by Camryn Samuel
With this year’s Carnival in full swing, bakeries throughout Italy are participating in the festivities through signature Carnival treats. From traditional desserts to Tuscan sweets, each pastry will make you feel like a kid again, ready to try as many desserts as possible. Discover Italy’s Carnival festivities while revisiting your childhood with sweets and treats.
Traditional Desserts
Because of Italy’s popular Carnival celebrations in cities like Venice and Rome, dessert recipes have spread to every corner of the country. These treats have become staples of the Italian Carnival and can be found in most bakeries. When peering into the pastry cases, you will become overjoyed with all the options. These treats offer the coziness of traditions and the excitement of childhood.
Chiacchiere
These fried dough strips are the most traditional Carnival dessert in Italy. Each Italian region has its own name for the pastry, such as “frappe” in Rome and “galani” in Venice. With a rich history dating back to Roman times, these treats have been perfected over the centuries. The thin dough is made from flour, butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, eggs, and milk, which is then fried and sprinkled with icing sugar. These treats can be flavored with orange or lemon zest. When this pastry crunches and crumbles in your mouth, you will encounter a sweet flavor from the sugar and a savory taste from the fried pastry. This is the perfect treat to feel like a kid celebrating a holiday.
Castagnole
Found at the Roman Carnival, these pastries are made from flour, butter, lemon zest, yeast, and sugar. They are formed into balls, fried, then sprinkled with sugar, and can be filled with cream, rum, ricotta, or chocolate. These pastries have a crisp exterior and a cake-like interior, which means they are best eaten while still warm. With the cake texture and cream fillings, this is a child’s favorite treat. These also have a variety of names, such as “tortelli” in central Italy and “frittole” in the Veneto region, but the name “castagnole” derives from the Italian word for chestnut, due to their comparable shape and size.
Fritole Veneziane
Along with its famous Carnival festival, Venice has its own pastry to match the Carnival spirit. Venetian fritters are sugar-dusted doughnuts and the typical dessert of the Venice Carnival. These fritters were once prepared on the Venice streets by “fritolers”, or fritter-makers. Today, they can be found in any pastry shop in Venice during their eccentric festival. Made of flour, eggs, sugar, and milk, these treats are flavored with rum and lemon zest and filled with cream, chocolate, zabaglione, or raisin and pine nuts. While the most traditional version is unfilled, the most popular version is with pine nuts to add texture and raisins for sweetness.
Tuscan Sweets
With each town and region in Italy having its own Carnival celebrations, they also have their own signature pastries unique to their community. Tuscany’s desserts highlight the specialties of the countryside and embrace the excitement of the holiday. With more of a hometown feel, you can reminisce on baking with your family as a child with these classic desserts.
Schiacciata alla Fiorentina
This specialty of Florence can be found in pastry shops all over the city during Carnival. This soft-baked cake is made with flour, eggs, sugar, brewer’s yeast, lard, and milk or water. Orange juice can be added to enhance the citrus note. The flavor is not overly sweet, but features a savory orange-vanilla taste. Originating in the Chianti area of Tuscany, Florence has claimed this dessert as its own by decorating the top with the Lily of Florence. This design makes the cake visually delicious, creating the childlike excitement of finally having a treat placed in front of you after craving it for so long.
Cicerchiata
These small balls are made of flour, grated lemon peel, butter, sugar, and liqueur, rum, or limoncello. They are then fried, coated with honey, and topped with sprinkles while the honey is still sticky. The honey-glazed crunch and liquor note keep the flavor subtle and sweet. Found throughout central Italy, they are also used to decorate the table by using the sticky honey to organize the pastries into pyramids or crowns. These pastries are hard to put down, bringing back the old childhood habit of stealing another sweet from the table.
Berlingozzo
This ancient sweet has been prepared for the occasion of Fat Tuesday since the 15th century. With a rich history as a favorite of the Medici family, this ring-shaped cake symbolizes the Tuscan Carnival. The soft cake is made with anise seeds, orange zest, and Vin Santo, an Italian dessert wine traditional in Tuscany. The aromatic combination of distinct flavors and dense texture is ideal for dipping into a cappuccino at breakfast.
Revisit Childhood
With the variety of desserts offered during Carnival, this is the perfect month to visit Italy. The holiday will bring you a sense of childhood wonder with the parades and costumes, so we encourage you to embrace the past through Italy’s extraordinary food scene. To find the best desserts throughout Florence and Tuscany, book one of our tours with our expert guides. They can offer personalized suggestions on where to find the best pastries and Carnival experiences. Discover the best of Italy’s Carnival and Florence’s festivities.
