Following up on my Carnival Special, let me present you a truly delicious treat – Carnival Angel Wings. The crisp and fluffiness of this delicacy is known in many countries.
In Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Angel Wings are traditionally made during the Fasching – the festive period until the Lent. In Hungary, The Angel Wings are made primary at weddings. In many other countries, for instance in the United States, The Angel Wings are made during special occasions like Christmas or Easter. In the Czech Republic, they are called “God’s grace”, traditionally in the region of Moravia served to mothers after giving birth.
They are many variations, however, the base dough should be without yeast or baking powder included. Soured cream and lard give the dough an incredible smoothness. You just cannot stop eating them. Enjoy with a shot of Grappa or a cup of tea.
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Shopping List
250g of plain flour, sifted
A pinch of sea salt
50g of caster superfine sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
4 tablespoons of crème fraîche
A splash of rum
2 egg yolks
50g of butter, melted
Few spoons of good quality lard for frying (olive oil optional)
Cinnamon, vanilla and icing sugar to finish
Instructions
First, place all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl (flour, salt, sugar and lemon zest). Mix well.
Stir in crème fraîche, rum, yolks and butter.
Start mixing with a spoon, then, continue with hands.
Knead the dough until you get a non sticky and homogeneous texture, for about 5 minutes. Cover with a clean cloth and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Next, sieve your working board with some flour and roll the dough out to ½ cm. This is very easy dough to work with.
Cut the dough into a desirable shapes by using a pastry wheel. No limits to imaginations, all the shapes are welcome. Make 2 small cuts in the middle of each of them, so they puff when frying. The most typical in my family are rectangles.
Heat up the lard in a large deep-frying pan and fry. It goes very quickly, a couple of seconds from each side. Take them out on a paper towel to absorb the extra fat.
Let them cool down a bit and sprinkle with vanilla sugar mixed with icing sugar. You can also eat them just like that or with cinnamon mixed with caster sugar. Yummy!
For more Carnival specials, check out My Carnival Page.
Makes 2 large serving plates.
