Cannoli. If you’ve had the pleasure of trying it then you know how damn delicious it can be. And two Canberran chefs, The Cannoli Brothers, are making some cannoli to a recipe perfected over the last few months to exact flavour and texture profiles to make it just right to bring to market.

Though not actual brothers, Alessandro and Andrew are Canberran friends from way back who met at Uni many years ago, and have both returned to the capital after being chefs on opposite sides of the world. With a combined 60 years’ experience as chefs, the pair have started creating their delicious Italian pastries which originated in Sicily. Traditionally, cannoli consist of tube shaped shells of fried pastry dough filled with a sweet creamy filling, often made with ricotta.

The Cannoli Brothers have two delightful creations, The Blonde Italian – a blonde pastry shell made with vermouth, crispy thin, filled with a rich 70{919d826c0730d492d9b75cddbb51fd01fa3e5d45dc1125b67f720901bbac5117} dark chocolate and fresh orange oil crema, and The Dark Italian – a darker richer pastry flavoured with fresh ground cinnamon and Marsala, this pastry is a heavier flavourful pastry filled with a delicate Madagascan vanilla crema with a hint of fresh lemon. Andrew says they are also working on other crema flavours and styles, as well as a gluten free version. A traditional variety will be made with ricotta, mixed peel, saffron and chocolate flecks, and a pistachio flavour might not be too far away as well. All their cannoli are filled to order too. The duo use Australian ingredients, and source locally where possible including local eggs, flour from Young and all Australian sugar. All products are made under strict control in a commercial kitchen in downtown Canberra.

You can catch the Cannoli Brothers and see what all the fuss is about each Sunday at the markets. Bellissimo!