Neapolitan struffoli are traditional sweets from Campania made during the Christmas holidays. Today, while staying true to traditional ingredients and methods, we’ll talk about struffoli made with gluten-free flour, suitable for celiacs and more, as they are delicious, very easy to make, and have nothing to envy of the classic ones. Gluten-free Neapolitan struffoli, just like the more classic peasant tradition ones, do not contain lactose or baking powder.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: New Year's, Christmas
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 2 medium whole eggs
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- to taste grated orange and lemon zest
- to taste rice flour
- to taste oil for frying
- 3.5 oz raw honey
- 1/2 package gluten-free colored sprinkles
Tools
- 1 Slotted spoon
Preparation
I use a pre-made gluten-free flour mix, easily found in well-stocked supermarkets, because I find it more balanced in taste and much more versatile; moreover, it contains no leavening agents, making it ideal for this recipe.
Pour the gluten-free flour into a high-sided bowl. Add the salt, sugar, finely grated citrus peel, and whole eggs.
Knead until all the ingredients are perfectly combined. You should obtain a firm and compact dough that is not sticky to the hands or the work surface.
Since this flour is gluten-free, we do not need to let the dough “rest” but can immediately proceed to shape the struffoli.
Dust the work surface with a little rice flour.
Shape the dough into a cylinder, from which we’ll cut pieces as wide as two fingers, stretching them into sticks about 8-12 inches long.
Cut small “gnocchi” that should be smaller than a hazelnut, as they will double in size when cooked.
Place the struffoli on a tray dusted with rice flour.
Heat some seed oil in a pot with high sides. It is necessary to have high sides because, during frying, the foam from the boiling oil tends to rise and overflow, which can be dangerous.
As soon as the oil is sufficiently hot (to know when the oil is ready, try immersing a small struffolo), fry a few struffoli at a time to avoid the sudden rising of the oil.
They will surface almost immediately; let them fry for about 1 minute or until they are golden.
Drain them from the oil and place them on a plate with paper towels. This type of dough, just like the one made with traditional flour, will be dry after frying.
Once we have finished frying all the struffoli, we can proceed to the glazing phase with honey (we can also do this the next day if we do not have enough time).
Prepare the serving plate or plates where we will serve the struffoli because as soon as the honey cools, it will be impossible to move them without ruining them.
In a small pan, melt the honey (we can also add the zest of an orange to give it more aroma).
Once completely melted, add the struffoli and stir until they are completely coated.
Immediately transfer the struffoli to the serving plate, give them an eventual shape (for example, a Christmas tree shape), and complete by decorating with the colored sprinkles.
Let the struffoli sit for at least 24 hours before eating them; in fact, this type of sweet, like other typical Christmas treats, becomes better over time.
Place the struffoli inside a cake carrier, if possible, to preserve them better; they will last several days.
