After a year of tests, I can finally present you with the Marchigiani Carnival Arancini Recipe that you can either fry or bake. I asked for the recipe from many women I know who I trust always get into the kitchen to celebrate Carnival each year! Special thanks to Paola, Jessica, and Lauretta for their recipes and advice, thanks to them I can share the recipe and the video recipe for the typical Marchigiani Carnival Arancini!

The preparation of Sweet Carnival Arancini is simple if you have the perfect recipe and if you dedicate the proper time to preparation and cooking. The recipes I received were quite similar to each other, with only minor variations in ingredients and rise times. All of these recipes ensure success as each woman prepares the Arancini annually without fail using the same recipe.

The Marchigiani sweet arancini is a leavened dessert that doesn’t require long rising times. You can opt for a short 30-minute rise if baking, or a 1 hour and 30 minutes rise if frying.

In the recipe, I’ll explain how to prepare the arancini dough and then decide on how to cook, either frying or baking. I used a stand mixer (purchase it by clicking here) but you can easily knead in a bowl or on a work surface, I assure you the result will be the same.

I’ll explain how to proceed by baking or opting to fry the arancini as tradition dictates. The typical Marchigiani carnival arancini recipe involves frying in oil to ensure they remain puffy and soft.

I’ve also tried baking the light carnival arancini for you. While the taste might be the same, the texture will differ; baking the arancini will make them golden and crunchy like those often bought at a bakery.

Below you’ll find other traditional carnival recipes I’ve published on the blog over the years, including Carnival Chiacchiere or Bugie, peaches, and fritters or homemade castagnole. For the little ones, to play with them in the kitchen, you can make carnival masks with puff pastry. Below are clickable links that will lead you to each recipe found on my food blog.

I created for you the Collection of Sweet Carnival Recipes where you’ll find them all in a single top list. I hope it helps to celebrate this colorful, sweet celebration in the best and most delicious way!

Remember, I’m waiting for you every day in the Facebook group and fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day!!! The unmissable date every morning to start the day all together!

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 18 Pieces
Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven, Frying
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Carnival, Winter

110.92 Kcal

calories per serving

Info Close

Energy 110.92 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 21.72 (g) of which sugars 9.22 (g)
Proteins 2.43 (g)
Fat 2.26 (g) of which saturated 1.26 (g)of which unsaturated 0.98 (g)
Fibers 2.30 (g)
Sodium 112.19 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 32 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients for Marchigiani Carnival Arancini

300 g flour (Manitoba flour or all-purpose flour)
8 g dry yeast (or fresh)
125 ml milk (at room temperature)
50 g sugar
1 egg (at room temperature)
30 g butter (softened to room temperature)
5 g salt
1 packet vanillin
100 g sugar
orange zest (from 2 oranges)
lemon zest

The quantities I indicated are a mix of the recipes I had, I’ll explain the differences below.

Paola, for instance, uses more flour, 500 grams, so she needs 2 whole eggs, 200 grams of milk, 40 grams of butter, and does not let it rise. To clarify, she adds 20 grams of fresh yeast, the classic brick found in the supermarket fridge. Therefore, she prepares the dough and then processes it, creates the sugar and citrus zest filling, cuts the rolls, and fries or bakes immediately.

Jessica offers two versions: the classic fried arancini recipe, using one egg, 400 grams of flour, 100 grams of sugar, 150 ml of milk, 30 grams of butter, and also 20 grams of yeast and vanillin. Her recipe involves preparing the dough, filling it with sugar and zest from two oranges without adding the lemon, rolling it up, cutting into slices, and then letting it rise for 30 minutes before frying or baking the arancini.

Jessica has the vegan arancini recipe, created for her sister, making the dough with margarine instead of butter, using 2 tablespoons of potato starch as an egg substitute, and changing the milk quantity to 200 ml of soy milk. The rest of the quantities remain the same, as does the procedure for preparing and cooking the vegan carnival arancini.

I created my final recipe by talking with Lauretta, my father’s partner, listening to her advice and the ones passed down by her mother Bruna. Now that I’ve explained how I arrived at my recipe, we can proceed.

Tools for the Marchigiani Carnival Arancini Recipe

1 Stand Mixer
1 Wooden Board
1 Metal Scraper
1 Silicone Mat
1 Scale
1 Spoon
1 Bowl
1 Dish Towel
1 Plate
1 Grater
2 Baking Trays
2 Parchment Paper
1 Oven
1 Frying Pan
2 Frying Paper
1 Slotted Spoon

We are ready to prepare the Marchigiani Arancini, the typical carnival dessert, the orange and lemon rolls to fry or bake which are the best. Before starting, remember to take the butter out of the fridge and leave it on the kitchen counter to soften at room temperature.

Steps for the Fried or Baked Marchigiani Carnival Arancini Recipe

We begin preparing the carnival rolls dough by placing the flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of the stand mixer. In my case, since it’s a dry powdered yeast, I didn’t need to dissolve it in water or milk. If you use fresh yeast, you will need to crumble it into the slightly warmed milk. Start the stand mixer and add the milk and egg into the bowl. Allow it to knead for a moment, then add the butter piece by piece. The last ingredient is salt, about 5 grams.
Transfer the dough onto a silicone mat or lightly floured wooden board, form a smooth, even ball, and let it rest in a bowl covered with a dish towel for an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the arancini filling. Pour the sugar into a dish, grate the lemon and orange zest, and mix everything with a spoon. Set aside while the dough rests.
After the rising time, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to form a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the surface with citrus-flavored sugar and roll into a log. Cut into slices with a metal scraper, each slice should be about 3/8 inch thick. Place the slices on parchment-lined baking trays, spaced well apart.
Now you must choose whether to fry or bake, as the recipe diverges depending on your chosen cooking method.
If you’ve decided to fry the arancini, continue reading here. Let the orange rolls rise for another 30 minutes on the baking trays after cutting the parchment paper with scissors. This will aid in cooking, as we’ll slightly dip the parchment paper into the hot oil, and you’ll see the rolls detach themselves into the oil.
Cook for two minutes on each side in oil that’s not too hot; otherwise, they may become dark without cooking inside. Lift the rolls from the frying oil with a slotted spoon and place them on a tray lined with frying paper.
We will quickly coat the arancini in citrus-flavored sugar and be ready to enjoy this aromatic and delicious sweet!
If you’ve chosen the baking method, proceed as follows. After placing the rolls on baking trays lined with parchment paper, let them rest while the oven reaches the correct temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F with static mode. Sprinkle the surface of the orange rolls with additional citrus-flavored sugar. Proceed to bake the arancini. Bake for 20 minutes without opening the oven.
Once ready, remove from the oven and coat each arancino in citrus-flavored sugar. We’re ready to enjoy the typical Carnival sweet from the Marche region!

I wish you all enjoy your meal and remind you that I’m here every morning with the Recipe of the Day!

Tips and Variations:

As already mentioned in the text, I have several tips for you. Ingredients should be at room temperature, such as eggs and milk, and butter should be softened ahead of time. The rising time varies depending on whether you fry or bake the orange arancini. Pay attention to the oil or oven temperature.

For variations, besides cooking method, you can adjust ingredient quantities, such as the yeast amount, which may alter the rising time of the sweet arancini. You can also decide whether to omit the lemon zest, which is optional in many recipes.

If you have any tips for me, you can leave them in the comments below; I will gladly read them.