the Italian plural and cannolo is the singular. In English, people usually say one cannoli, which Italian speakers would hear as slightly off. Both forms are understood in a bakery.
Why is my cannoli shell soft?
The shell absorbs moisture from the filling. A shell filled hours ago turns chewy, while one filled just before eating stays crisp. Some bakeries fill to order for exactly this reason.
What is the filling in a cannoli?
The classic filling is sweetened ricotta, often with chocolate chips, candied fruit or chopped pistachios. Modern variants use mascarpone, whipped cream or custard, and chocolate cream is also common.
Can you freeze cannoli?
Unfilled shells freeze well in a sealed container. Filled cannoli do not keep their crispness after freezing, so fill them after thawing and just before serving.
Where do cannoli come from?
Cannoli come from Sicily, and the tradition is tied to Carnival season in the past. The exact origin is not firmly documented, and several towns claim the pastry as their own.
Planning a visit? Start with Cordi Italian Bakery Mississauga: address, opening hours, menu and directions in one place.
This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Cordi Italian Bakery itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.