Struffoli

Struffoli

A typical Neapolitan dessert enjoyed during the Christmas season. Usually eaten and shared among family and friends, this is a MUST. Deep fried dough served with honey and sprinkles. Thank you to my mother in law for her recipe!

Ingredients for 8-10 people:

• For the dough

1. 400 g of plain flour

2. 15 g of lard

3. a teaspoon of limoncello

4. pinch of salt

5. 3 beaten eggs

6. zest of half a lemon

7. 2 grams of dried yeast

8. 600 ml of sunflower or vegetable oil for frying

• To flavour

1. 250 g of honey

2. mixture of candied fruit, orange, lemon, blackberries etc

3. 125 g of sugar

4. 200 ml of water

5. hundreds and thousands to decorate (sprinkles)

Method:

1. Sieve flour into a bowl.

2. Add the dried yeast, lard, lemon zest and mix with a fork.

3. Now add the eggs, salt and limoncello.

4. Using your hands now, knead to form a dough.

5. When you have a homogeneous mixture, cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

6. Remove dough from the fridge and divide into 8 equal sections.

7. Roll out each section into a long sausage no more than a cm high.

8. Using a knife, chop each sausage into 1 cm sections. Set a side.

9. Heat oil in a large wok or deep pan.

10. Deep fry your struffoli in batches until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. Continue until all the dough is finished.

11. Meanwhile, in another pan, heat water, honey and sugar together on a low heat, stirring frequently. It should become a syrup.

12. Turn off the heat and now add the candied fruit to the syrup and mix.

13. Add the still hot struffoli to the syrup and mix well together.

14. Spoon into a serving plate and add the hundreds and thousands on top.

15. Will keep for a few days covered with cling film.