Castagnole are a typical Carnival dessert, famous throughout Italy, not just in Sicily! They are very tasty, very soft and very fried balls of dough, made with a very simple mixture of flour, eggs and sugar, from which small balls the size of a chestnut (castagna in Italian) are formed, hence the name Castagnole, first fried in hot oil and then dipped in sugar!
Sicilian Castagnole
Course: DessertDifficulty: MediumIngredients
Flour 330 gr
Oil for frying
Eggs 2
Vanilla Essence
Lemon Zest
Salt (a pinch)
Butter 75gr
White wine 1 tbsp
Cake yeast 1/2 sachet
Directions
- Make a well in the flour on a wooden or marble work surface. Make a hole in the centre and pour in the eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, baking powder, a pinch of salt and the softened butter.
- Knead with your hands and mix well. When the dough is smooth and homogeneous, add the “Strega” liquor or a little dry white wine for flavouring (quantity to taste, but generally one table spoon).
- At this point, let the dough rest for a few minutes. Cut the dough into pieces, forming small balls the size of chestnuts or slightly larger.
- The balls should be fried in plenty of hot oil in a large casserole dish. Turn often, wait for them to brown but avoid burning.
- Once cooked, leave to rest on a plate lined with absorbent paper. Finally, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve the castagnole piping hot!
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