When I baked the whole wheat carnival hearts without butter, milk, and eggs in the oven for the first time, the blog was just born and I had never tried making a sweet dough, neither traditional nor suitable for hyperglycemia.
Later, I made some modifications to the recipe.
Every year Carnival and Valentine’s Day almost coincide, and I, caught up in the lessons of the professional Food Blogger course, barely found the time to prepare desserts suitable for both occasions: heart-shaped carnival sweets or Valentine’s carnival treats.
The whole wheat carnival treats recipe is simple and alternative and naturally cannot be as thin and bubbly as traditional carnival treats.
Light, crisp, and fragrant.
I recommend preparing these types of doughs in small batches and consuming them within one to two days to best enjoy their characteristics as they tend to lose crispness due to the absence of certain ingredients.
My dough is really small, if you feel necessary, double or multiply all ingredient quantities.
The carnival treats are also known as bugie or crostoli, frappe or cenci.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Air frying
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
My dough is really small, if you feel necessary, double or multiply all ingredient quantities.
- 3/4 cup whole durum wheat semolina (stone ground)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 1 pinch whole coconut sugar (or 1 drop of liquid sweetener)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- to taste lemon zest (grated)
- 1.5 tbsps white wine
- 1.5 tbsps sunflower oil
- 1.5 tbsps water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ground cinnamon
- powdered sugar
- 1 pinch sweetener (powdered erythritol [zero calorie])
Suggested Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Spatula silicone
- 1 Measuring cup graduated
- 1 Cutting board or Pastry board
- 1 Rolling pin
- Pasta machine
- Scalloped-edge cookie cutters
- 1 Pastry wheel fluted
- 1 Ribbon cutter
- 1 Baking sheet 10×11.5 in
- Parchment paper
Preparation
Pour into a bowl:
• 3/4 cup of whole durum wheat semolina;
• 1/2 tsp of sifted baking powder;
• 1 pinch of sifted baking soda;
• 1 pinch of sifted whole coconut sugar [add also the part that does not pass through the sieve] or the sweetener you usually use;
• 1 pinch of cinnamon;
• grated lemon or orange zest;
and mix with a silicone spatula.Pour into a measuring cup:
• 1.5 tbsps of white wine;
• 1.5 tbsps of sunflower oil;
• 1.5 tbsps of water;
• 1 tsp of lemon juice;
and quickly emulsify the liquids.Transfer the liquids into the bowl with the dry ingredients and knead with your hands until you get an elastic dough.
Transfer the dough to a cutting board or pastry board and continue to work it for a few minutes.Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it inside a freezer bag, put it in the fridge, and let it rest for half an hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or with a pasta machine – Nonna Papera.
Fold and roll out, repeat 2-3 times and then proceed with the final rolling.
The thinner your treats are, the more fragrant they will be.Cut out your treats [hearts, traditional shapes, streamers] using cookie cutters or a fluted pastry wheel or a lattice cutter.
Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper and place the carnival treats on top.
Briefly heat the oven.
Bake at 356°F for about 8-10 minutes in a convection oven until evenly golden.
Temperatures and times may vary from oven to oven and depending on the thickness of the treats.Finish with a dusting of cinnamon mixed with powdered sugar or powdered erythritol [zero calorie] or dip them in melted dark chocolate.
Your whole wheat carnival treats without butter, milk, and eggs also in the shape of hearts are ready.
Enjoy!
You can bake the whole wheat carnival treats in an air fryer.
Follow the instructions [temperature and times] indicated in your appliance’s user manual.You can use the same dough to prepare savory whole wheat carnival treats.
The dough for whole wheat carnival treats without butter, milk, and eggs is a light and versatile dough perfect for making cannoli and other small pastry recipes to be filled.
Variations
Keep in mind that:
• these are water-based doughs;
• the absence of sugar affects their structure.
Therefore, my advice is to avoid modifying the ingredients.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What flour can I substitute for whole wheat semolina?
The above especially applies for the type of semolina/flour used.
Possibly:
• semolina and flours glycemic index.They’re not thin and bubbly!
The whole wheat carnival treats without butter, milk, and eggs are an alternative and naturally cannot be thin and bubbly like traditional treats.
• frying is one of the components that helps form bubbles, and our treats are baked.How to store the carnival treats?
I recommend preparing these types of doughs in small batches and consuming them within one to two days to best enjoy their characteristics as they tend to lose crispness due to the absence of certain ingredients.
Store the carnival treats in a tin or glass container with an airtight seal.
The carnival treats can be stored for 1-2 days.
