Struffoli
These traditional Neapolitan sweets scream Christmas to me! When I was little I used to watch nonna make these a few days before Christmas. Now my girls and I make them with my mum, they are fun family activity and a special tradition that we enjoy making together always a few days leading up to Christmas. Struffoli are little balls of dough that are deep fried and then are mixed into melted honey and are absolutely delicious. They are typically enjoyed at Christmas, so we have to wait all year to devour them, it wouldn't feel right to eat them at any other time of the year!
Ingredients 11
2 cups plain flour
1⁄2 cup self raising flour
Pinch salt
1⁄3 cup sugar
1 sachet vanilla powder
3 eggs
1⁄4 cup canola oil
1 ‒ 2 tbsp anise flavoured liqueur, see notes for alternatives
1 lemon, whole, grated
canola oil, extra for frying
For The Glaze
500 g honey
2 tbsp sugar
sprinkles (hundreds and thousands)
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Method 9
In a large bowl, mix the flours, , , and .
Make a well and add the rest of the ingredients (, , , and ).
Mix all the ingredients well with a spoon, once all ingredients have been well amalgamated transfer the to a large floured surface. Keep kneading the dough by hand for a further 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, roll it into a large ball and wrap in baking paper and let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and one at a time roll using your hands roll out the dough into long thick “ropes” around 1 cm in diameter. Cut them into 1cm pieces and roll into balls. Each ball should roughly be the size of a hazelnut (they will grow once they are fried).
Frying The Dough Balls
In a large deep saucepan, pour in the oil so it is about 5 centimetres deep, heat the oil and fry the balls in batches until they are golden, around 2-3 minutes. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Once they are all fried, allow them to cool.
Glazing The Balls
In a large saucepan (big enough to fit all the balls), melt the and on a low heat. Continuously stir the honey and sugar well with a wooden spoon until the sugar is all dissolved. Keep on a very low heat and add the fried dough balls, carefully continue to stir until each ball is fully coated with the honey mixture, about 3-5 minutes.
Immediately transfer them to a serving plate or spoon into patty cases.
Usually my family serves and enjoys them in individual patty cases and then topped immediately with hundreds and thousands before the sets. Another traditional way to serve them is on a large plate for everyone to share. To arrange them on a plate, once you have removed the honey coated struffoli from the stovetop, arrange onto a round serving platter leaving a hole in the middle. You may want to put an upside down glass in the middle of the plate so no stray struffoli fall into the middle. Top immediately with sprinkles, remove the glass once the honey has set.
They keep well in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Jessica Timpano's tips
Note: The recipe calls for typical Neapolitan anise liquor but you may substitute it with rum, limoncello, amaretto,rum or brandy.
Tip: If you are using vanilla powder add it to the dry ingredients but if you are using vanilla essence add it to the wet ingredients.
