These Sicilian sweets are typical of the humble countryside of the hinterland and were prepared during the Easter period: without almonds, pistachios or candied fruit, without the luxuries that flourished on the tables of the nobility, but loaded with symbols and that special art of decoration that distinguishes so many great masters without names. In Palermo, the puppets took the form of animals, men or women, in the Catania area they were shaped like doves, in south-eastern Sicily simple baskets of short pastry were curled into roses and plaits, creating colourful sculptures for one of the most popular Easter sweets in Sicily.
Cuddura cull’ova (Pupi cull’ova)
Course: Dessert, CookiesDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
- Dough
00 Flour 500gr
Sugar 150gr
Eggs 2
Lard 125 gr
Baker’s ammonia 5gr
Cake yeast 8gr
Vanilla Essence 1 sachet
Milk 2 Spoons
- Icing
Icing sugar 250gr
Egg white 1
Lemon Juice 1/2
Salt 1 pinch
- Others
Large eggs 6
Coloured sprinkles
Directions
- Put the flour on a flat board and make a well in the middle and start to knead it with the lard, add the eggs, the sugar, the ammonia, the vanillin (vanilla essence in a bag), the yeast and knead, adding two tablespoons of milk or as much as necessary to make the dough smooth and homogeneous.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for an hour.
- In the meantime wash the eggs, cook for 2 minutes in boiling water and let them cool completely.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, roll out each one 1/2 centimetre thick, cut out the shape you want and put the hard-boiled egg in the centre.
- Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in a static oven preheated to 180° for about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, pour the sifted sugar into a bowl, add the egg white, the lemon juice and mix to obtain a smooth consistency without lumps.
- Remove the pupi cull’ova from the oven, place on a wire rack and leave to cool.
- As soon as they are completely cold, cover with icing, finish with the coloured sprinkles and leave to dry.
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