The carnival migliaccio, a Neapolitan recipe, is a soft and rather sweet cake with a fresh and very delicate aroma. A dessert traditionally prepared for carnival, but today you can find it year-round in pastry shops. The main ingredients are semolina, ricotta, and eggs.
A simple dessert with easily available ingredients, traditionally prepared for Shrove Tuesday, with very ancient origins. Its name seems to derive from the main ingredient with which it was once made: millet.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 9-inch pan
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
CARNIVAL MIGLIACCIO
- 1 1/4 cups semolina
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 9 oz sheep ricotta
- 3 eggs
- 5 1/2 tbsp butter
- orange zest
- lemon zest
- to taste Millefiori water
- 2 packets vanillin
Steps
Let’s start preparing this delicious carnival migliaccio.
In a large pot, pour the milk, water, 1/4 cup of sugar taken from the total, the butter, vanillin, and the orange and lemon zests.
Cook over medium heat until the butter and sugar have completely melted. Lower the heat and add the semolina, stirring with a manual whisk to avoid lumps. Continue cooking until you achieve a firm polenta-like cream. Immediately pour the semolina cream onto a serving dish. Cover with plastic wrap suitable for use on hot foods and let it cool.
This step helps reduce the temperature of the cream, and the cover prevents a crust from forming on the surface.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining sugar using electric beaters until the mixture becomes frothy and voluminous. Finally, add the sifted ricotta through a fine mesh sieve and beat again for a few seconds with the electric whisk to blend everything.
Take the cooled semolina cream, remove the lemon and orange zests, and pour it into the egg and ricotta mixture, mixing with an electric whisk at medium speed!
Finally, add the millefiori aroma.
Then pour into a previously buttered and floured pan, or as in my case lined with parchment paper, and smooth the surface well.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F static or 320°F fan-forced for about 50 minutes. Always do the toothpick test; it should not stay liquid. When moving the pan, it should have a pudding-like consistency.
Remove your migliaccio from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 1 hour, then carefully transfer the dessert to a serving plate without breaking it 😋
You can choose to dust it with powdered sugar or eat it as is.
TIPS
My tip for enjoying it at its best is to wait 24 hours before serving. Remember, the more time passes, the better and more flavorful it becomes, as all the aromas settle, blending perfectly together.
