Castagnole / Sweet Dough Balls

Castagnole / sweet dough balls is a simple Italian snack that popular during carnival season. It is made from basic ingredients such as flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, ricotta cheese, lemon zest and lemon extract

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Course: Snack

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 30

Servings: people

Calories: 322kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

550 g all purpose flour
2 Tbsp Baking powder
250 g ricotta cheese
150 g granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
zest of 1 lemon
Oil (for frying) - Optional

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

If baking, preheat the oven to 350F
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Set aside
In a second bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar,lemon extract, and, lemon zest. Whisk until well combined
Add the flour to the wet ingredients a cup at a time. Mix with the spatula
When the dough gets too difficult to mix with a spatula, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead
Adding a little flour at a time, knead the dough until it is no longer sticky
Roll out the dough. Using a bench scraper or knife, divide the dough into small pieces and roll into small balls - about the size of a chestnut

To Fry the Castagnole / Sweet Dough Balls

If frying, heat the oil on medium heat (i.e. 360F-375F) before frying.
Fry the dough balls until golden brown
Place on a paper towel lined plated to drain any excess oil

To Bake the Castagnole / Sweet Dough Balls

Bake the dough balls in the preheated oven for 20-25mins or until golden

Serving

You can dust the castagnole with some powdered sugar or enjoy as is

Video

Notes

To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small ball of dough in the oil -
- If it sinks, then the oil is not hot enough.
- If it starts to get dark brown almost immediately, then the oil is too hot.

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