Carnival cassatelle

Name: Carnival cassatelle
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 20
Ingredients: Type 00 flour 3 cups; Butter 2 tbsp; Eggs soft (room temperature) 2; Sugar 2 tbsp; Orange peel 1; Lemon peel 1; Marsala wine 1 tbsp; Fine salt 1 pinch; Sheep's milk ricotta cheese 2 cups; Dark chocolate 3 oz; Cinnamon powder ½ tsp; Sugar ½ cup; Vegetable oil to taste; Powdered sugar to taste

Vegetarian

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Makes: 20 pieces
Cost: Low
Note + 30 minutes to let the dough rest

PRESENTATION

At Carnival anything goes, as long as it's sweet! Us Italians know this all too well, as we have invented a different fried sweet in every region, for enjoying on occasion of the most colorful and cheerful celebration of the year (or at other times): bugie, castagnole, tortelli, stuffed chiacchiere ...an infinite selection! With the Carnival cassatelle recipe, after the one for fried milk, let's take a virtual trip once more to sunny Sicily, where these sweets, similar to sweet ravioli and with a memorable flavor, will win us over. The fragrant puff pastry, fried a tantalizingly golden color, envelop a delicious and rich filling. Ricotta di pecora cheese and chocolate: a pairing true to Sicilian culinary tradition loved by everyone, and we're no exception! This is why we wanted to offer our take on this delicacy available in many different and equally delicious versions!

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for the dough (for 20 pieces): Type 00 flour 3 cups (300 g); Butter 2 tbsp (30 g); Eggs 2 - soft (room temperature); Sugar 2 tbsp (30 g); Orange peel 1; Lemon peel 1; Marsala wine 1 tbsp (20 g); Fine salt 1 pinch

For the filling: Sheep's milk ricotta cheese 2 cups (300 g); Dark chocolate 3 oz (100 g); Cinnamon powder ½ tsp; Sugar ½ cup (100 g)

For frying: Vegetable oil to taste

For sprinkling: Powdered sugar to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Carnival cassatelle

To prepare Carnival cassatelle, place the flour, sugar 1, a pinch of salt and 2 eggs at room temperature 2 in a large bowl, along with the diced butter, cold but not straight from the refrigerator 3,

flavor with the lemon peel 4 and orange peel 5 and lastly with the marsala wine 6.

Mix the ingredients by hand 7, collect the liquid and then place the dough on a pastry board 8; knead until smooth and firm 9.

Cover with plastic wrap 10 and leave to rest for 30 minutes out of the refrigerator. In the meantime, prepare the filling; finely chop the chocolate using a knife 11, be sure not to leave any large pieces because they could pierce the dough as it cooks. Place the ricotta di pecora cheese and sugar 12 in a bowl,

flavor with the cinnamon 13 and add the previously chopped chocolate 14. Thoroughly stir all the ingredients together using a fork 15.

Leave the filling to one side 16, take the cassatelle dough and divide it in half 17, then roll it out with the pasta making machine set to 7, for a thickness of around 0.04 inches.

After rolling the pastry out, divide the rectangle in half and cut into discs using a shaping ring mold with a 4.53 inch diameter 19. Place a spoon of the mixture in the middle of each disc 20, dab a little water around the edge 21 to seal the dough around the filling.

Close the cassatelle to form a crescent shape and thoroughly seal the edges by pressing down with the back of your hand 22. Cut the edge of the semi-circle out with a serrated shaping ring mold and remove the part containing the filling, to create a decorated edge 23. Repeat until you finish the dough: with these amounts you'll make around 20 pieces. When ready you can fry your Carnival cassatelle: heat the seed oil in a deep pan and when it reaches 340°F (170°C) (measure with a cooking thermometer), delicately add a few cassatelle at a time 24 so that the temperature of the oil doesn't drop too much.

Cook the cassatelle for around 3 minutes; once cooked 25, drain on absorbent paper 26. Leave to cool slightly before sprinkling the Carnival cassatelle with powdered sugar to taste, then serve!

Storage

Carnival Cassatelle are best enjoyed freshly made. We do not recommend freezing the uncooked dough.

Tips

If you do not like the decisive flavor of ricotta di pecora cheese, you can always replace it with the same amount of cow's ricotta.

Interesting facts

The word cassatelle denotes different Sicilian sweets. In addition to these cassatelle, there is another oven-baked kind, typically served at Easter and characterized by a basket shape, also with a ricotta cheese filling. The famous Cassatelle di Agira deserve a special mention, a typical pastry delicacy of Enna that has acquired denominazione comunale status as a typical recipe; they are also filled with cocoa.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.