Tag: holiday desserts

Stuffed Krapfen Recipe | The Italian kitchen – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Biting into cream-filled donuts: does just the thought make you daydream? You are in the right place then, where you can find the recipe for fabulous krapfen.

What is the difference between krapfen and donut?

Sometimes they are used synonymously, but krapfen and donuts are not the same thing. The donut is typical of Tuscany and is created without eggs, without filling and with granulated sugar around it, while krapfen has eggs, filling and icing sugar.

Krapfen: origins and diffusion

The krapfen has Austro-German origins and due to proximity it first spread to Italy in the Dolomites area and then, with many variations, to the south, such as in Campania and Sicily, where they are known as “graffe”.

Italian Carnival desserts: many recipes – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Chiacchiere, castagnole, pignolata, cicerchiata: i Italian Carnival sweets they are many and varied. as well as all obviously good and delicious. But as you scroll through the recipes, a question arises spontaneously: why, whatever region they belong to, are they all (or almost all) fried?

Why are Carnival desserts fried?

Frying is historically linked to the need to quickly prepare desserts to offer them to as many people as possible and above all at low cost (similar to the origins of fried pizza). This is why even at Carnival the impossible is fried. Over the years, throughout the country, many have become rooted in tradition fried dessert recipes which cheer up the Carnival period: crunchy, soft, stuffed, fragrant with lots of sugar and colours. Masquerade parties are celebrated like this. But what makes the variety of recipes from the Italian regions important and unique is the innumerable heritage of customs that link Carnival to desserts. Some time ago every region used i local productstoday traditions have allowed themselves to be contaminated by market needs.

Traditional Carnival sweets throughout Italy

Given that typical Carnival desserts are mostly fried, the recipes for preparing them are often different from region to region: sometimes the same recipe – with very slight variations or even the same – also takes a different name depending on the geographical area. It happens with Chatterproduced throughout Italy but called in Tuscany Cenci, sfrappole in Emilia, lies in Liguria and in a part of Piedmont, crostoli in Friuli, Trentino and in some areas of Veneto, milkshake in Rome e galani in Venice and Verona. And it happens with the damselfish, another sweet symbol of Carnival, widespread throughout the country, but born in northern Italy, in Bordighera. Sweet pancakes with a fluffy center – also called broad beans or tortelli, are so called because of their shape which vaguely resembles that of a chestnut. Among the more traditional desserts, there are also other desserts apple fritterscalled in South Tyrol Apfelkiechland made with thick slices of apples, coated in a crunchy batter.

Carnival sweets from Northern Italy

If in Lombardy the tradition of the Ambrosian Carnival dictates that the laciàditt based on apples, in the Mantua area they prepare i curls (in dialect, result) or biscuits prepared with very finely ground corn flour (foil), to which butter, sugar, lard, egg yolks and grated lemon zest are added. On the opposite side, in the North East, the les reign supreme fritole Venetian, enriched with raisins and pine nuts. And i donuts from Alto Adige (in addition to apple fritters) which they are called here Faschingskrapfenor “Carnival krapfen”.
In Piedmont the tradition of stuffed, pancakes from the Alessandria carnival which differ from castagnole because they are swollen and empty inside, and of larger dimensions, which can also be garnished with custard. Not to mention the fact that here chatter is called lies.

Carnival chiacchiere: the perfect recipe – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

You are looking for the perfect recipe for Carnival chatter? You are in the right place. Because we have tried many, but we will never abandon this one again.

This dessert is widespread throughout Italy and is prepared in many variations, many more than there are names by which chiacchiere are called. Lies, galani, frappe, cenci, handkerchiefs, crostoli: each region has a very special way of calling them but the basis of the preparation remains more or less the same. I am small variables make the difference: the quantity of one or the other ingredient or, again, the liqueur chosen to put in the mixture. Ours have a special scent, which will not disappoint you. Shall we prepare them together?

The perfect recipe for Carnival chatter

The secret to obtain perfect, crunchy chiacchiere with lots of bubbles on the surface lies in the drafting of thedough that must be thin as a veil and in the cooking in oil boiling at the right temperature. Finally, have fun with the shape and finish to create chatter that is not only delicious to eat, but also beautiful to look at.

Ingredients for 8 people

300 g of 00 flour
70 g of white grappa (or dry white wine)
50 g of granulated sugar
25 g of melted butter
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 pinch of salt
1 L peanut oil
icing sugar to taste

Method

Sift the Flour on the pastry board and add the pinch of salt. Make a hole in the center and add it sugar semolina, theegg and the yolk and the butter melted. Start mixing with a fork then add the grappa. Knead with your hands for about ten minutes until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous and compact dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 2 hours.
After this time, take the dough and break off a piece, keeping the rest in the film to prevent it from drying out. Flour it, roll it out with your fingers, then throw it into the pasta machine. Start by adjusting the machine to the largest thickness, then fold the dough a couple of times and proceed to the immediately lower thickness, and so on, until you obtain sheets 1 mm thick.
Arrange the sheets obtained on a floured surface, trim the edges with a serrated pastry cutter, then cut them into many rectangles. Make a 3 cm cut widthwise in the center of each rectangle without ever reaching the edge. Continue like this until you run out of dough.
Pour thefry oil in a saucepan with high sides (preferably made of iron or aluminium). Bring it to a temperature of 160° and fry the chiacchiere a few at a time, turning them halfway through cooking until they are golden on both sides. Once ready, remove them with the slotted spoon and let them drain on a sheet of absorbent paper for fried foods. When they are no longer hot, sprinkle them generously powdered sugar and serve.

If you still want to chat, we recommend the recipe for stuffed chatter and that of salty talk.

Tips for making them special

Have you always eaten them only sprinkled with sugar and icing? Also try the variations we suggest.