Three Layer Cake

My friend Rose, a passionate home cook, was nice enough to give her mother's recipe for a carnival treat called frappe in Rome, but i guanti (gloves) in Calabria, where her family is from.  The Barbuto family eats this sweet at Christmas, but in Rome and many parts of Italy, this is typical carneval fare.  The other item which usually accompanies this in the bakery around carneval are zeppole also known as castagnole.  Some are filled with ricotta, some are rum soaked.  For Americans, a zeppola is none other than a plain cake donut hole rolled in granulated sugar!!!!  You will find these in two versions:  fried and baked.  The baked strips are very straight and crunchy, and the fried (below) are  light and crispy.

As with many good cooks, the knowledge is passed down through generations and from observation, so you may need to fine tune the recipe based on your own experience, but this is what Tina Barbuto uses:

For every one egg, add 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of oil, and 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder.  If you'd like, you can also add vanilla extract, or orange essence or lemon zest,  whatever flavor you like.  Add enough flour to this mix until the dough is malleable and slightly thinner than pasta dough, but sturdy enough to be rolled through a pasta machine.  Using a pastry wheel, cut the dough into one inch wide strips and tie each into a loose knot.

Fry in hot oil until slightly browned.  Drain on paper towel.  Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.