An authentic cannoli filling that never gets watery or grainy - made from scratch with fresh ricotta and chocolate chips.
Cannoli Cream Recipe Snapshot
What it is: What it is: Classic Sicilian cannoli cream made with ricotta cheese, for filling traditional cannoli.
Why you'll love it: Authentic cannoli cream filling that holds its shape and keeps a smooth, creamy texture.
How to make it: Beat the base filling ingredients together, fold in the chocolate chips, then pipe the creamy filling into your pastry shells.
Sì! You've just found the best cannoli filling recipe that tastes straight out of one of those bakery stalls in quaint Italian markets (but it's really just your kitchen).
Most homemade cannoli cream recipes fail because people skip the draining step or use the wrong kind of cheese, giving you a gloppy, grainy mess that tastes like powdered sugar mixed with sadness. But in this recipe, I'll show you exactly how to prepare the ricotta to make a cannoli filling that is creamy, lightly sweet, and holds its shape beautifully.
What Is Cannoli Filling?
The filling in cannoli is traditionally fresh ricotta cheese, slightly sweetened with powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. A popular choice is to fold in dark chocolate chips, but other popular options are orange zest, chopped nuts, or alcohol.
Ingredients
The most important thing in a cannoli recipe is getting the ingredients right, specifically the ricotta.
- Fresh Ricotta - A lot of modern recipes substitute with mascarpone cheese, or have a 50/50 split of both. The mascarpone can make it richer and silkier, but for traditional Sicilian cannoli, use 100% ricotta cheese. Don't skip the draining step.
- Powdered Sugar - Sift to remove lumps. Not too much sugar, so that the filling stays smooth and the ricotta flavor can shine.
- Cinnamon - A small pinch of ground cinnamon adds a subtle warmth to the filling without overpowering it.
- Vanilla - It adds sweetness and a little extra depth to the cannoli filling. For the best results, use a good-quality, pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Chocolate Chips - Mini chocolate chips are a great size for the shells, but any kind will do. I like to use dark chocolate to balance out the sweetness - you can also use milk or white chocolate if you prefer.
See the recipe card for quantities and the full recipe.
Strain The Ricotta
The biggest mistake people make with homemade cannoli filling is not straining the ricotta cheese. There is a lot of extra liquid in the cheese, and if you don't drain it, it will seep out of the filling and make your cannoli shells go soggy. Do this the night before to give it plenty of time to purge all the excess moisture.
- Squeeze: Measure the ricotta and wrap it tightly in cheesecloth, squeezing gently to remove some moisture.
- Strain: Place the wrapped ricotta in a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl. Put a plate on top and weigh it down with something heavy.
- Refrigerate: Leave in the fridge overnight to allow the liquid to drain.
Things You'll Need
- Cheesecloth
- Sieve
- Mixing Bowl
- Rubber Spatula
- Pastry Bag
How to Make Cannoli Filling
Authentic Italian cannoli cream should have a simple recipe for the creamy ricotta cheese filling, not something that is full of stabilisers and grainy sugar.
- Combine Ingredients - Place the strained ricotta cheese, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl, then sift in the powdered sugar and beat until the mixture becomes smooth and free from lumps. It should be thick and creamy.
- Add Chocolate - Add the chocolate chips and mix them into the ricotta mixture.
- Chill - Refrigerate until ready to serve, then fill your shells right before serving.
How to Fill Cannoli
You can use homemade cannoli shells or buy ready-made ones. Fill right before serving to keep a lovely crispy shell.
- Fill Bag - Carefully scoop the ricotta filling into a piping bag (or a Ziploc bag) and snip off the end with a large enough opening for the chocolate chips ot pass through easily.
- Squeeze - Push the end of the piping bag as far into the cannoli shell as it will go, then gently squeeze and pull out to the edge. Turn the cannoli and repeat on the other side, making sure there are no gaps.
- Decorate - To finish, dip either end of the filled cannoli into some extra chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or sprinkles.
Filling Flavors and Variations
Though this classic cannoli cream is plain with chocolate chips, you can easily make a lot of great fillings from the base recipe. These are some of my favorites:
- Lemon Cannoli - Add in lemon curd or citrus zest to make lemon cannoli.
- Caramel Cannoli - Stir in some caramel sauce to make caramel cannoli filling.
- Pistachio Cannoli - Make a pistachio cannoli filling with pistachio paste and chopped pistachios.
- Chocolate Cannoli - Add some melted chocolate or cocoa powder. You can also dip the ends of the cannoli shells in chocolate before filling.
- Strawberry Cannoli - Flavor your filling with strawberry puree.
- Coffee Cannoli - Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the filling.
Other Ways To Use Cannoli Filling:
- Cannoli Dip - Skip the shells and serve as a dip with fruit, cookies, or broken shells.
- Cannoli Pie - Smooth it into a graham cracker crust.
- Cannoli Cake - Use it as a filling or frosting with vanilla sponge, or for cannoli cupcakes.
Storage
Store your homemade cannoli filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Pipe the cream into the shells right before serving, as they go soggy quickly once filled.
Give the filling a gentle mix once you're ready to use it to bring back its smooth and creamy texture.
FAQ
If you have a question about this recipe that isn't answered here, please write it in the comment section, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Traditional Italian cannoli filling is made with ricotta cheese and powdered sugar. This base is often flavoured with various ingredients, such as cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate chips, citrus fruits, and nuts.
The best ricotta for cannoli filling is fresh, full-fat sheep's or cow's milk ricotta. It makes for the creamiest, richest filling and contains less liquid than skim varieties.
Cannoli filling is traditionally made with just ricotta cheese, but a lot of modern recipes use mascarpone as well to make a silkier, richer filling. Both options work well, but if you want a classic Italian filling, use ricotta.
More Cream-Filled Desserts
Looking for something similar? Try these tasty cream-filled treats:
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Recipe
Authentic Cannoli Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 900 g (32 oz) Ricotta
- 180 g (1½ cups) Powdered Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 170 g (1 cup) Mini Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Measure out the ricotta and then wrap it in a cheesecloth and squeeze out excess moisture. Place it in a sieve over a bowl, and weigh it down with a plate and something heavy (see image in the post above). Put it in the fridge and let it sit like this overnight to drain off all the excess liquid.
- Add the strained ricotta, cinnamon, and vanilla to a bowl. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat everything together until smooth and creamy.900 g (32 oz) Ricotta, 180 g (1½ cups) Powdered Sugar, ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Mix in the chocolate chips.170 g (1 cup) Mini Chocolate Chips
- Refrigerate until ready to fill and serve.
Hi, I'm Jules!
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