These delicious Cannoli Cream Puffs feature homemade cream puffs, but the traditional filling is replaced with cannoli cream!
I love a good cannoli. Sadly, there’s not a decent cannoli to be found anywhere around these parts. I bought some cannoli forms a while back, so I could make my own. That’s an idea that is still stuck on my “to do” list though (there’s just something about those metal forms and hot oil that freaks me out a bit).
But let me tell you … these Cannoli Cream Puffs make for a perfect alternative. The filling is true cannoli, so let’s just say, if you don’t like cannoli, you might just want to skip this one. For the cannoli lovers out there though, this is a quick and easy treat.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Mascarpone – mascarpone is very easy to find these days. If you can’t find it, there are “recipes” for make your own mascarpone online as an option.
Ricotta – go for the whole-milk ricotta for the best flavour and texture.
Recipe Tips
I’m partial to a plain cannoli. My husband thinks just about anything can be made better with a bit of chocolate, so he thought a drizzle of chocolate on top would be nice. The nice thing with these treats is that you can make a variety, to please everyone.
In true cannoli style, I think adding some chopped bittersweet chocolate or mini chocolate chips to the filling would be nice, too. A bit of lemon or orange zest would be perfect (and maybe a wee bit on top, too). Scrape in a some vanilla bean seeds or throw in some chopped pistachio. Add a dab of lemon curd or pastry cream in the centre, or flavour the ricotta with cocoa or for a chocolate version. The possibilities are endless.
I cut these in half and piped in the filling, but you could also pipe the filling in through a hole in the side, so the filling is all nice and neat inside. And of course, if piping isn’t your thing, a spoon works just fine for both the shells and adding the filling.
These are so pretty, they would be perfect for a special occasion, I think (like Easter maybe) or follow my lead and make them to celebrate … Tuesday :)
Making Ahead, Storing and Freezing
These Cannoli Cream Puffs are best eaten shortly after being filled, but will keep, uncovered, in the fridge for the most of the day, if you want to make ahead. They actually stay reasonably fresh into the next day, but they may start to pick up fridge flavours if left too long.
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Ingredients
Pastry Puffs:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, (reduce to 1/4 tsp.if using salted butter)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
Cannoli Filling:
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta, (I wouldn't try the low-fat here)
- 1 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup icing (confectioners) sugar, (or a bit more or less, depending on how sweet you like it)
- 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish:
- Icing/Confectioners' sugar
Equipment
- Piping Bag and Star Tip optional, but recommended
Instructions
- Drain Ricotta: Place ricotta in a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Press down lightly with the back of a spoon and allow to drain for about an hour before making filling.
- Make the Puffs: Preheat oven to 425°F (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) with rack in centre of oven, and prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine hot water, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add flour all at once and stirring vigourously and constantly (really get in there and stir, stir, stir), cook until mixture clears the sides of the pan and forms a ball around your spoon in the middle, as you stir (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time. After each egg addition, stir quickly and vigourously, until the egg is combined (it will start out as a slimy mess, but just keep stirring and it will come together). Repeat with each egg. Once all eggs are added, stir a bit more until smooth and shiny.
- Add batter to piping bag fitted with a large star tip (alternately, drop balls of batter onto prepared pans and roughly shape with the back of a spoon). Pipe batter onto prepared pan, leaving about 2 inches between each one.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425°F, then reduce heat to 350°F and cook for about another 10 minutes, or until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. (*Do not open oven while they're cooking.). Mine were about the size of my palm. If yours are bigger or smaller, allow a bit more or less cooking time. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the filling: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine filling ingredients (except chocolate chips, if using) and beat well until light and fluffy. Add filling to piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Cut pastries in half (or use a sharp knife to cut a small hole in the side) and pipe either a ring of filling around the outside of the bottom half or fill the cavity with filling. (Alternately, simply spoon the filling into the puffs). If using chocolate chips, you'll need to go the cut in half route, as the chips will clog the piping bag. Simply sprinkle chips on top of filling before putting the top on.
- Sprinkle generously with icing sugar. Serve immediately or refrigerate uncovered for up to 6 hours.
