Soft castagnole with ricotta are delicious fried sweets typical of Carnival and very easy to make. The recipe I propose is by Leonardo di Carlo (a well-known AMPI pastry chef), he proposed them a few years ago in his group, and they were so beautiful to look at, golden at the right point, soft inside that I couldn’t help but try them right away. His recipe did not disappoint expectations; they are truly fantastic!
My favorite Carnival sweets are definitely the Emilian castagnole, crumbly and crunchy, and the Bolognese sfrappole that grandmother Amelia used to make; she kneaded them with eggs and orange juice and fried them strictly in lard; I remember they remained perfect for days.
Easy and quick to make, they are extremely soft and delicious, you just need a short rest and then you can dip the dough into hot oil to make delicious sweets perfect to fill with creams of your choice.
Try also the other recipes:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: for 25 oz of castagnole
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp egg yolks
- 2 tbsp butter (soft)
- 1/3 cup whole milk (fresh)
- 2/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp lemon zest (grated)
- Half tsp vanilla bean
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 cups peanut oil
- as needed vanilla powdered sugar (or granulated sugar)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Scale
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Spider Strainer
- Absorbent Paper I use white kitchen paper
- 1 Spatula
Procedure
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and potato starch, add the sugar and mix.
In a separate small bowl, work the ricotta with the egg yolks (to blend them well), add the vanilla, salt, and grated lemon zest.
Pour the ricotta into the sifted flours, add the soft butter, and start mixing the ingredients by pouring the milk little by little.
Work the mixture until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough. It will be very soft. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
The dough is very soft, so you can adopt two methods to make the ricotta castagnole. You can use two teaspoons to scoop some mixture and drop it directly into the oil at 330°F, or shape the dough as if making gnocchi (as I did). Choose the method you prefer.
Flour the work surface, take a portion of dough and form a cylinder, cut it into small pieces, and with hands slightly floured, form balls (do not add too much flour, or it will unbalance the recipe).
Pour the oil into a small saucepan with a thick bottom and heat it to 330°F. Fry a few castagnole at a time, moving them often with the spider strainer so that they cook evenly.
When they are golden, drain them on a plate covered with absorbent paper so they lose excess oil. Roll them in fine granulated sugar or sprinkle them with powdered sugar and transfer to a tray.
If you prefer to portion them with a spoon, scoop a small amount of dough with a teaspoon and help it gently fall into the hot oil with another teaspoon.
The soft castagnole with ricotta are ready to be served.
Tips
Storage
Fried foods are best when freshly made and eaten. Unlike crunchy castagnole, which keep well for a few days, the soft castagnole remain perfect for a day or two, then they tend to lose their softness.
I advise against preparing large quantities.
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