Struffoli
Serves: 5
Magnus Pfeffer
1 January 1970
Based on User reviews:
51
Spice
42
Sweetness
51
Sourness
40
mins
Prep time (avg)
3.9
Difficulty
Ingredients:
Directions:
1
Get out a large, rimmed baking sheet and shake the semolina over the base
2
And get out another tray (it doesn't have to be a baking sheet) and line it with a double layer of paper towels
3
Set both aside while you get on with the dough
4
Beat the eggs, sugar, finely grated lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil until frothy
5
Gradually add about 2 2/3 cups of the flour and the baking powder, and mix to a dough
6
If it is too sticky, then add more flour and keep kneading, using either your hands or a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook, until you have a smooth, pliable dough
7
This doesn't take very long: probably around 3 minutes or 5 by hand
8
Flour your work surface and turn out your dough
9
Then divide the dough into 10 roughly equal pieces, each about the size of a golf ball
10
Take 1 ball and roll it into a rope approx
11
1/2 inch thick, then with floury hands divide this into about 20 small pieces, and roll each piece between your hands (flouring them again if this helps) to make marble-sized balls
12
Place the formed balls of dough on the semolina-sprinkled baking sheet, as you shape them
13
Repeat the process with the remaining golf-ball-sized portions of dough: you should make a staggering 200 of the tiny balls! Heat the vegetable oil in a wide, heavy pan—about 11 inches diameter and at least 6 inches deep—and then when the oil is at 375°F but no higher (you can leave a preserving or candy thermometer in, if you want), or a piece of bread sizzles and browns immediately when dropped in the pan, you can begin to cook the dough balls
14
Regulate the temperature and keep a careful eye on the pan and the oil all the time
15
Gently lower, using a mesh scoop or perforated spoon, about 15 little dough balls at a time
16
At first they will sink and then, as they cook, they'll float to the surface and begin to turn golden brown
17
This will take up to about 1 minute depending on how many you have in at a time, but be ready to fish them out with your mesh scoop or perforated spoon onto the paper towel–lined tray as soon as they become the right golden color
18
And keep watching your pan
19
Continue to cook them in batches—making sure the oil returns to the correct temperature but doesn't get too hot or bubble too vigorously—until they are all fried; you can pile them up on the tray without harm
20
Now turn off the heat under the oil pan, and move on to the adhesive and assembly stage
21
Pour the honey into a roasting pan that can go on the stove, and heat very gently until it becomes runny—a matter of moments, so do not leave the pan—then take it off the heat
22
Tip all of the fried dough balls into the warmed honey and, using a soft spatula, turn them gently to coat them
23
Get out a large plate or cake stand with a slight lip or rim and, with wet hands, check the balls are not too hot then pick up the sticky balls and arrange them around the outer edge of the plate in the shape of a bobbly wreath, leaving just a small empty circle in the middle
24
Do not worry about symmetry or perfection or counting dough balls here, please
25
Wash the honey from your hands and shake your chosen sprinkles over the sticky wreath, then stand back and admire, before placing your creation where others can do likewise
26
These struffoli are best, to my mind, eaten on the day they're made
27
Use a scoop or spoon and fork to serve
28
It will be a sticky affair, but that's part of their charm
29
Get out a large, rimmed baking sheet and shake the semolina over the base
30
And get out another tray (it doesn't have to be a baking sheet) and line it with a double layer of paper towels
31
Set both aside while you get on with the dough
32
Beat the eggs, sugar, finely grated lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil until frothy
33
Gradually add about 2 2/3 cups of the flour and the baking powder, and mix to a dough
34
If it is too sticky, then add more flour and keep kneading, using either your hands or a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook, until you have a smooth, pliable dough
35
This doesn't take very long: probably around 3 minutes or 5 by hand
36
Flour your work surface and turn out your dough
37
Then divide the dough into 10 roughly equal pieces, each about the size of a golf ball
38
Take 1 ball and roll it into a rope approx
39
1/2 inch thick, then with floury hands divide this into about 20 small pieces, and roll each piece between your hands (flouring them again if this helps) to make marble-sized balls
40
Place the formed balls of dough on the semolina-sprinkled baking sheet, as you shape them
41
Repeat the process with the remaining golf-ball-sized portions of dough: you should make a staggering 200 of the tiny balls! Heat the vegetable oil in a wide, heavy pan—about 11 inches diameter and at least 6 inches deep—and then when the oil is at 375°F but no higher (you can leave a preserving or candy thermometer in, if you want), or a piece of bread sizzles and browns immediately when dropped in the pan, you can begin to cook the dough balls
42
Regulate the temperature and keep a careful eye on the pan and the oil all the time
43
Gently lower, using a mesh scoop or perforated spoon, about 15 little dough balls at a time
44
At first they will sink and then, as they cook, they'll float to the surface and begin to turn golden brown
45
This will take up to about 1 minute depending on how many you have in at a time, but be ready to fish them out with your mesh scoop or perforated spoon onto the paper towel–lined tray as soon as they become the right golden color
46
And keep watching your pan
47
Continue to cook them in batches—making sure the oil returns to the correct temperature but doesn't get too hot or bubble too vigorously—until they are all fried; you can pile them up on the tray without harm
48
Now turn off the heat under the oil pan, and move on to the adhesive and assembly stage
49
Pour the honey into a roasting pan that can go on the stove, and heat very gently until it becomes runny—a matter of moments, so do not leave the pan—then take it off the heat
50
Tip all of the fried dough balls into the warmed honey and, using a soft spatula, turn them gently to coat them
51
Get out a large plate or cake stand with a slight lip or rim and, with wet hands, check the balls are not too hot then pick up the sticky balls and arrange them around the outer edge of the plate in the shape of a bobbly wreath, leaving just a small empty circle in the middle
52
Do not worry about symmetry or perfection or counting dough balls here, please
53
Wash the honey from your hands and shake your chosen sprinkles over the sticky wreath, then stand back and admire, before placing your creation where others can do likewise
54
These struffoli are best, to my mind, eaten on the day they're made
55
Use a scoop or spoon and fork to serve
56
It will be a sticky affair, but that's part of their charm