Perfect cannoli are light and crispy on the outside, smooth and velvety on the inside. It’s one of those signature international recipes that requires a level of passion and finesse to get it just right.
Speaking to the following cannoli artists it was clear that technique and ingredients aren’t taken lightly by the very best. While tracking down the best ingredients and making each cannolo by hand can be a hard slog, thankfully Sydney’s Italian community aren’t going to let the traditions of this Sicilian dish die on our shores.
We’ve tracked down some of the best cannoli in all of Sydney so you can cure your cravings and relive dreams of an Italian summer in our own city.
Cannoli Rush
Delivery Only
If Sydney’s cannoli scene had a beating heart, it would be none other than Cannoli Rush. This dedicated cannoli-delivery service not only dispatches these ricotta-filled treats all over Sydney but also houses a hefty suite of flavours too. Brace your taste buds for the likes of biscoff, cookies and cream, Kinder Bueno, vanilla, pistachio, ricotta, strawberry ricotta, blueberry ricotta, butterscotch, choc-mint, chocolate, coffee, salted caramel, limoncello and hazelnut. Yep, no flavour is untouched here. You can order two sizes of cannoli (minis and regular sizes) or hit the DIY deck with "pipe it yourself" cannoli kits that come with crispy handmade cannoli shells and 200g of your chosen custard flavour.
Piccola Cannoli Bar
South Hurstville
Make way for Sydney’s very first cannoli bar. The family behind Piccola Cannoli Bar has had ricotta running through their veins for generations with cannoli based on Nonna Angelina’s age-old secret recipe. At the helm of Piccola Cannoli Bar is a commitment to sourcing only the best ingredients from local suppliers which also spans award-winning ricotta from artisanal Sydney cheesemakers. The main affair here includes cannoli kits, giant cannoli baskets and cannoli towers, with fillings looking like everything from classic ricotta with pistachio and lamington cream, all piped into Sicilian cannoli shells and finished with a dusting of icing sugar.
Pasticceria Caruso
Wetherill Park, Rhodes, Menai, Russel Lea
Big facts: Pasticceria Caruso delivers Sydney’s freshest cannoli to all of the Sydney metropolitan area, the Camden area, the Illawarra region, Northern Beaches, and even to the lower Blue Mountains. It also just so happens to be the birthplace of Sydney’s very own "cannoli bazooka". The cannoli spread here is short and sweet which means you’re obligated to order all the flavours—vanilla custard, chocolate custard and ricotta. The crew here also dropped a cannoli survival kit (which will only set you back an easy $35) stocked with 15 mini cannoli pastry shells, a sealed bag of chocolate custard and another sealed bag of vanilla custard. Oh, and that aforementioned cannoli bazooka? It's a glorious bundle of 50 cannolis wrapped in a giant cannoli shell.
Hellenic Patisserie And Gelato Bar
Marrickville
This patisserie and gelato bar is basically Sydney’s Little Athens and a nostalgic nod to Hellenic treats of yonder to Sydney’s Greek community. The establishment’s history can be traced all the way back to 1977, thanks to the Scoullis family, and in 2016 it officially grew into Hellenic Patisserie and Gelato Bar, broadening the menu with all kinds of sweets, pastries, cakes, and homemade gelato. Part of this menu expansion saw the onboarding of a handful of staple cannoli flavours like chocolate, vanilla custard, ricotta and Nutella. These lil’ dessert burritos get specked with small chocolate drops on either end and are top tier when it comes to nailing the filling to shell ratio.
Poles Patisserie
Penrith
If crunching into crispy cannoli shells and licking up vanilla creme is the foodie visual you’ve been dreaming about, then it’s time you ordered up a box of cannoli goodness from Penrith’s Poles Patisserie. There’s a love for vintage and retro baked goods and sweets here so on any other day, you might also want to give the vanilla slice and cream buns a red hot crack too. Cannoli boxes require a minimum of six flavours (not that we’re complaining) and you can choose fluffy fillings like vanilla custard, vanilla cream, choco custard, Lotus Biscoff, Nutella, ricotta and strawberry cream.
Cicco
Zetland
As well as being one of the best places in Sydney for bottomless brunch, Zetland’s newest foodie hotspot is one of the top joints to score fresh cannoli. The classic Sicilian treats at Cicco are the perfect mix of crispy pastry on the outside, filled with creamy, sweet ricotta and mascarpone on the inside.
