Carnival fritters (ciaciar), a typical carnival dessert, which in Piacenza we call Ciàciar (chit-chat). They are confetti of sweet fried dough, covered with sugar, cheerful, and delicious, one leads to another, you can’t stop eating them.
There are also various recipes for this dessert, sometimes I prepare them with the leftover pasta from stuffed tortelli, (turtlitt). However, this is the traditional recipe for fritters, or sfrappole, fiocchetti, chiacchiere, in Emilia they have different names, a name that comes from the cut of the dough that resembles ribbons (al frap) or bows (fiuchét). They are simple to prepare, they are sweets that have the taste of home, memories that are found in their preparation at Carnival. Delicious and cheerful, everyone really likes them, making them at home is really special, and who doesn’t like fried sweets?
Below are other carnival sweets:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 50 fritters
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival, Winter
- Energy 297.52 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 12.37 (g) of which sugars 3.71 (g)
- Proteins 1.96 (g)
- Fat 27.16 (g) of which saturated 5.71 (g)of which unsaturated 20.17 (g)
- Fibers 0.27 (g)
- Sodium 34.52 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 40 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
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 7 tbsp butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 1 lemon (zest grated)
- 1 oz vanilla powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup sweet white wine (malvasia)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- as needed peanut oil (or lard for frying)
Tools
- Fluted wheels Fluted Pastry Wheel Cutter, Fresh Pasta Cutter, Tortellini, Ravioli – 30 mm Diameter Brass with Beech Wood Handle [Made in Italy]
- Mixer KitchenAid Stand Mixer with 39% discount
- Pan Megafesa – 01102881, Frying pan with basket, 10 inches, Black
Steps for carnival fritters (ciaciar)
On a pastry board, pour the flour in a mound, in the center put the eggs, sugar, butter in pieces, a pinch of salt, and baking powder, mix everything with the wine and rum, which you will pour little by little, until you get a soft dough. Naturally, you can also make the dough in the mixer, if you have it.
Once you have a soft dough, roll out thin sheets. Cut the dough into small portions (preferably in strips) with the wheel and fry them in plenty of hot lard or peanut oil.
In a few minutes they will be ready, as soon as they are golden, remove them from the oil and place them on absorbent paper to remove excess oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar
Storage of carnival fritters (ciaciar)
They keep for several days without particular precautions, put them in a large bowl, covered with a cloth.
If you don’t use baking powder, remember to fold the dough several times before rolling it thinly, so that it makes bubbles.
Instead of wine, you can use Marsala
