The recipe for frappe, Biscottificio Innocenti tells the story of this Carnival dessert
The recipe for frappe. B ugie in Liguria, cenci in Tuscany, chiacchiere in most regions of southern Italy, crostoli in Friuli, frappe in Rome. The name identifying the quintessential Carnival dessert varies from region to region, but the origins are the same and the recipe is fairly similar everywhere.
With their unmistakable appearance, frappe return to bakeries and pastry shops in February as Carnival approaches. Rectangular, crumbly, and golden, frappe are always served with a dusting of powdered sugar. We visited Biscottificio Innocenti in Trastevere to learn the recipe and a few family tricks from Stefania Innocenti. She confided that she learned from her parents, who had been making frappe at the bakery for many years.
The Innocenti Biscuit Factory's recipe
“The recipe is very simple, the dough is made with type 0 flour and organic strong flour, vegetable margarine, sugar, eggs, and yeast; the strong point of our frappe is the vegetable margarine; many customers who can't eat butter travel from the other side of Rome to come and buy them.” Then he goes on to explain the process. “We start by first putting the flour and dry ingredients into the machine; then add the eggs and margarine. We let the machine run for at least 30-40 minutes, until the dough becomes a nice, shiny dough. After letting the dough rest for half an hour, we roll it out with a rolling pin, making it very thin. At this point, we can start cutting out rectangles with a pastry wheel, just like we do at home. We fry the frappe in peanut oil, because it maintains the smoke point.” Once the oil has reached the right temperature, we immerse the puff pastry rectangles and cook them, turning them on both sides, until golden brown. Then they are drained with the help of a slotted spoon and placed on absorbent paper to be finished with icing sugar.
"Some people come here and ask for baked frappe, but we don't hesitate. The frappe have to be fried, otherwise they'd turn into biscuits and the flavor wouldn't be the same; they're only eaten once a year, so we can indulge in this indulgence."
But frappe aren't the only Carnival dessert in Rome. In fact, castagnole are also prepared for this occasion. These are small balls of fried dough that you can find in the Trastevere bakery. "The ingredients are the same as frappe, but the proportions are different," Stefania tells us. "For us, castagnole are these simple fried balls, distinct from cream puffs. They're hollow, otherwise they would become a sort of mini St. Joseph's cream puff."
Innocenti Biscuit Factory. Via della Luce 21, Rome. Tel. 06 5803926. Website. Facebook. Instagram.
