Castagnole are the typical Carnival dessert, delicious fried balls made with few ingredients and decorated with powdered sugar or granulated sugar.
They are a real delight, irresistible with their soft heart and the unmistakable scent of liqueurs, such as rum, sambuca, or Strega liqueur.
I don’t know about you, but I love them!
The recipe I want to share with all of you today is simple, quick, and butter-free.
It’s a family recipe: first from grandma Cecilia, then mom Annamaria, and now I make it too, with the same love as always.
I remember when my mom made castagnole, their scent could be smelled on the stairs of our building.
My father was crazy about them… and not just him! They lasted very little, so I advise you to make plenty, because one leads to another.
Shall we make them together? 👇😋🐾
I’ll also leave you these recipes:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival
- Energy 231.46 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 9.79 (g) of which sugars 3.57 (g)
- Proteins 1.48 (g)
- Fat 21.23 (g) of which saturated 2.32 (g)of which unsaturated 17.96 (g)
- Fibers 0.30 (g)
- Sodium 4.36 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 1 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 for about 50 castagnole
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (+1/3 cup for the work surface)
- 3 eggs (medium)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1 lemon zest (grated)
- 1/2 shot glass liqueur (sambuca, limoncello, rum)
- 1.4 oz sunflower seed oil
- 4 1/4 cups sunflower seed oil
Tools
- Frying pan (large)
- Slotted spoon
- Paper towels
Prepare the Castagnole
Place the flour in a well on the work surface, add the eggs, sugar, and all other ingredients.
Finally, pour the milk in which you have dissolved the baking powder and knead by hand until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough.
Take small pieces of dough, form cords, cut them into pieces, and shape each piece into classic balls.
In a large pan, heat the seed oil to about 356°F, then fry a few castagnole at a time until they are well puffed and golden.
With the help of a slotted spoon, turn them gently, and once cooked, transfer them to paper towels to remove excess oil.
Before serving, sprinkle them with powdered sugar or roll them in granulated sugar.
Susy’s Tip
Castagnole are best enjoyed freshly made or at most the next day because they don’t contain butter
See you soon, Susy