"What makes Cicco’s cannoli unique is making them to order to ensure the case stays deliciously crispy for that slightly sweet whipped ricotta filling before dipping the ends in pistachios, "says owner Alex Pacitto. "That coupled with using only the best local ingredients. We use my Nonna’s recipe and she would likely kill me if I was to share it. ”
Cannoleria
Delivery Only
If you know anything about the kings of cannoli in Australia, you’ll be very much aware that Cannoleria is a Melbourne-based sweet mecca. And while Sydney is not yet fortunate enough to sport a ricotta-filled sweet haven of its good, we are privy to DIY cannoli kits delivered by the cannoli masters. Cannoleria has basically partnered with Co/Lab Pantry to create a set of DIY cannoli kits that can be delivered directly to your door which come with either 12 ready-made mini cannoli shells or six large cannoli shells, a 450g piping bag filled with Cannoleria’s signature Sicilian ricotta filling, crushed pistachio, and icing sugar. All you need to do is fill your cannoli, dust with your desired pistachio and sugar—and you’re all set.
Pasticceria Papa
Haberfield, Five Dock, Bondi
Ask anyone—anyone—where to find the best cannoli in Sydney and their first response is “Papa’s”. Pasticceria Papa enjoys a city-wide reputation for its Italian desserts, particularly its baked ricotta cake and cannoli. The original ricotta cannoli recipe belongs to Papa himself, that is, the owner, Papa Salvatore. The cannoli are most beloved for the velvety texture of its filling, which comes in three flavours—ricotta, chocolate and vanilla. (I’m told by the team the ricotta is the fan favourite, naturally.)
Papa’s pastry powerhouse has turned its once-modest deli into a chain of café/restaurants, with locations in Haberfield (the original), Five Dock and Bondi. The pasticceria also serves up its goods at the occasional festival or local store. For those closer to western Sydney, I would recommend getting your Papa fix at Campisi Fine Food and Deli in West Hoxton.
Mezzapica
Leichardt and Gledswood Hills
This Leichardt institution has been operating for more than 67 years. Founding owner Angelo, a pastry chef from Sicily, migrated in 1949 bringing his family cannoli recipe with him.
“Our cannoli have remained true to our recipe from when we opened in Leichhardt in 1952. The original recipe can even be traced a few generations further back to Sicily,” Manager Andre Portelli says.
Mezzapica only uses the best, fresh ricotta (“never powdered”) to get it as close as possible to a Sicilian original. Like all good cannoli, it is made fresh daily, by hand.
“What sets us apart is that we still hand roll and cook our shells," Portelli adds. "While there are machines that can do it now, we feel like there is something lost in the mechanical process. Each cannoli shell is individual and unique, and the results just can’t be replicated by machine."
On top of its Leichardt home, Mezzapica Cakes opened a second location in Gledswood Hills last year.
Pino’s Dolce Vita
Kogarah
Here’s a great cannoli solution for you south-Sydneysiders.
Kogarah institution Pino’s Dolce Vita reopened late last year following a devastating fire. The highly praised family-owned deli from Pino Tomini Foresti first opened in 1978 and has been adored across the city ever since. While most of the food at Pino’s has a touch of Calabria (Pino himself hails from the small Calabrian village of Terranova), the cannoli recipe is, of course, Sicilian.
“An old Sicilian pastry chef taught me [the recipe], but he never let me write it down. I had to take the time to remember it off by heart,” cook and Pino’s daughter Carla Foresti says. “He told me the key ingredient for great cannoli is ‘amore'—love."
While Carla wouldn’t give us the secret ingredients, she did say that all cannoli are made and piped fresh daily, and you can be sure to expect that signature creamy and smooth texture in the delicious ricotta filling.
Olio
Chippendale
If you prefer your cannoli fine-dining style, treat yourself to a night out at Olio in Chippendale. A five-minute walk from Central Station, this gem of the Kensington Street dining precinct has received rave reviews for its Sicilian fare—including, of course, a special cannoli dessert. Currently the ricotta-filled Cannolo Siciliano is accompanied by candied citrus, a blood orange sauce, prickly pear gel and Bronte pistachio gelato.
Olio’s Executive Chef, Lino Sauro, likes to use ingredients and flavour combinations that remind him of Sicily, however, he says the best part of his cannoli is the fresh buffalo ricotta. “In terms of cannoli fillings there are two main versions in Sicily: in the western region we use cow’s milk ricotta and on the eastern and south side they use sheep’s milk ricotta,” Sauro explains. “Both are unique and delicious as long as they are absolutely fresh—two to three days at most. That’s why I source our buffalo ricotta fresh from a local farm and only get the exact little amount of ricotta we need time-by-time.”
While you're here, indulge your sweet tooth a little more at Sydney's best cake shops.
Image credit: Cannoleria, Cannoli Rush, Pasticceria Caruso, Hellenic Patisserie And Gelato Bar, Poles Patisserie, Cannoleria