The most colorful and fun month of the year has arrived: colored confetti, Carnival masks and streamers, to the joy of children who can give vent to their imagination by putting on costumes of their favorite characters. As with every other festival which is repeated regularly, Carnival too has its traditional recipes. Among the many, frappe and castagnole are those which are most typical of this period. And we, who like our sweets coffee-flavored, as we did with the coffee tart , this time, too we would like to give you some ideas for preparing tasty sweet carnival fritters with coffee.
Sweet Carnival fritters: 3 coffee-flavored versions
Castagnole, fritole, ravioli, frittelle are simply different names and versions of the same basic idea: tasty round bundles of pastry based on flour, eggs and sugar, most of these are fried but there is also an oven-baked variety. The dough can be plain or filled with cream, chocolate or ricotta. Today we would like to recommend three varieties of sweet Carnival fritters, all strictly using coffee. In the first recipe, the coffee is added to the traditional custard cream filling. In the second, it is added directly to the dough, and finally in the third version, we bring you an oven-baked version with a coffee sauce, for those of you who want a tasty sweet but without sacrificing that sensation of lightness.
Fritters with coffee cream
In this first version, the dough is first fried and then filled with a coffee cream which will give a characteristic flavor to this Carnival dessert.
Ingredients for 6 people
For the fritters
● 2 eggs
● 1.76 oz of butter
● 8.82 oz of flour for desserts plus extra for flouring the work surface
● half a sachet of yeast for desserts
● 1.76 oz of granulated sugar
● 1 pinch of salt
● oil for frying
● powdered sugar for decorating
For the coffee cream
● 2 shots of Filicori Zecchini espresso
● 3 egg yolks
● 4.23 oz of sugar
● 0.71 oz of flour
● 0.71 oz of corn flour
● 16.91 fl oz of milk
Method
1. Prepare the mocha with the coffee and in the meantime, turn your attention to the cream. Put the egg yolks with the sugar in a saucepan and start mixing until they become light and frothy. Pour in the coffee and continue stirring. Sieve the flour and the corn flour and add them a little at a time, stirring continuously, taking care that no lumps form. Pour in the milk (at room temperature), stirring delicately. Place on the heat and allow to cook slowly. Once the mixture comes to the boil, continue cooking for another 2 minutes, always stirring. Then remove from the heat and leave to cool with clear plastic wrap covering the surface.
2. Meanwhile prepare the dough for the fritters: in a large bowl pour the sugar and the flour and, after stirring well, add the eggs. Leave the butter at room temperature and then in a bowl beat it until creamy. Once it has reached the right consistency add it to the mixture and blend well.
Sieve the yeast into the mix and add a pinch of salt. Once you have obtained a solid consistency, transfer to a floured work surface and continue kneading it with your hands until you have a soft, smooth loaf shape which you then cover with a cloth and leave to rest for about 20 minutes. Once this time has passed, divide the dough into several pieces and on the floured work surface, roll each piece into a small cylinder shape. With a knife, cut off pieces and with your hands and roll them into small balls.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry a few balls at a time so the the oil does not cool down. Make sure each ball is cooked evenly and when they are golden brown, drain them using a slotted spoon and place them on a plate covered in absorbent kitchen paper to eliminate any excess oil. Once you have finished cooking all the fritters, transfer the coffee cream to a piping bag with a long straight nozzle and fill each fritter with the coffee cream. Finally, dust with powdered sugar.
Coffee-flavored butter-free fritters
This version of the sweet Carnival fritters does not require any kind of filling. The coffee is added directly into the fritter dough mix.
Ingredients for 8-10 people
● 14.11 oz of flour
● 3.53 oz of sugar
● 2 shots of caffè Filicori Zecchini
● 1 pinch of salt
● 1 sachet of yeast
● 4 eggs
● half a cup of vegetable oil
● 2 shots of liqueur (optional)
● oil for frying
● powdered sugar for decorating
Method
1. Into a large bowl pour all the dry ingredients, the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon. Then add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to add the next egg only once the previous one is completely blended in and keep stirring.
2. Pour in the oil and coffee and, to finish, if you like, the liqueur. Mix well until you obtain a smooth mixture.
3. Heat the oil in a high-sided frying pan. Using two oiled spoons, take a small portion of dough and let it slide delicately into the pan. Continue frying until the fritters are a golden brown color.
4. Drain off with the help of a slotted spoon, arrange the butter-free fritters on a plate covered with absorbent kitchen paper. Then transfer to a serving plate and dust them with powdered sugar.
Oven-baked sweet Carnival fritters with coffee sauce
For those who prefer to avoid frying, we bring you this version of oven-baked fritters, which are then soaked in a coffee sauce.
Ingredients for 4-6 people
For the fritters
● 7.05 oz of flour
● half a sachet of yeast for desserts
● 1.76 oz of sugar
● 2 eggs
● 2 dessert spoons of extra virgin olive oil
● 1 pinch of salt
● 1 vanilla pod
● powdered sugar for decorating
For the coffee sauce
● 3 shots of Filicori Zecchini coffee
● 1.69 fl oz of water
● 1.69 fl oz of liqueur like rum
● 2 teaspoons of sugar
Method
1. Into a bowl pour the sieved flour with the yeast, then add the sugar and salt and mix. Open the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds using a knife and add them to the mixture. Add the eggs and gradually start to knead the dough. Pour in the oil little by little and the liqueur, continuing with the dough until you get a solid mixture. Knead it thoroughly with your hands and then create chords.
2. Cut off pieces about an inch long and roll them with pur hands to create little round balls. Arrange these on a baking tray covered with baking paper, taking care to leave space between them so they can rise properly. Cook them in a preheated oven at 356 °F for about 20 minutes, then switch off the oven and leave to rest.
3. In the meantime, start on the coffee sauce: in a small saucepan pour the coffee, add the liqueur, water and sugar. Start to heat but, before the mix comes to the boil, remove from the heat. Dip each fritter in the coffee sauce, lift it out and place it on a serving plate, allowing the excess liquid to drain off. Just before serving, transfer onto a tray and dust lightly with powdered sugar.
What do you think of these three coffee-flavored versions of the traditional sweet Carnival fritters? Tell us about it in the comments if you decide to try out these tasty recipes.
