Sfince di San Giuseppe, or sfinci, are traditional Sicilian pastries from Palermo, prepared for Father’s Day on March 19th.
These sweets, of ancient origin, were invented by the nuns of the Monastery of the Stigmata in Palermo and were originally fritters covered in honey. Over time and with the refining of pastry skills, these desserts, now a symbol of the city, have been enriched with the typical flavors of this land, from ricotta cream to candied fruit and pistachios, and are now available year-round in local pastry shops. They are large fried cream puffs filled with ricotta cream and chocolate chips, decorated with candied cherries and oranges, and pistachio crumbs: a feast for both the eyes and the palate.
Read how to make Sfince di San Giuseppe with the easy recipe below, as usual, right after the photo 😉
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Frying, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Father's Day
Ingredients
- 4 eggs (medium)
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 200 ml water
- 1.5 oz lard
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- oil (for frying)
- 1.1 lbs sheep ricotta
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1.8 oz dark chocolate chips
- candied cherries
- candied orange slices
- pistachio crumbs
Preparation of Sfince di San Giuseppe
Place the ricotta in a sieve over a bowl, cover with a lid or cling film, and let the ricotta drain overnight in the refrigerator.
After resting, pass it through the sieve to make it smoother, and mix it with powdered sugar, working it into a cream, and add the chocolate chips.
Keep the cream thus prepared in the refrigerator until ready to use.Prepare the sfince.
Put the water, lard, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring it to the heat.
When boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour in all the flour at once, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps, until you have a homogeneous mixture and briefly return the saucepan to the heat, continuing to stir until the mixture sizzles slightly.
Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool.
Add one egg at a time, mixing thoroughly until the mixture has completely absorbed it, then add the next egg in the same way.
Finally, add a pinch of baking soda and work the mixture again until smooth and consistent.In a high-sided pan, heat plenty of oil for frying.
Wet two spoons in the hot oil and use them to scoop a spoonful of the dough. Drop it into the oil, letting it slide. Add at most one more spoonful of dough into the oil, frying at most two sfince at a time, turning them often and letting them cook for about ten minutes, so they swell, tripling their volume.
When they are very golden, remove them with a slotted spoon and let them drain of excess oil by placing them on a tray lined with paper towels or kitchen paper, and cook the other sfince.Fill your sfince with the prepared ricotta cream and complete them with extra cream on top.
Garnish with a candied cherry, a slice of candied orange, and some pistachio crumbs.
Let your Sfince di San Giuseppe rest for at least an hour, if you can resist, before enjoying them.
Notes
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