The Carnival Is the most cheerful and fun party on the calendar.

Masks, streamers, confetti, games and lots of goodies to eat. It is a special occasion to color our tables and prepare traditional sweets, the real stars of the table at Carnival.

The secret of small talk

"When in a region, talk is cheap!"

Among the typical Carnival sweets are the chatter are certainly the most popular and well-known. They are prepared according to numerous traditions in all regions of Italy and, although they are called by different names, they still refer to unleavened, fried or baked pieces of dough covered with sugar.

They are a very crumbly cake made by rolling out the dough very thinly, with a characteristic rectangular shape with a cut in the center.

The secret to making perfect chiacchiere lies in the rolling out of the dough, which must be very thin; in fact, it is advisable to roll it out with a pastry machine. The oil, in the case of fried chiacchiere, must be very hot but not too hot; the right temperature is around 170-180°C.

For good results it is good to add a little liqueur, as it is the alcohol that helps to swell them!

Origins

According to historians, the origin of chiacchiere dates back to Roman times. At that time, in fact, egg-and-flour-based treats called frictilia, fried in pork fat, prepared by Roman women to celebrate the Saturnalia, or the holiday that corresponds to our Carnival. They used to make large quantities of them because they had to last throughout the Lenten period.

The Neapolitan legend

Many of us prepare chiacchiere as a traditional dessert, but few know its origin and the meaning of its name. In particular, we remember the neapolitan chatter.

The story refers back to the Queen Margaret of Savoy, who used to chat a lot. One day she got hungry and called the court cook, Raffaele Esposito, to have him prepare a dessert that would delight her and her guests, the cook, thinking back to the talk of that day, gave precisely the name of chat To the freshly baked cake.

The different types of chatter

Le carnival chiacchiere are prepared in many different ways, each with a family recipe and list of ingredients that is passed down from generation to generation depending on the locality and region in which they are prepared.

Classic chatter

Those prepared in Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, Milan and Parma include:

  • 500 grams of flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 50 g butter
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 70 g of sugar
  • 5 g baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons of limoncello
  • 6 g baking powder for cakes
  • 1 yolk
  • grated peel of half a lemon

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl: flour, baking powder, egg, soft butter, sugar, salt, limoncello, and vanilla pod. Knead everything together until you get a soft, smooth dough. Then form a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Then divide the dough into many small pieces and roll them out one at a time with the dough sheet machine if you have one, otherwise with a rolling pin. Using a notched wheel, trim the edges and cut out rectangles. Finally, the chiacchiere should be fried in 170° oil, letting them dry on kitchen paper. The finishing touch is a dusting of powdered sugar!

Frappes

Le frappe are the typical Roman Carnival dessert. The ingredients and preparation steps are very similar to classic chiacchiere. The main difference lies in the shape, as frappe are more rhomboidal and crispy, as opposed to the classic rectangular strips.

The lies

The chiacchiere are so well known in Turin, Genoa and Imperia. Le lies can also be filled; in fact, they are known as stuffed lies. They are usually filled with custard, but you can also replace it with jam or Nutella. These are also fried; in this case, however, no yeast is used.

The rags

In Tuscany, chiacchiere is known as rags, whose name is derived from that of rag. They differ from other chiacchiere in that they are boiled and fragrant, with a vin santo and lemon dough. They can be made either crumbly or soft, simply roll out the dough and fold it over on itself several times, the thinner it is, the crispier they will be!

Lettuces

In many areas of Lombardy, mainly in Mantua, chiacchiere are instead called carnival lettuces. What makes them special is that they are fried in lard, with a small glass of Marsala wine added to the mixture, which gives a special flavor to the dessert.

Crostoli

Instead, in the cities of Ferrara, Rovigo, Vicenza, Treviso, and Trento, chiacchiere are called crostoli.

Crostoli involve the addition of grappa in the dough. The shape of crostoli is usually rectangular with a center cut, so they will be lighter and crispier.

The sfrappole

In the city of Bologna, chatter is called sfrappole. Orange juice is also usually added to the basic ingredients for the dough. Sfrappole are also prepared in the shape of a bow or knot and may also be covered with honey. They are often served with an accompanying cream: mascarpone, chocolate or alchermes, an Italian liqueur.

The intriguers

In the Reggio Emilia area, chiacchiere are known as. intriguers. The name indicates the vertical cut that is made in one end of the dough, and through which the other end is allowed to pass, thus making a twist. Usually the dough is flavored with grappa.

Galans

We move to Venice. Here the major difference lies in the pastry, which in the galani is pulled even more thinly, until it is almost transparent.

