In Italy, Carnevale is a season of masks, confetti, and—most dangerously—deep-fried dough. Long before it was an Instagram aesthetic, it was a practical and spiritual hinge in the year: the last, exuberant use of fat, eggs, and sugar before kitchens turned toward the leaner days of Lent.
The very word Carnevale is often traced to the Latin phrase carne levare—“remove meat” or “farewell to meat”—a reminder that once the streamers were swept up, meat and other rich foods would be set aside in favor of fasting and abstinence.
Carnevale sweets sit right at that edge. They’re not subtle. They’re crisp, shattering, sugar‑dusted, and unapologetically rich. Two of the most beloved are chiacchiere, paper‑thin ribbons of fried dough, and castagnole, plump little dough balls that can be fried or baked and rolled in sugar.
These are the “sweet sins” of the season: not evil in themselves, but intentionally indulgent, made to be enjoyed in the full knowledge that restraint is coming.
Carnevale and “Farewell to Meat”
In many parts of Europe, pre‑Lent days were historically about emptying the pantry of anything that would be forbidden or scarce during the fast: meat, butter, lard, eggs, and sometimes even dairy more broadly. Italians took that logic and ran with it. As meat and rich dishes were about to disappear from daily meals, families turned those same “restricted” ingredients into desserts—stretching flour with eggs and fat, then frying and sugaring them into something that felt extravagant before the season of abstinence began.
The phrase carne levare captures that transition. For weeks, communities threw themselves into feasting, parades, and sweets; then, almost overnight, the tone shifted. Tables that had been covered in fried pastries and roasts would host pots of legumes, vegetables, and simpler breads. This rhythm—richness, then restraint—echoes through other faith traditions too.
Just as Lent leads Christians through a period of fasting toward the joy of Easter, Muslims pass through Ramadan’s daily hunger to reach the sweetness of Eid, when special desserts and festive meals mark the return to feasting. In each case, sweetness tastes different after you’ve known what it is to go without.
Chiacchiere: Crispy Carnival Ribbons
Chiacchiere goes by many regional names—cenci, frappe, bugie, crostoli—but the experience is the same: a fragile, bubbled strip of dough that shatters under a veil of powdered sugar. They are light in texture, but built from ingredients (eggs, butter, sugar) that once would have been precious and temporarily “off‑limits” in the weeks ahead.
Ingredients
2 cups (about 250 g) all‑purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar½ teaspoon salt2 large eggs2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2–3 tablespoons white wine, grappa, or milk (enough to bring dough together)
Zest of 1 lemon or orange (optional but traditional)
Neutral oil for frying
Powdered sugar, for dusting.
Directions
Make the dough:
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk eggs, melted butter, citrus zest, and wine (or milk).
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until a dough forms, adding more liquid a teaspoon at a time if needed. The dough should be smooth and firm, not sticky.
Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface, then wrap and let rest for about 30 minutes. Resting relaxes the gluten so you can roll the dough very thin.
Roll and cut
Divide the dough into 2–3 pieces.
Roll each piece as thin as you can—ideally 1–2 mm—using a rolling pin or pasta machine. The thinner the dough, the more delicate and blistered your chiacchiere will be.
Cut into strips or rectangles (around 1 x 4 inches / 2.5 x 10 cm). You can slit the center of each strip and pull one end through to create a twist.
Fry
Heat neutral oil in a wide pot to about 340–350°F (170–175°C).
Fry a few pieces at a time, turning once, until puffed and lightly golden—this happens quickly.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Serve
When still slightly warm, dust generously with powdered sugar.
Pile high on a platter; they’re best the day they’re made, when they’re at their crispest.
Castagnole: Little Carnival Dough Balls
If chiacchiere are crisp and lacy, castagnole are their softer, cuddlier cousins. Their name suggests “little chestnuts,” and that’s about their size and shape: small balls of dough, fried or baked, then rolled in sugar. Some versions are plain; others hide a filling of pastry cream, ricotta, or chocolate‑hazelnut spread. Either way, they are bite‑size proof that even the “scraps” of flour and eggs could be transformed into something festive before Lent began.
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups (about 220 g) all‑purpose flour
⅓ cup (70 g) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened or melted and cooled
Zest of 1 lemon or orange (optional)
1–2 tablespoons milk, as needed to bring dough together
Neutral oil for frying (or a little extra butter/oil for baking)
Granulated sugar or powdered sugar, for rolling
Directions
Make the doughIn a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk eggs with softened/melted butter and citrus zest.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix into a soft dough, adding a splash of milk if needed. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Let rest 15–20 minutes.ShapePinch off small pieces of dough and roll between your hands into balls roughly the size of large marbles or small chestnuts.
Fry (classic version)
Heat oil to about 340–350°F (170–175°C).
Fry castagnole in batches, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through.
Drain on paper towels and immediately roll in granulated sugar or dust with powdered sugar.
Bake (lighter option)
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Place dough balls on a parchment‑lined baking sheet and brush lightly with melted butter or neutral oil.
Bake 12–15 minutes, until lightly golden.
Roll in sugar while still warm.
To take them “over the top,” you can inject some with sweetened ricotta or chocolate‑hazelnut spread after frying, but even the plain, sugared version carries the feel of a treat enjoyed right on the cusp of a fasting season.
Sweetness After (and Before) Restraint
There’s a reason these desserts feel a little bit mischievous in the context of Lent: they are engineered to be everything Lent is not. Where Lent calls for simplicity, they are elaborate. Where Lent leans on beans and bread, they lean on frying oil and sugar. But the story doesn’t end there.
Across traditions, you see the same pattern: a swing between feasting and fasting, with sweetness on both sides of restraint.
Christians move from Carnevale’s chiacchiere and castagnole into Lent’s soups and simple breads, and eventually to Easter’s celebratory cakes and breads.
Muslims step from ordinary time into Ramadan, setting aside daytime food and drink, then gather each evening for iftar and finish the month with Eid al‑Fitr, when special sweets and festive dishes return in force.
Jewish communities strip leaven from their homes for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, then celebrate liberation with symbolic foods that themselves carry sweetness.
In other words, chiacchiere and castagnole are not just “sweet sins.” They’re signposts. They sit at the boundary between seasons and ask us to notice what changes when we choose to put the oil away for a while. When the fast is over—whether it ends in Easter, Eid, or the closing of Passover—sweetness comes back. But we taste it differently, because our appetites and our attention have been retrained.
It's Nicky Lynn 