Struffoli is a sweet dish traditionally from Napoli made up of marble sized deep-fried pieces of dough, which are then covered in honey. They are usually enjoyed at Christmas or Easter time, but can also be eaten during carnival celebrations, held in February in Italy.
Personally I find them sickly sweet, although if a plate of these is sitting in front of you, strangely you will find yourself eating one after another. At Christmas it is traditional to serve them on a plate, shaped as a wreath. You can put them in cupcake cases, pile them up on a plate, or serve them in small individual serving bowls.
Struffoli
- 600g plain flour
- 4 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 30g sugar
- 80g butter
- 60ml limoncell0
- zest 1 lemon
- pinch salt
- 400ml honey
- 100g chopped candied orange peel
- hundreds & thousands + silver dragees
- glacè cherries (optional)
- 1 litre oil for frying (I used peanut oil)
- Sift flour into a bowl, and add butter, eggs, sugar, limoncello, lemon zest and salt. Mix until a smooth dough forms. Form into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest, refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.
- Break off small sections, work dough and roll into long rope like pieces. Cut off pieces the same size. Put the marble like pieces on a lightly floured tray, not touching. Continue rolling out and cutting remaining dough.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan to 180°C ready for frying.
- Work with a small amount of struffoli at a time. Shake raw struffoli gently in a sieve to remove excess flour, and then drop them into the hot oil.
Cook until golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl lined with absorbent kitchen paper to drain. Repeat until all dough has been fried.
- Place honey in a saucepan, and heat on low heat until it is warm and liquid. Remove from heat and add the fried struffoli. Stir gently and ensure all the struffoli are covered with honey. Stir in the candied orange peel.
- On a large plate, place a clean glass in the center and build the struffoli wreath around it. Use the hundreds and thousands and silver dragees to decorate the top. If you also chose to use the glacè cherries, use them for decoration as well.
- Remove glass before serving.
