Coming from an Italian background and living in a large Italian community means that a good cannoli is everything.

In less than a 2 kilometre radius from my home there’s over 5 bakeries in which I’d source a fresh and creamy cannoli to feed my desires. But never have I been game enough to make my own cannolo shell. This all changed until I went to Olio Kensington Street.

Chef, Lino Sauro originally from Sicily, Italy provided my first ever cannolo shell demonstration. The steps were too easy to be true.

Generously the team at Olio have blessed us with the recipe to a Prickly Pear Pearl Cannoli served with Pistachio Ice Cream:

Cannoli Shells:

  • 350g flour
  • 85g butter
  • 50g granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg white
  • pinch of salt
  • 15g cocoa powder
  • 60g dry Marsala (port wine)
  • 60g white vinegar
  • vegetable oil and spray
  1. Combine all ingredients except the oil to make a dough. Cover mixture with plastic film and rest in the fridge.
  2. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough mixture. Using a circle cutter, cut out circles in the dough to approximately a 15cm diameter.
  3. Spray cannolo moulds with oil. Wrap round cuts of the dough mixture around cannolo mould.
  4. Deep fry cannoli. Once cool, remove cannolo shells from mould. Set aside.

Ricotta Cream:

  • 1kg fresh ricotta cheese
  • 300g icing sugar
  • cinnamon (measured to tatse)
  • 80g candied oranges or lemon
  1. Combine all ingredients to a make a smooth, thick consistency. Set aside.

Prickly Pear Pearls:

  • 800mL grapeseed oil
  • 1L mandarin juice or orange juice
  • 35mL chardonnay vinegar
  • 20 gelatin sheets, titanium, ice water soak
  1. Place the grapeseed oil in a tall narrow cylinder place in the refrigerator for 5 hours.
  2. Heat chardonnay vinegar just short of a boil. Add softened and strained gelatin, then the mandarin juice. Cool in a iced bowl immediately.
  3. Eye drop pearl mix into the cold oil, then strain.
  4. Mix ricotta mixture with pearls.

To serve:

  1. With a teaspoon, stuff the cannoli shells with the ricotta pearl mixture.
  2. Placing crushed pistachios in a bowl, dip each end of a stuffed cannoli in to the nuts to cover the ricotta filling.
  3. Dust shells with icing sugar and serve with pistachio ice cream

Olio Kensington Street
2 – 10 Kensington Street, Chippendale
(02) 9281 1500