Carnival sprelles (ciaciar), a typical carnival sweet, that we in Piacenza call Ciàciar, (chiacchiere). They are confetti of fried sweet dough, covered in sugar, cheerful, and delicious, one leads to another, you can’t stop eating them.
There are also various recipes for this sweet, sometimes I prepare them with leftover dough from filled tortelli, (turtlitt). However, this is the traditional recipe for sprelle, or sfrappole, fiocchetti, chiacchiere, in Emilia they have different names, a name that comes from the cut of the dough resembling frappe (al frap) or fiocchetti (fiuchét). They are simple to prepare, sweets that have the taste of home, memories that are found in their preparation during Carnival. Delicious, and cheerful, everyone really likes them, preparing 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 sprelles
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival, Winter
- Energy 81.39 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 12.43 (g) of which sugars 3.71 (g)
- Proteins 1.96 (g)
- Fat 2.69 (g) of which saturated 1.58 (g)of which unsaturated 1.04 (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
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste powdered sugar
- 1 packet baking powder
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 1 lemon (grated zest)
- 1/4 cup vanilla powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup sweet white wine (malvasia)
Tools
- Fluted wheels Fluted Pastry Cutter, Fresh Pasta Roller, Tortellini, Ravioli – Diameter 1.18 in Brass with Beech Wood Handle [Made in Italy]
- Mixer KitchenAid Stand Mixer with 39% discount
- Pan Megafesa – 01102881, Frying Pan with Basket, 10.23 in, Black
Carnival sprelles (ciaciar) steps
On a work surface, pour the flour in a mound, in the center place the eggs, sugar, butter in pieces, a pinch of salt, and the baking powder, knead everything with the wine and rum, pouring them a little at a time, until you get a soft dough. Of course, you can also make the dough in the mixer, if you have one.
Once you have a soft dough, roll out thin sheets. With the fluted wheel, cut the sheet into small portions (preferably in strips) 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 brown, remove them from the oil and place them on absorbent paper to remove excess oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Carnival sprelles (ciaciar) storage
They can be stored for several days without special precautions, put them in a large bowl, covered with a cloth.
