Carnival is not complete without the delicious fried staples!

The Neapolitan graffe are delicious sweet donuts typical of the Carnival, a real temptation for the eyes and the palate.

Neapolitan graffe are delicious fried donuts that can be enjoyed on any occasion, from breakfast to a tasty snack. They can be found in the Neapolitan city all year round, but they are a typical dessert of the carnival period. They are sweet and fragrant, and incredibly tasty. The outside is crunchy, while the inside is soft and fragrant .

They are also very easy to prepare, the important thing is to give them the time it takes to rise well: only in this way do they release all their spectacular softness.

The traditional recipe is with potatoes, you can certainly omit them but you will get zeppole (or staples without potatoes), the typical Father's Day dessert . Let's work!

How to make graffe with potatoes

1. First of all, make the yeast by combining 100 g of flour with the sifted yeast, mix well and add the warm milk. Mix well and make a small dough which you will have to leave to rise in a dry place, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1-2 hours or in any case until doubled (preferably in the oven off).
2. Wash the potatoes, preferably all of the same size (for even cooking), put them in a large saucepan and cover them with water. Place the pot on a stove and bring to a boil. Depending on the measure, they should take 30-40 minutes to boil. Once cooked and cold, peel them and mash them with a potato masher.
3. Take the yeast and add the potatoes, the remaining flour, the salt, the lemon zest and the sugar and start kneading (you can do it by hand or with the use of the planetary mixer).
4. Then add the egg and mix well, add the butter a little at a time until you get an elastic, uniform and compact dough.
5. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl and covered with a cloth or transparent film which you will place in the turned off oven for about 2 hours or in any case until it has more than doubled in volume .
6. Move a work surface and, with the help of more dusted flour, roll out the dough with a rolling pin and then cup the dough with a round shape of 8-9 cm in diameter .
7. With a much smaller mold (about 1-2 cm in diameter) make many donuts.
8. Place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, place the baking sheet in the turned off oven, turn on the oven light so that it generates a slight heat, and let it rise for an hour.
9. Then put a pot or pan on the heat and pour in the seed oil for frying. When the oil has reached the right temperature ( 170/180°C ), fry the donuts a little at a time, without removing them from the parchment paper but cutting around them and placing everything in the saucepan.
10. Once immersed in the oil, remove the piece of parchment paper and let them cook. Turn them with a slotted spoon to cook and brown on both sides, and drain them only when they are well colored.
11. Let them absorb the excess oil on absorbent kitchen paper and, when they are still hot, roll them in the sugar. Enjoy your meal!

Discover also all our Carnival desserts !

Storage

Being fried, we recommend consuming the Carnival staples at the moment , when they're still hot and delicious!

Who invented braces?

The Neapolitan sweet staples do not have a specific inventor, this traditional dessert has been developed over time by various people and families, and its origin is uncertain. However, it seems that they arrived in the countryside during the eighteenth century thanks to the Austrians and in fact they are a reinterpretation of the classic Krapfen (or donuts) .