These amazing Italian Cream Stuffed Cannoncini are super easy to put together and fun to eat. Flaky puff pastry horns filled generously with silky vanilla pastry cream are incredibly tempting and look festive. Take a shortcut with store-bought puff pastry to make the recipe even easier.
Start with the pastry cream. Bring the milk to a boil and immediately turn off the heat. Set the milk aside. In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together, then add the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Whisk until pale yellow and smooth. Slowly whisk in the hot milk. Cook the egg yolk mixture over medium-high heat, constantly whisking, until thickened. Remove from the heat and transfer to a glass bowl. Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap in touch with the surface, and let it chill for at least one hour. Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into 12 equal strips. Starting at the pointed end, wrap one strip around the horn mold, overlapping the edges slightly. Repeat to cover all 12 molds. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and remove the molds. Let the cannoncini cool completely before filling them with the chilled pastry cream. Dust with the powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!
To make the Italian Cream Stuffed Cannoncini, you will need the following ingredients:
Warm up 1 cup milk until hot but not boiling.
In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk together 3 egg yolks with ½ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
Slowly pour about half of the hot milk in a thin, steady stream into the egg yolk mixture, constantly whisking to temper the egg mixture. Then, pour in the remaining milk, whisking constantly.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture reaches a slow boil. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly, until the mixture becomes thick.
Pour the hot pastry cream in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap in touch with the surface, and let it cool slightly. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
Sprinkle some sugar on your working surface. Top with the puff pastry. Roll the pastry out to a rectangle about 9 by 12 inches. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the puff pastry into 12 stripes, each about 1-inch thick.
Starting at the pointed end of a cream horn mold, wrap a pastry strip around the mold in a spiral, with each line overlapping about half the width. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat to cover all 12 molds.
Lightly beat one egg white with a pinch of sugar and brush each pastry horn.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden on top.
Once baked, transfer the cannoncini to a wire rack and let them cool for a few minutes, then gently remove from the mold. Let cool completely before filling with the pastry cream.
Before serving, transfer the pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Fill each horn with pastry cream.
Dust the cannoncini with powdered sugar and serve.
A classic Italian dessert, these delicious Italian Cream Stuffed Cannoncini are surprisingly easy to make and would look amazing as part of a holiday dinner. If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #cookmerecipes. We’d love to see your creations on Instagram.
Vegetarian Recipes
