Cannoli are one of Sicily’s most beloved pastries: thin, crisp shells of rolled marsala dough, filled with sweetened ricotta cream just before serving. Traditionally the shells are deep-fried, but here I bake them in the air fryer instead. The dough is flavoured with marsala and rolled out to no more than 1.5 mm, which gives the characteristic small bubbles and a crackling crispness – with no pot of hot oil at all.
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The filling is the classic one: drained ricotta stirred smooth with icing sugar and vanilla sugar, then folded with dark chocolate and candied orange peel. The ends are dipped in chopped pistachios, and the result looks like something from a pastry shop in Palermo.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Table of Contents:
Why I love cannoli in the air fryer
I’ve always had a healthy respect for cannoli, because deep-frying is a hassle in an ordinary home kitchen. With the air fryer, the biggest obstacle disappears: there’s no litre of oil that needs heating, keeping at temperature, and then getting rid of afterwards. The shells get a thin brushing of oil, bake on the metal tubes in the basket, and come out golden and crisp with small bubbles.
At the same time, the work can be split up. The shells can be baked up to a week in advance, and the cream can sit ready in the fridge, so it only takes a moment to fill them when it’s time for dessert.
How the shells turn crisp without deep-frying
The secret lies in the dough. When it’s rolled out really thin, there’s almost no interior left that can stay soft, and the hot air dries it through quickly. The alcohol in the marsala evaporates as soon as the dough meets the heat, helping to puff up the small bubbles. A teaspoon of white wine vinegar keeps the dough tender, and the oil you brush on gives the golden colour you’d otherwise associate with the deep fryer.
My kitchen test with cannoli
I baked the shells in my Cosori Dual Blaze, which has a single basket with heating elements both above and below. Six tubes in one layer with a little space between them work well, and at 190 °C for 8 minutes the shells turned golden and crisp with clear bubbles. Even though the heat comes from both sides, I turn the tubes after 4 minutes so the colour turns out even all the way round. With two batches of 8 minutes each, the air fryer is only running for 16 minutes.
The whole recipe takes 126 minutes, but 60 of those are pure resting time, during which the dough relaxes and the ricotta drains in the fridge. The rest is 50 minutes of preparation and the 16 minutes in the air fryer. My most important lesson is that the dough needs to be rolled all the way down to 1-1.5 mm, ideally with a pasta machine – dough that’s too thick gives shells that are more like biscuits. If the shells are still pale after 8 minutes, give them 1-2 minutes extra, since air fryers vary.
Only fill the shells once they’re about to go on the table. The ricotta cream softens them quickly, while empty shells stay crisp for up to a week in an airtight container.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how to avoid them
The first mistake is getting egg white on the tube itself. Egg white acts like glue, and if it lands on the metal, the shell sticks fast and cracks when you try to slide it off. So only brush the overlap, where the dough joins together. The second mistake is packing the basket too tightly. If the tubes lie right up against each other, the shells get pale patches, so place them in a single layer with a little space between them, and bake in several batches instead. The third mistake is wet ricotta. If you skip the draining, the cream turns runny and softens the shells even faster. Let the ricotta drain for at least an hour, ideally overnight, and press it through the sieve so the cream turns firm and smooth.
How to serve cannoli
Cannoli can easily stand alone, but they also fit nicely into a bigger Italian finish to the meal:
- A small espresso, which balances the sweet ricotta cream
- A small glass of marsala – the same wine that flavours the dough
- An Italian dessert table with biscotti and fresh berries
- The ends dipped in chopped chocolate instead of pistachios, if you want to mix things up
Storage and reheating
Filled cannoli should be eaten within 1 hour, and they should neither be reheated nor frozen. Unfilled shells, on the other hand, stay crisp for up to 1 week in an airtight container, and the ricotta cream keeps for 2 days in the fridge. If the shells have gone a little soft, they can be re-crisped in the air fryer at 160 °C for 2-3 minutes. Let them cool completely before filling. Unfilled shells can also be frozen for up to 2 months and re-crisped in the air fryer after thawing, but the ricotta cream is not suitable for freezing.
Cannoli from the air fryer show that a classic from the deep fryer can easily be made without one. Bake the shells well ahead of time, fill them at the last moment, and serve them while the contrast between the crisp shell and the cool cream is at its best.
FAQ
Empty shells can be baked up to a week in advance and stored in an airtight container. Only fill them right before serving, since the ricotta cream quickly softens the shells.
