The Neapolitan struffoli are traditional sweets from Campania prepared during the Christmas holidays. Today, while remaining traditional in terms of ingredients and procedure, we will talk about struffoli made with gluten-free flour, suitable for celiacs and not only, as they are delicious, very easy, and have nothing to envy to the classic ones. The gluten-free Neapolitan struffoli, just like the classic ones from the countryside tradition, contain neither lactose nor baking powder.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 medium whole eggs
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- to taste grated orange and lemon zest
- to taste rice flour
- to taste oil for frying
- 3.5 oz raw honey
- 1/2 package gluten-free rainbow sprinkles
Preparation
I use a ready-made gluten-free flour mix, easily found in well-stocked supermarkets, because I find it more balanced in taste and much more versatile; moreover, it contains no leavening agents, making it ideal for this recipe.
Pour the gluten-free flour into a high-sided bowl. Add the salt, sugar, finely grated citrus zest, and whole eggs.
Knead until all ingredients are perfectly blended. We should get a firm and compact dough, not sticky and not sticking to the hands or work surface.
Since this flour is gluten-free, we don’t need to let it “rest,” and we can immediately start forming the struffoli.
Dust the work surface with a little rice flour. Shape the dough into a cylinder and cut pieces about two fingers wide, stretching them into sticks approximately 8-12 inches long.
Cut into small “dumplings” that are smaller than a hazelnut, as they will double in size when cooked.
Place the struffoli on a tray dusted with rice flour as you go.
Heat seed oil in a high-sided saucepan.
As soon as it’s hot enough (to know when the oil is ready, try immersing a small struffolo), fry a few struffoli at a time.
They will float almost immediately; let them fry for about 1 minute, or until golden brown.
Drain them from the oil and place them on a plate with absorbent paper. This type of dough, like that made with traditional flour, will be dry after frying.
When we have finished frying all the struffoli, we can proceed to glaze them with honey (we can also do this the next day if we don’t have enough time).
Prepare the serving plate or plates where you will serve the struffoli because as soon as the honey cools, it will be impossible to move them without ruining them.
Melt the honey in a small saucepan (we can also add the zest of an orange to give extra aroma). Once completely melted, add the struffoli and mix until they are completely coated.
Immediately transfer the struffoli to the serving plate and finish by decorating with rainbow sprinkles.
Let the struffoli soak in flavor for at least 24 hours before eating them; indeed, this type of sweet, like other typical Christmas sweets, becomes better with time.
Store the struffoli in a cake container, where possible, to keep them longer; they will last several days.
