Cartellate - Christmas Fritters Dipped in Honey Or Vincotto

5 from 1 vote

Cartellate - Christmas Fritters Dipped in Honey Or Vincotto

Super crispy and bubbly deep-fried dough pinwheels that resemble the shape of a rose. Traditionally cartellate re dipped in vincotto or honey but can also be chocolate covered or simply dusted with powdered sugar.

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Resting Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 125kcal

Author: Svi

Equipment

Pasta Machine
serrated wheel

Ingredients

For the dough

300 grams Italian 00 flour , or all-purpose flour 2 ⅓ cups
100 grams dry white wine , about ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoon (warmed)
45 grams extra virgin olive oil , ¼ cup
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt

For the sauce (choose ONE or do all)

1 ½ cup vincotto , see ingredient notes above
1 ½ cup natural honey , wildflower or other
Powdered sugar
Sugar sprinkles for decoration (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the dough

In a small pot warm the wine with the sugar and a pinch of salt until warm.
Mound flour on work-surface or in a bowl. Add extra virgin olive oil. Mix quickly then start adding wine, a little at a time.
Knead the dough briefly until it comes into a ball. As a result you should have a soft but not excessively soft ball of dough that will look slightly irregular but overall compact.
Place the dough in a plastic wrap or zip-lock bag and let rest for 1 hour.

Laminate the dough

Once the dough has rested divide it into 2 parts.
Using a rolling pin flatten the first piece of the dough roughly forming a rectangular that will fit the size of the pasta machine rollers.
Keep the other piece of the dough in a plastic wrap to prevent it from drying.
Set pasta machine on the widest setting (on Marcato Atlas setting 0) and pass the dough for the first time. Dust with extra flour if the dough is a little sticky.
Fold the dough in half and pass again on the same setting. Repeat rolling and folding process 6 times. This step is creating a sort of “laminated” dough (think like croissants) that later when fried will result in super crispy, airy and bubbly cartellate.
Wrap the “laminated” dough in a plastic wrap and repeat the same process with the other piece of the dough.

Roll out the dough

Start working with the piece of the dough you’ve laminated first.
Roll it on the widest setting of your pasta machine then adjust to knob the next-narrower setting, and pass the dough through it. Repeat the process until you reach thickness of 1.5 millimeter (setting 5 on Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine).
EXTRA TIP: if the dough on setting 3 (2.5 mm) is about 6 inch (15 cm) long cut it in half. Then pass each half on the setting 4 and 5. This way the dough is easier to handle when rolling it through the pasta machine.
Cut the dough sheet into about 12 inch (30cm) sheets.

Shape Cartellate

Using a serrated wheel cut each sheet into 1.5 inch (4 cm) strips.
Each strip should measure roughly 1.5x12 inch (4x30 cm).
Pinch together the sides of the dough strip every 1.5-2 inches (4-5cm).
When doing the next pinch, hold the first one with one hand and do the the next pinch with the other hand bringing the two a little closer to each other. This move will form a pocket between the two pinches.
Once you’ve finished pinching the strip, wrap it around itself forming kind of a rose shape or a pinwheel.
Start by pinching the first two pockets together, then the next ones.
AVOID tightening cartellate too much. This will result in flat pockets which are essential for holding the sauce. Also avoid pinching together already sealed parts but rather pinch parts inside the pocket where the dough is in single layer.
Repeat the process with the remaining strips.
EXTRA TIP: If it’s your first time making cartellate and the dough strips started to dry and won’t stray together when pinched, tap them with damp paper towel rolling in a a ball.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough (starting from the previous sections "Rolling out the dough").
EXTRA TIP: It’s best to roll out the dough and form cartellate in small batches so that you can form cartellate easily.

Let Cartellate Dry

Once all cartellate a formed arrange them on a wooden board and cover with a linen towel or tea towel. Let rest for 6 hours or overnight.
After 2 hours move cartellate around to make sure they’re not stuck to the board (which rare happens but a good practice to do). It’s best NOT to flour the board.
The resting time that long is essential to let cartellate dry, which in turn will prevent them from absorbing excess oil AND unwrapping when fried.
How dry? It should hold its shape without bending even you hold if with only two fingers. There's NO need to dry them completely.

Fry Cartellate

In a deep frying pan preheat vegetable oil for frying to 350F (175C). It’s best to use a kitchen thermometer to control the temperature throughout the frying process and adjusting the heat as needed.
PAY ATTENTION: the level of oil in the pan should be at least 3 fingers. The more oil in the pan the less oil cartellate will absorb.
Once oil is hot enough fry cartellate. Using a spoon or a ladle pour hot oil over each cartellata to help them form bubbles and fry evenly. Flip cartellate throughout the fryin process. When lightly golden brown pick them with tongs draining oil from the pockets. Arrange on paper towels upside down.
Bring the oil back to 350 (175C) and fry the next batch.

Dip In The Sauce

Vincotto Sauce: In a small pot add vincotto and bring to a boil. Take note if your vincotto was creamy or runny when it was cold. Let cook vincotto on low heat for 5 minutes (for initially creamy vincotto) or for 10-12 minutes (for initially runny vincoto).
PAY ATTENTION: hot vincotto is always thinner than vincotto at room temperature. So pay attention to not overcook it!
Dip cartellate in hot vincotto letting drip the excess. If vincotto is of the right consistency it will stay in the pockets of cartellate and will thicken as they cool. Don’t leave too much vincotto in the pockets or cartellate will become excessively sweet. If the sauce is too thin you can cook it for a few more minutes.
Honey Sauce: In a small pot add honey and warm up on gentle heat until well warm. Dip each cartellata in honey letting drip the excess.
Sprinkle with a few sugar sprinkles (optional).
Powdered Sugar: If you don’t want to deal with the sauce or want to do a mix and match of sauce, you can also dust cartellate with powdered sugar.

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