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You are here: Home / Recipes / Desserts / TORTELLI DI CARNEVALE

TORTELLI DI CARNEVALE

February 18, 2012 By Manu 29 Comments

Tortelli di Carnevale

This is a very special time of the year for all Italian children: it is “Carnevale”, the time to wear costumes and parade in the streets playing tricks on other kids and throwing coriandoli (round shaped paper confettis) and stelle filanti (similar to paper streamers) everywhere.  It is like Halloween but it lasts longer (about a week) and it is a crazy time of the year!  I love it and it is one of the Italian holidays that I miss the most.  As I am not there to enjoy the dress up parties and parades, I thought of at least enjoying some Carnevale food!  During this period, we tend to eat lots of sweets and fried foods, because Carnevale comes right before the period of Lent during which Catholics usually fast (or eat less).  As last year I shared with you the recipe for Chiacchiere, this time I am going to show you how to make another traditional sweet: tortelli di Carnevale, fluffy fried “puffs” coated in sugar.  This recipe is for the tortelli that you eat in Milan.  Every region has its own recipe with little differences, so I just want to be precise.  This is also going to be this week’s Regional Italian dish… from my region: Lombardia (Lombardy).  Put a mask on and… enjoy!!

 

Recipe adapted from Il Mondo di Luvi (original recipe by Sergio Salomoni)

Ingredients (makes about 30):
250 gms – 1 cup milk
250 gms – 1 cup water
50 gms – 1.75 oz. sugar
50 gms – 1.75 oz. butter
1 pinch salt
Zest of ½ lemon
150 gms – 5.25 oz. flour
4 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp rum

Vegetable oil for deep frying (I used sunflower oil)
Sugar to coat the tortelli

Put the milk, water, sugar, butter, salt and lemon zest in a pot (1) and bring to a boil (2).  When boiling, remove the lemon zest and pour in the flour.  Make sure to whisk continuously and very well so that you do not get any lumps (3).  NOTE: if you still get lumps, you can always use a hand mixer to dissolve them.  Cook on a low fire for 10 minutes, stirring continuously.  Then remove from the fire and let it cool down.  Transfer the mixture into the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment (4).  Put the mixer on and add the eggs one by one (make sure the egg is completely absorbed by the batter before adding the next one).  NOTE: you can also do this by just stirring with a wooden spoon.  At the end, add the vanilla extract and rum (5).  Mix well (6).

Cover the batter and let it rest for 1 or 2 hours.

Deep fry the tortelli by dropping spoonfuls of batter (the size of a walnut) in the warm vegetable oil.  NOTE: the temperature of the oil is very important.  It should remain constant at 170ºC – 340ºF.  If the temperature is higher, the tortelli will brown too quickly and will remain raw inside, if the temperature is lower, the tortelli will get soggy and oily.  I used a candy thermometer to measure the oil temperature and they came out perfect: soft and fluffy.  Keep in mind that they will take about 4 to 5 minutes to cook and the tortelli will puff twice: at the beginning and then again towards the end.

When ready, put them on a plate covered with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil, and then roll them in sugar.

They are great warm or at room temperature.

Tortelli di Carnevale

They can be kept in an air tight container for 24 hours, but are best eaten the same day.

Tortelli di Carnevale

Buon Carnevale a tutti!  Happy Carnevale everyone!

Tortelli di Carnevale

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Related Posts:

  • Ravioli dolci di Carnevale #SundaySupper
  • Schiacciata alla Fiorentina
  • Tagliatelle Dolci di Carnevale
  • Bomboloni alla Crema
  • Milan Guide – Italy

Filed Under: Desserts, Finger food, Italian, Regional Italian Dishes, Snack, Special Occasions, Street Food, Tea Time Tagged With: Carnevale, choux, choux pastries, fried, kids, Lombardia, Lombardy, Milan, puffs, Regional Italian Dishes, rum, sugar, tortelli

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Comments

  1. claudia lamascolo/aka pegasuslegend says

    February 18, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    fabulous! someday I would love to be there during these times! I love the way yours look puffy, we still make them often using orange and rum instead of lemon and added cinnamon to the sugar on the outside, grandma was from Rome I guess the different Regions make different flavors… but lemon is awesome! These looks amazing!

    Reply
  2. Sandra says

    February 19, 2012 at 12:36 am

    Eating these the same day would be no problem. They look delicious!

    Reply
  3. PolaM says

    February 19, 2012 at 8:37 am

    Tortelli are wonderful! I miss them too! Last year I made some frittelle for Carvale, but I think I will pass this year

    Reply
  4. Kim Bee says

    February 19, 2012 at 11:40 am

    Okay these are so amazing. I am drooling all over the place. They look so sweet and yummy!

    Reply
  5. Tina (PinayInTexas) says

    February 19, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    What a fun celebration…and the tortelli sounds like a wonderful way to enjoy it more!

    Reply
  6. Frank says

    February 19, 2012 at 11:47 pm

    Yum!

    Reply
  7. visda says

    February 20, 2012 at 7:51 am

    Dear Manu, I was at a mask ball last week and I’m finally in Vienna now. I totally got my favorite Krapfen here after four years but your cute tortelli di Carnevales are much cuter and I would love to have a couple of those. Hope you enjoy the Carnival with your family. xoxo.

    Reply
  8. Eva kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com says

    February 20, 2012 at 8:01 am

    Even though it is deep fried it looks light as air. And so sparkly with the sugar coating.

