Cannoli, the iconic Sicilian dessert. For me, this dessert is a symbol of the whole Sicily. Cannoli (singular cannola) are crispy tubes filled with a sweet ricotta cream. The dough is fried in fat on a metal tube, and the recipe for the dough includes flour, sugar, fat, and sweet Marsala wine. After frying, the tube is allowed to cool down. Chocolate flakes are added to the sweet sheep’s ricotta cream, and the filling should be done just before serving, otherwise, the tube may become soggy. After filling, the cannoli can be decorated with crushed pistachios, candied orange peel, pickled cherries… Finally, the dessert is sprinkled with powdered sugar.
I tasted the cannoli captured in the picture at the monastery patisserie I Segreti del Chiostro, it cost 3 EUR. Sicilian cannoli is a relatively hearty dessert, so I usually never taste more than one piece while traveling. However, I have eaten more than enough of them over the years that I have been traveling to Italy. This one, though, was the best of all. Excellent taste of crispy dough, delicate cream, and a generous portion of crushed pistachios and pickled orange peel. If you have already visited Sicily (or Italy), you probably know cannoli. But if you haven’t tasted them yet, you should remedy that. However, if you have it in the same patisserie as I did, then I must warn you. You will set the bar really high.
Bon appétit!
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