Carnival fritters with Vin Santo
( Cenci col “Vin Santo” )

Authentic Italian recipe from Tuscany

Cenci or sweet fritters are a typical Tuscan recipe related to Carnival time. There are no great differences in the recipe compared to how chiacchiere, bugie or frappe (links to these other recipes below) are made. What changes is the wine used to flavor their dough. In this case a product of the place that is Vin Santo!

difficulty: medium

time: 1 hour

calories: 305 (kCal)

Ingredients / Serves 6

300g (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
50g (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
50g (1 3/4 ounces) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Vin Santo
Grated rind of a lemon
Peanut oil for frying
Icing sugar for dusting
Salt

Difficulty:: medium difficulty
Time:
How many calories in a serving?: Calories: 305 (kcal) 16 % - 1276 (kJ)
Protein: 7.9 (g) 16 % GDA
Total fat: 10.6 (g) 16 % GDA
Total carbohydrate: 47.5 (g) 18 % GDA
Sugars: 9.2 (g) 11 % GDA

Download free PDF version (239 download).

Recipe for Tuscan sweet fritters: Cenci

Preparation and cooking

- Prepare cenci dough.
Mix flour, sugar, beaten eggs, lemon rind, melted butter, olive oil, Vin Santo, a pinch of salt in it until a soft dough forms.
Knead, about 10 minutes.
Your dough must be smooth and elastic.
Shape your dough into a ball and sprinkle with flour.
Cover with a napkin and let it rest, about 30 minutes.
- Cut cenci from your dough.
Roll out your dough on lightly floured surface, beginning from the center, to a thickness of 0.2cm (1/8in).
Cut pasta into 2 finger width strips and then every strip in 4 finger width pieces, diagonally.
You have to obtain rhombus shapes.
- Frying.
Fry cenci in abundant peanut oil, in a non-stick frying pan, until golden on both sides.
Put them on absorbent kitchen paper to remove the excess of fat.
Sprinkle with icing sugar.

Just before serving

- Serve Tuscan cenci hot or cold.

Note

Tips

- For a quicker recipe: use a kneading machine and roll your dough with a pasta machine

Menu planning

- Cenci that is sweet fritters, Italian-style are ideal if you have to plan a buffet.
You can serve them in the morning, in the afternoon and after dinner.

Useful links for this recipe

- Other Italian fried pastries or Carnival fritters? Interested in DIY Carnival decorations? have a look at our page dedicated to Carnival.

Healthy eating

- It's very difficult to have the real amount of frying oil and icing sugar. So nutrition facts you have read above don't include these ingredients. You must add further 100 to 150 calories per 100g of this dish.
- Don't eat fried food too many times: it is not healthy food! But if you wish, once in a while, to enjoy these sweet fritters, it is better to prepare them at home where you can choose good-quality frying oil (peanut oil) and use it only once.

Loretta

What's the right wine for " Carnival fritters with Vin Santo "?

Pair the same wine used to flavor cenci dough that is Vin Santo (sweet wine from Tuscany)

Carnival fritters with Vin Santo ( Cenci col “Vin Santo” )

Nutrition facts