Traditional Carnival Sweets

Frittelle, galani and castagnole are the sweets of the Carnival in Venice: real concentrates of taste and calories.

Just one day after Epiphany, the socalled “Frittelle” invade pastry shops and bakeries, flooding the streets and the houses with their scent . Some people wait a whole year to finally enjoy them. Those who remain faithful to tradition can savour the version "veneziana" with raisins and pine nuts, but there are also custard, eggnog and apple ones. Castagnole are a smaller and crisp version.

Frittelle were already there at the times of the Venetian Republic, when the "fritoleri" fried and sold them in their kiosks. The guild of fritoleri was already active in the seventeenth century and the the fritoler business was likely to pass on from father to children.
Today, as then, the dough is made from flour, milk, eggs and sugar, a pinch of salt, yeast, raisins, lemon and grated apples. It is let to rest in a warm place and then deep-fried in oil until golden. Once fried, they are sprinkled with sugar.
 
The Galani are another typical dessert on Carnival time: a strip of dough, baked or deep fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar. The mixture needs eggs, flour , butter and sugar, a few drops of anise and a pinch of salt. The origins of galani are even older than frittelle, and versions are found in many Italian cities, varying only the names: sfrappole, cenci, chiacchiere, frappe, crostoli, bugie..

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