Maraviglias or wonders

In Sardinia, chatter is instead called marvels o wonders: the special feature is to add vanillin or grated lemon zest, rum and a pinch of baking powder to the basic chiacchere dough. Once the thin sheet is rolled out it will be cut into many lozenges with a longitudinal cut in the center. Again in addition to powdered sugar, they can be served sprinkled with honey or liqueur and accompanied with whipped cream.

Black pudding and its history

Another typical Carnival dessert with very ancient origins is the black pudding. Its name refers to a particular custom: in the past, pig's blood was used as the main ingredient to make this cream.

Harvested during slaughtering, it had to be continually stirred to prevent coagulation, then filtered and added to the cocoa cream cooked in copper pots over a wood fire. Coffee, cinnamon, cloves, raisins and other spices were added to the cocoa cream, as well as a good amount of sugar to sweeten it.

As time passed, the use of blood sausage was abolished. Black pudding accompanies the "dunking" of chatter, together they make a perfect mix!

It is prepared all over Italy, but is most common in Liguria, Marche, Abruzzo, Campania and Calabria.

The recipe

  • 1 liter of fresh milk
  • 500 g of sugar
  • 200 g of bitter cocoa
  • 80 g of flour
  • 100 g of quality extra dark chocolate
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • cinnamon to taste
  • chocolate chips
  • liqueur Strega q.b

Preparation

Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the cut vanilla pod and cinnamon, and let it cool for a few minutes over low heat. Meanwhile, mix the bitter cocoa, sugar and flour in another bowl. Then pour the strained milk into the mixture. Place the saucepan on the stove over low heat and stir continuously. As soon as it starts to boil, add the extra dark chocolate and let it melt while continuing to stir. Finally add a small glass of Strega liqueur And let it thicken for a while longer.

When the mixture is warm, add the dark chocolate chips.

Black pudding is ready to accompany your chatter!

Castanets

Le castanets are another typical dessert of this time of year. The name castagnola comes from the shape, which is reminiscent of an autumn fruit: the chestnut.

These delicious treats were first served in the 17th century, at the Angevin Court, by Chef Latini and were greatly appreciated by the nobility of the time. Today the dessert is prepared throughout Italy. Castagnole are fried and filled with custard; however, numerous variations have been introduced over time. 

The recipe

  • 40 g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • lemon peel
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 200 g of 00 flour
  • 50 g of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon anise liqueur
  • 8 g of baking powder

Preparation

Soften the butter in a mixing bowl. Then incorporate the sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla pod a little at a time. Mix and add the grated lemon peel and a pinch of salt until the dough is soft and smooth. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about an hour, then divide it into small pieces and form into balls. Finally fry the balls in plenty of boiling oil and allow them to dry on paper towels. Before serving, dust with powdered sugar.

The migliaccio

The neapolitan migliaccio has very ancient origins, even medieval. The term is derived from the Latin miliaccium denoting a traditional millet bread. In the 18th century this term also suggested a particular peasant cake typical of Naples and Tuscany made with millet and pig's blood.

The use of pig's blood was frowned upon by neither the Catholic Church nor the bourgeois class, who considered these customs pagan traditions, and sought to ban their use in poor Campanian cuisine.

Toward the end of the eighteenth century, millet bread, in both sweet and savory versions, changed its original form and modifications were made to the traditional recipe. Pig's blood was soon replaced by sugar, cinnamon, flour and eggs, resulting in the cake still prepared today.

The recipe

  • 125 g semolina (durum wheat)
  • 500 ml of whole milk (or semi-skimmed)
  • 350 g of cottage cheese (cow or sheep)
  • 3 eggs
  • 200 g of caster sugar
  • 20 g butter
  • orange zest to taste.
  • lemon zest to taste

Preparation

Pour the milk into a small saucepan, add the butter and the orange and lemon peels. Bring to a boil, remove the peels, pour in the semolina and stir with a whisk. The mixture will be quite thick and firm. Cover with foil and let it cool well. After that you can devote yourself to finishing the preparation of the migliaccio.

With electric whips, mix the ricotta cheese with the sugar until creamy. Add the whole eggs and continue to whisk. Finally, add the thick semolina cream and mix until you get a fluid mixture. Pour the mixture into a mold lined on the bottom with baking paper, level it well and proceed to bake the migliaccio in a 180° oven.

Tradition calls for the migliaccio to be tall and baked in a copper pan.

The savory migliaccio

There is also a savory version of migliaccio: it is a flan made of farina fioretto (cornmeal), processed with lard and enriched with various cheeses and cold cuts.

In short, Carnival is a festival full of endless varieties of typical desserts all to try.