Cannoli Filling Finds Its Way Into Other Baked Treats

Hybrid pastries and baked treats march on. Several new concoctions were discovered recently in Rochester, N.Y., where the Sicilian treat cannoli – or at least the creamy ricotta-based filling – have merged with other baked goods. It may not be a hybrid trend as much as a cannoli explosion. No clever names were noted, but that doesn't seem to matter to their popularity. The Donuts Delite bakery, for example, originated a doughnut filled with the cannoli custard. Another bakery serves up cannoli bread. Grocery retail chain Wegman’s offers cannoli cheesecake, topped with crushed cannoli shells. The store is also rolling out a cannoli chips and dip tray and a cannoli chip and dip to-go cup. Older Italian bakeries in the region shrug. For them, traditional cannoli have always been, and remain, hugely popular.