For this Christmas, I am thrilled to have tried making light vegan struffoli, so not fried and egg-free. They are delicious! Honestly, I find them even better than the traditional ones because, despite not being fried, they turned out crunchier and crisper in my opinion! They are so tasty, I was delighted! And I say this as a Neapolitan knowing I might be risking my citizenship!
These vegan struffoli surprised me not only for how good they are but also for their longevity. I purposely left a cupcake liner with the struffoli for four days in the off oven, uncovered, to see what would happen. I nibbled a couple a day, and by the fourth day, I finished them because I couldn’t resist anymore! Well, even on the fourth day, they were crunchy and crisp: could it be the power of psyllium?
You might now be wondering: what is this psyllium? It’s normal not to know if you’re not very familiar with vegan cooking. I’m not going to give a scientific explanation here, as you can find plenty of material to read online. I’ll just tell you that the husk of these seeds, commonly used as a laxative, is also used as a binding agent to replace eggs and create the so-called vegan egg. In my opinion, it’s the best egg substitute, even better than flax or chia seeds. But now, enough chit-chat, let’s get to the recipe!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 5
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Seasonality: Winter
Ingredients
I’ve already told you that I used psyllium for this recipe, but be careful, you shouldn’t take whole psyllium seeds, but the husks, the powdered skin. In fact, it is precisely the outer part of these seeds that creates, in contact with water, a gel that will become our vegan egg.
In calculating the Weight Watchers ProPoints, I left out Strega, as it’s very little, and also the sprinkles because it’s Christmas 😀 Moreover, I counted only 20 g of agave syrup since a lot remains at the bottom of the pan!
- 2 g psyllium husks (also called husks, 1 measuring teaspoon)
- 3 tbsp water (3 measuring tablespoons)
- 1 cup flour (I tried both all-purpose and whole wheat, and both work great)
- 2 tsp granulated sugar (2 measuring teaspoons)
- 1 tsp baking powder (about half a packet)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda (1/4 measuring teaspoon)
- 1/2 orange (untreated, only the grated peel)
- 1/2 lemon (untreated, only the grated peel)
- 1/2 tsp Strega liqueur (optional, you can also use rum flavoring, better for children)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (delicate taste, 1 measuring tablespoon)
- 2 tbsp water (2 measuring tablespoons or less, see recipe steps)
- 2 tbsp agave syrup (2 measuring tablespoons)
- to taste colored sprinkles (better if you can find the classic diavulilli)
- Total points = about 16 WW points
- Points per serving of 10 struffoli = 3 WW points
Tools
- Air Fryers
- Pans
- Cupcake Liners
Steps
First, mix a teaspoon of psyllium husks well with 3 tablespoons of water and let it rest for about ten minutes. It will start to become gelatinous almost immediately.
Place flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, grated peel of half an orange and half a lemon, oil, Strega liqueur or rum flavoring, and vegan egg in a bowl. Knead by hand or with a mixer and add a little water at a time until you get a compact and elastic dough. I needed a total of 2 tablespoons of water. I recommend adding water little by little.
Let the dough rest for an hour at room temperature.
Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces. With each piece, create a sausage shape and cut each sausage into 10 chunks. The second photo is a bit blurry, but I think it gets the idea across…
Form balls and place them slightly apart directly in the air fryer basket or on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cook them in the air fryer at 356°F for 5 minutes or in a preheated oven at 428°F for 5 or 6 minutes. Obviously, the air fryer will require more batches. To make 50 as I did, I needed 2 batches. The air fryer I use is this one: Philips XXL Airfryer.
Once cooked, let them cool on a rack.
Heat the agave syrup in a non-stick pan, and when it’s hot, toss in the struffoli. Mix them gently so that they are all well coated with the agave syrup.
While they are still warm and sticky, place 10 struffoli in each cupcake liner or small bowl. Put some colored sprinkles on top or the classic diavulilli if you have found them.
You can also double the dose and make a struffoli ring or give it another shape. I think it’s better to create these single portions to avoid the risk of overeating.
And here are our light vegan struffoli ready! Aren’t they cute? And not only that!
They are truly delicious, crisp, not too sweet, and very fragrant!
Here at home, they were much appreciated, they even passed the Dutch test, who ate them in Italy, so he knows well what the traditional ones are like. I hope you will try to make them and let me know what you think! Write to me below or in my Facebook Club!
Enjoy!
By Giovanna Buono
Suggestions and Tips
You can find psyllium in organic stores and even online, but again, make sure to get the psyllium husks or skin, not the whole seeds, otherwise you won’t be able to make the vegan egg. I’ll leave you an example of a product to buy online: organic psyllium husks.
If you have a lot of guests for Christmas and want to make more, just increase the quantities, that’s it!
As mentioned before, these struffoli keep very well for several days, so you can prepare them in advance and leave them, for example, in the off oven. I wouldn’t put them in a closed container or use plastic wrap to cover them, as I believe they would lose their crispness.
This typical Christmas dessert is prepared not only in Naples but also in many other Italian regions and is therefore known by many other names, such as: pignolata, cicerchiata, or purcidduzzi.
My traditional non-vegan but still light recipe can be found here: Baked Struffoli.
