Tomorrow is the last day of Carnival here in Italy! Even if the last two Carnivals haven’t been very exciting (due to the pandemic), this won’t stop me from celebrating at home. My grandma always makes frittelle (or fritters) for Carnival and this year I decided to make them myself! This recipe is courtesy of my grandma, which means it must not be changed or questioned.
A LITTLE BIT OF BACKSTORY
Frittelle roughly translates to fritters, but what they are is basically fried batter. The batter puffs up when it cooks, leading to a soft, spongy and delicious ball of happiness. My grandma comes from the region of Veneto, in northeastern Italy, but these are common pretty much everywhere. Raisins are a common addition, but my grandma also adds grated apples and liqueur (which is omnipresent in Venetian recipes). She uses grappa, also called marc in English, which is a grape-based spirit. Instead of grappa you can use dark rum (which is what I use), anise liqueur or any other liqueur you like. You can even omit completely, I promise I won’t tell my grandma.
Instead of raisins, you can add another kind of dried fruit or even chocolate chips. That would be delicious! You can also flavor this however you want, using orange or lime zest instead of lemon zest, adding extracts or other additions.
Frittelle are usually coated in granulated sugar while they’re still warm, but you can also use cinnamon sugar or leave them plain. If you want to use powdered sugar, make sure to coat them when they cooled down or it will melt.
MAKE AHEAD + STORING OPTIONS
The batter is incredibly easy to make and you can store it in the fridge until you’re ready to fry. These fritters are best enjoyed warm, shortly after frying, so you can make it ahead the day before and then fry before serving. However, you can store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for one day. I promise you they won’t last that long though.
Frittelle - Italian Carnival Fritters
Frittelle are soft, spongy and delicious fritters, usually made for Carnival in Italy. This is my grandma's recipe, so you know it's good.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 200g of granulated sugar (7oz/1 cup)
- 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup of dark rum (or another liqueur)
- 2 medium-size apples
- the zest of one lemon
- 500g of flour (17.6oz/4 cups)
- 4 tsp of baking powder (yes, 4!)
- 200g of raisins (7oz/1 cup)
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Start by soaking the raisins into lukewarm water for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel the apples and blend them with a food processor. Don't worry about it turning brown, it doesn't matter. I suppose you could substitute it with applesauce, but I haven't tried it.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, milk, liqueur, lemon zest and apples. Then using a wooden spoon or spatula, add the baking powder and flour in batches.
- Drain and rinse the raisins, then squeeze them well and add them to the batter.
- Heat oil to 175°C/350°F. Make sure to have enough oil, at least 6cm/2.5 inches. I like to use a large pan to fry more at once, but you can use a smaller one. Form the fritters using two regular spoons, this is very easy and makes cute and fun shapes. If you want smaller fritters, you can use teaspoons. Scoop some batter with one spoon, then, using the other spoon, gently drop it into the oil. Keep in mind that they will puff up quite a bit, so don't make them too big. Fry them for about 1 minute or until golden brown, flipping them to make sure they cook evenly. Drain onto paper towels and coat in sugar while they're still warm, or powdered sugar when they cool down. You can also coat them with cinnamon sugar or leave them plain.
Frittelle are best enjoyed warm, right after you fried them. However, you can keep them in an air-tight container at room temperatura for up to one day, if they last that long.