    Reply
  9. Kiri W. says

    February 20, 2012 at 1:57 pm

    We call this exact thing Mutzenmandeln in Germany! I looove these, they were such a huge part of my childhood. 🙂 Mmmm, now I’ll dream of home.

    Reply
  10. Jo says

    February 20, 2012 at 5:42 pm

    I don’t think we’d have a problem eating these the same day, more like a problem waiting for the dough to rest before frying!

    Reply
  11. Nuts about food says

    February 20, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    Buon Carnevale! I grew up in Venice so to me tortelli are frittelle and chiacchiere are galani. I bought two trays over the week end to bring to friends and both times I got confused in the pastry shop and couldn’t remember the Milanese name of tortelli… so I just had to point at them. The sales ladies looked at me with a weird expression. Next time I will save mysellf the embarassment and make your recipe!

    Reply
  12. Sandra says

    February 20, 2012 at 11:57 pm

    Congratulations on Today’s Top 9!

    Reply
  13. Geraldine Saucier says

    February 21, 2012 at 3:04 am

    Tortelli di Carnevale looks delicious. I can understand why Carnevale is a special time – dressing up and eating good food. Congratulations on Foodbuzz Top 9:)

    Reply
  14. Allie says

    February 21, 2012 at 4:08 am

    O my goodness thank you so much for posting this! I studied in Milano last spring and basically lived off of these. They were my favorite treat in the entire world both vouti and with chocolato. I didn’t know they only made them up until carnivale so when they disapeared I was heartbroken! I’ve tried to find a good recipe and my roommate just forward yours to me! Grazie Mille.

    Reply
  15. Clare Bills says

    February 21, 2012 at 10:44 am

    These look wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this cultural treat and congrats on being a food buzz top 9. Great job. Nana Clare’s Kitchen

    Reply
  16. Marsha @ The Harried Cook says

    February 21, 2012 at 11:47 am

    This is my kinda food! Love it… Sounds like a fun dish to keep popping in your mouth while enjoying carnevale 🙂 Great post, Manu! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  17. Paolo @ DisgracesOnTheMenu says

    February 21, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    Fantastic job – Manu! Such a classic holiday dessert 🙂

    Reply
  18. Catherine Daugherty says

    February 21, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    Thanks for the awesome recipe and pictures! I plan to share them this week on my blog at http://www.praycookblog.com. Come take a look! Thanks!

    Reply
  19. Jamie says

    February 22, 2012 at 4:16 am

    These look melt in your mouth amazing!!

    Reply
  20. Rochelle (@AcquiredLife) says

    March 1, 2012 at 12:01 am

    Gorgeous! We have something here in Portugal called sonhos that are similar but don’t have the lemon zest and tend to include pumpkin into the batter. I think I’d probably like it better with the lemon like these 🙂

    Reply
  21. Spicie Foodie says

    March 2, 2012 at 10:07 am

    Sounds like next year I’ll need to go visit Italy during Carnevale. These treat look delicious. Thanks for being a part of the YBR Manu 🙂

    Reply
  22. Winelady Cooks says

    March 2, 2012 at 11:15 am

    These look light and crispy — I’ll have to try these for one of our family celebrations. A delicious treat everyone will enjoy!

    Thanks for sharing,
    Joanne

    Reply
  23. Mary L Brown says

    March 13, 2012 at 3:23 pm

    I’ve been looking for the recipe for these for about 15 years. Thank you so very much. My Nona’s English wasn’t very good although I really tried to figure out what told me but my Italian was worse than her English. Hers were airy like yours plus she used raisons soaked in Sparrone Marsalla. I didn’t let my dough rest plus they turned out greasy and almost flat shaped. Thanks to you I’ll be cooking with gas now. ; D ) P.S. Unfortunately my Nona has passed away now but her recipes were all safely tucked away in her memories.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Your Best Recipes of February 2012 | February’s YBR’s Roundp says:
    February 29, 2012 at 10:49 pm

    […]   **Manu, Manu’s Menu, Tortelli di Carnevale […]

    Reply
  2. 4 Special Foods To Create The Best Fat Tuesday Recipes Ever | RecipeLionBlog says:
    February 13, 2013 at 12:42 am

    […] Tortelli di Carnevale […]

    Reply
  3. Milan Guide - Italy says:
    October 2, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    […] Style Taleggio and Apple Risotto Potato Gnocchi with Taleggio and Orange Fondue Polenta Concia Tortelli di Carnevale Cotolette alla Milanese Ossobuco alla Milanese Risotto alla […]

    Reply
  4. Tagliatelle Dolci di Carnevale says:
    October 25, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    […] eat less).  I have already shared with you how to make a few Carnevale treats like Chiacchiere, Tortelli di Carnevale, Meat filled Apulian Panzerotti, Ravioli Dolci, Bomboloni and Migliaccio… and today I am back […]

    Reply
  5. Migliaccio says:
    October 26, 2017 at 10:55 pm

    […] shared a few typical recipes on the blog like Chiacchiere (which I make every year for my kids), Tortelli, Ravioli Dolci, Bomboloni… all fried.  So, this year, I want to share something a bit […]

    Reply
  6. Schiacciata alla Fiorentina says:
    February 14, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    […] have already shared with you the recipes for Carnevale treats like Chiacchiere, Tortelli di Carnevale, Meat filled Apulian Panzerotti, Ravioli Dolci, Bomboloni, Migliaccio, and Tagliatelle Dolci di […]

    Reply

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Hi! I am Manu, the author of Manu's Menu. I was born and brought up in Italy and my blog can show you how to create authentic Italian food in your own home! Read More…

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