With a little Marsala wine and butter on the pastry, a delicious cannoli filling with ricotta cheese, and mini chocolate chips, these easy tarts have a homerun flavor for the classic favorite Sicilian Italian cannoli pastry.
Cannoli are usually shaped in log form and filled with rich ricotta cheese filling, these filled little tarts are about the easiest replicas you'll ever find.
A baked pie shell molded in cupcake tins, and much faster and so simple that require no standing over a hot stove frying those cylinder-style shells.
They really are a big hit after any big Italian dinner.
You can make the pie crust ahead of time and just fill them later too when needed! How fun to be able to serve these at a shower, wedding reception, or gathering.
Cannoli
The cannoli as you know has a long tubular crust filled with rich smooth ricotta pastry cream.
This pie is rich with those same flavors and has that crust with those same flavors infused into it.
Just a hint of cinnamon and my special secret ingredient the crust is brushed with.
Can you guess what it is?
Where I grew up in Utica, New York, some of our local bakeries decorated the edges or the cannoli shells with melted chocolate.
Then the ends are dipped into chopped pistachios, you may remember my cannoli recipe here.
Other pastries also had chopped cherries or whole maraschino cherries on the ends or whole strawberries.
Garnish Ideas
- Brush the crust with melted chocolate and chopped pistachios
- Serve with whipped cream topped with maraschino cherries and chocolate shreds
- Spread a layer of whipped cream on top with more mini chocolate chips and chopped pistachios
- Drizzle hot fudge sauce on the plate before serving the tart
Useful Hints
- This pie tastes great cold or at room temperature.
- Any leftovers need to be refrigerated.
- I usually refrigerate this pie at least 3 hours before serving it.
- The pie will stay fresh in the refrigerator up to 3 days if it lasts that long.
Tools Needed
- bowl
- pastry brush
- cupcake tin
- rolling pin
- knife
- fork
- pretty individual silicone small baking shapers for tarts see below
So Easy
If you're not a baker, this is the tart to try first, it has very few ingredients to mix and no frying involved.
Italian desserts can be intimidating but this one is the perfect dessert for anyone that tells me they aren't bakers.
All you need is simple ingredients and everything is done in one bowl by hand.
No electric mixers, just stir in the ingredients, pour and bake.
Tips
- Use only whole-milk ricotta cheese
- For a quick crust use refrigerated or frozen pie dough
- Always chill the filling for at least 2 hours for the tapioca to thicken the ricotta
- Only use a deep dish pie shell at least 2 inches deep
- Dip the outer edges in melted chocolate
- Cool completely before filling
- For an easy way to fill the tarts just take a zip lock bag, snip the end off of the bag, and pipe the filling in the tart to make it super easy
- Use little individual tart pans for a fancy tart cup!
Ingredients You Will Need
- whole milk ricotta cheese
- mini chocolate chips
- deep-dish pie crust
- powdered sugar
- melting chocolate or any good-grade chocolate melted for dipping
- Marsala wine's secret ingredient
- optional: fresh fruits and chopped pistachios are optional for toppings, cinnamon sugar, crushed pistachios
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Try My Other Favorite Desserts
Original Cannoli
Cannoli Tarts
Cannoli Mousse
Cannoli Ice Cream
Cannoli CupCakes
Cannoli French Toast
Chocolate Dream Cannoli Cake
Cannoli Tarts
Yield: 12
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 30 M
Small cupcake size tarts dipped in chocolate and filled with an Italian cannoli pastry filling.
Ingredients
- Tart:
- 1 recipe of your favorite homemade pie crust dough or store-bought frozen or refrigerated pie dough
- 1 tablespoon melted butter mixed with 1 tablespoon of Marsala wine
- 1 cupcake tin (12 cups) medium size tray
- 1 can of butter cooking spray
- Filling:
- 1 container 15 to 16 ounces of Whole Milk Ricotta cheese storebought or homemade
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons of quick-cooking tapioca
- Optional: cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Make the dough first or if using store-bought just cut to fit each tin.
- Prepare the cupcake tins with cooking oil spray.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Take a small piece of dough to fit the size of each cupcake tin, rolling out around 1/4 inch thick.
- Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of each cupcake tart.
- Brush each cannoli tart with a mixture of butter and Marsala.
- Bake crust until golden brown, around 20 minutes.
- Cool completely before filling.
- While the tarts are baking make the cannoli filling and refrigerate.
- In a small bowl mix the ricotta, mini chips, powdered sugar, and tapioca together. refrigerate for at least two hours so the tapioca has time to thicken the filling.
- Prepare the rims of each tart with chocolate but dip them in melted chocolate (you can also sprinkle the edges after dipping them with crushed pistachios.).
- Place on wax paper to dry.
- Fill each cooked tart shell with cannoli filling.
- Add more chocolate chips to the top if preferred or a cherry, or strawberry or leave them plain with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar on top.
- These were delicious substitutes for the original Italian cannoli pastry!
- If you have leftovers refrigerate them and they will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
131.33Fat (grams)
5.08Sat. Fat (grams)
1.83Carbs (grams)
19.6Fiber (grams)
0.48Net carbs
19.1Sugar (grams)
9.7Protein (grams)
1.26Sodium (milligrams)
72.68Cholesterol (grams)
0.64
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