Use metal cannoli tubes about 2.5 cm in diameter. Grease them lightly with oil, and keep the egg white away from the tube itself so the shell slides off easily. If you have fewer tubes, just bake in several batches and let the tubes cool before wrapping new dough circles around them.
Cannolo is singular, and cannoli is plural. So a single pastry is called a cannolo in Italian, while several are called cannoli.
Recipe
Cannoli in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 12 Cannolirør - made of metal, approx. 2.5 cm in diameter
- 2 Mixing bowl
- 1 Sigte
- 1 Rolling pin - or a pasta machine
- 1 Rund udstikker - approx. 10 cm in diameter
- 1 Brush
- 1 Piping bag
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
Shopping list
Ingredients
For brushing
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (lightly beaten)
- 1 egg white (let pisket)
Ricotta cream
- 500 g ricotta
- 80 g icing sugar (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar (finely chopped)
- 50 g dark chocolate (unsalted, finely chopped)
- 40 g candied orange peel (for dusting)
Garnish
- 40 g pistachios (usaltede, finthakkede)
- 1 tbsp icing sugar (til drys)
How to make it
Preparation
- Place 500 g ricotta in a sieve over a bowl, cover, and leave to drain in the fridge for at least 1 hour – preferably overnight.
- Add 1 egg yolk, 3 tbsp marsala and 1 tsp white wine vinegar, and quickly bring together into a firm dough. Add 1-2 tbsp extra marsala if the dough is too crumbly.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Wrap it in cling film, and leave to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Ricotta cream
- Press the drained ricotta through the sieve with the back of a spoon, so the cream becomes completely smooth. Stir in 80 g icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla sugar.
- Fold the chocolate and orange peel into the ricotta cream, and transfer the cream to a piping bag. Chill until the shells are ready to be filled.
Cannoli shells
- Divide the dough in two, and roll out one half into a very thin sheet, 1-1.5 mm thick – ideally with a pasta machine. The thinner the dough, the crisper the shells become, and the more bubbles they get.
- Cut out circles about 10 cm across using a round cutter or a glass. Repeat with the other half, and re-roll the scraps until you have 12 circles.
- Lightly grease the cannoli tubes with a little of 2 tbsp neutral oil, and wrap a dough circle around each tube so the edges overlap in the middle. Brush the overlap with 1 egg white, and press the seam firmly together. Avoid getting egg white on the tube itself, or the shell will stick to it.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 190 °C.
- Brush the outside of the shells with the remaining oil, and place 6 tubes in the basket in a single layer with a little space between them.
- Bake the shells at 190 °C for 8 minutes, until golden and crisp with small bubbles. Turn the tubes after 4 minutes, so they colour evenly all the way round.
- Let the shells cool on the tubes for 2-3 minutes, then gently slide them off while still warm. Hold the tube with a tea towel, as the metal is very hot. Let the shells cool completely.
- Repeat with the remaining 6 tubes at 190 °C for 8 minutes. If you have fewer tubes, let them cool before wrapping new dough circles around them.
Serving
- Fill the shells with the ricotta cream from both ends – only just before serving, so the shells stay crisp.
- Dip the ends in the chopped pistachios, dust with 1 tbsp icing sugar, and serve immediately.
Our notes for the recipe
Roll the dough as thin as possible – no more than 1.5 mm. The thin dough and the alcohol in the marsala give crisp shells with small bubbles, even without deep-frying. Brush the shells evenly with oil, and turn the tubes halfway through. If the shells are still pale after 8 minutes, give them 1-2 minutes extra, as air fryers vary. Fill just before serving:
The ricotta cream quickly softens the shells, so only fill them right before they’re served. If you have time, let the ricotta drain overnight – this makes the cream firmer and better at holding its shape. Ricotta made from sheep’s milk gives the most authentic Sicilian flavour. Variation:
Add ½ tsp cinnamon or 1 tsp cocoa to the dough for a darker, more spiced shell, or use lard instead of butter, as is traditionally done in Sicily. The cream can be flavoured with finely grated orange zest, and the ends can be dipped in chopped chocolate instead of pistachios. Serving:
Serve cannoli as a dessert with an espresso or a small glass of marsala, or arrange them on an Italian dessert table. Serving size:
The recipe makes 12 cannoli (singular: cannolo), i.e. 3 per person, and the dough is enough for a couple of extra shells in case some break. If you have a smaller air fryer or fewer tubes, bake the shells in several batches. Empty shells can be baked up to a week in advance.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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