Notes
More Sweet Treat Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Great recipe. I’m looking forward to making these at my next dinner party. Can you share what size piping tip you used?
Thanks!
Hi Bridgette, I think it was the Wilton 1M piping tip.
Incredible recipe. I made smaller cream puffs using a cookie scoop for the pastry. They all came out the same size and were beautiful. Another little hint if you don’t want to pipe or spoon.
Thanks so much, Gay! And great tip :)
So looking forward to serving these at tomorrow’s Easter brunch!! I’m thinking of dipping the edges of the top pastry shells in dark chocolate with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, as you did. I’m sure they will be a hit!
Thanks Angie! Enjoy :)
I had lost my recipe so glad I found your site. We have done the metal tubes they are quick and easy using water ton wrappers to make the shells. We make the cannoli cream 1 cup ricotta, I cup mascarpone and 1/2 cup heavy cream whipped with1 Tbs confectioners sugar. Either way these are so good
Hi Jan and yes, I’m sure the tubes seem more tricky than they are in reality :) I love the combination of ricotta and mascarpone in cannoli, too!
They look delicious !!!!! I am going to have to try these !!!!! yummy & Thanks for sharing the recipe!!!!!!
Thanks so much, Susan :)
Wonderful! Really appreciate the breakdown of ingredients into different quantities and the approximate number of cream puffs.
So glad to hear, Tam :) Thanks so much!
On the first tray I made 6 puffs, and baked as the recipe says. I feel like they were too crunchy for me, so on the 2nd tray I baked for almost 15 min in 425 and they turned out good, not too crispy and baked well. Also, 1 cup of each chease should be enough, since I had leftover filling and my puffs were full completely. I feel like the filling was kind of heavy as well and not sweet enough. Maybe adding whipped cream to the mixture would light it up? All in all, it’s a very nice recipe, I had a lot of fun making it!
I made these little gems this weekend and my friends husband described them the best in one word…”Heavenly”
So glad! I love these, as I’m a huge fan of that cannoli filling :)
First time I’ve stumbled upon your blog (via Twitter) and I had to pin this recipe. What a fabulous idea to combine these two delectable treats! I’ll be making them gluten free so the whole family can enjoy.
Thanks so much, Celeste. Let me know how they turn out!
Thanks! That helps a lot.
Hi, I was wondering if it was necessary to have the 1/4 cup of ricotta and mascarpone cheese. The store I go to only sells 1 cup packages and it’s a bit expensive. Is there any way I could make it with just one cup?
Thanks
Hi Rose. I hear you. They are both expensive! You can definitely scale ALL the ingredients for the filling down by 1/4, so you’ll just use a cup of mascarpone/ricotta, 6 Tbsp. icing sugar, pinch cinnamon and a scant 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Just bear in mind that you may not have quite enough filling to fill all the cream puffs.
The cream puffs can be made ahead and frozen and filled once defrosted. An easy way for a quick dessert. Don’t like cannoli?…try whipping heavy cream with small amount of powdered sugar and once whipped add a bit of strawberry jelly. Makes the cream barely pink and adds just a nice light strawberry flavor. Delish.
Great tips, Anni. Thanks!
These look so delicious! I love Cannoli and Puffs both and of course with a Cream on it make it an extra fun treat!
What do you mean by icing. Do you just use confectioners sugar or mix it with something.
Hi Maria. It just means to dust tops with icing sugar (also known as confectioner’s or powdered sugar)
Thanks
These are gorgeous!! Did you omit the cinnamon and add orange\lemon zest? I can’t decide if the cinnamon would overwork. Or be fabulous. Is cinnamon typically in a cannoli?? If you make creme puffs ahead of time, they can be stored on a brown paper bag…it keeps them well
Hi Geri. I left my cannoli plain. The other additions were suggested for variations if you wanted to use one or the other to change up the filling.
Hi, I tried making these, and I ended up with a lot of butter on my tray oozing out onto the parchment. I was wondering if you knew where I went wrong.
Thanks!
Hi Roshni, I have no idea. I have never had that happen. The only thing I can think of (assuming you used the correct amount of ingredients), is that you didn’t cook the butter and flour long enough. It does need to be stirred for quite a long time (2-3 minutes).