Try this sweet recipe: Sara’s Soffioni Abruzzesi… Abruzzo Soffioni are a sort of cupcakes, made of a dough similar to a lighter shortcrust pastry, being made with oil instead of butter. 

They have a heart filled with ricotta cheese, eggs and lemon zest, which swells during baking, making these cupcakes very fluffy, from here the name.

The softness of the dough, and the special flavor of the filling, (prepared according to the traditional recipe using sheep’s milk ricotta), result in a soft and very fragrant dessert, traditionally prepared during Easter holiday. 

These pastries are sealed with strips of dough, arranged in the shape of a cross, as a reminder of the Christian cross (as in the Neapolitan Pastiera). Today, however, they are eaten all year round and are also known as “fiadoni.”

It is also common to find in bakeries, a donut-shaped soffione, even in its savory version, which goes by the name of “fiadone salato”.

Recipe for Sara’s Soffioni Abruzzesi

The reason behind the name “soffione” has to do with its swelling up during baking, in fact, the filling swells until it gushes out of the top of the pastry shell, almost as if someone had blown it.

The filling is the element that lends itself to a variety of territorial variations: in L’Aquila, for example, it’s flavored with saffron; in other areas it’s enriched with raisins.

[servings: 18 pieces | time: 1 hour 45 minutes | difficulty: medium-easy]
| Please note that the info and directions provided for the recipe are indicative: the end result may vary from person to person |

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 300 g flour 00
• 100 g caster sugar
• 30 g of oil (*)
• 2 medium eggs (about 60 g each)

For the filling:

• 250 g of cow’s ricotta cheese (**)
• 250 g of sheep’s ricotta cheese (**)
• 100 g of caster sugar
• 2 lemons (zest only)
• 5 medium eggs (about 60 g each)
• 1 pinch of salt

Tools and decoration

• Muffin molds, rolling pin, bowls for mixing
• powder sugar to decorate

Notes

• (*) About the oil – we use the organic and cold-pressed type, either extra virgin olive oil, or sunflower seed oil.
• (**) The traditional recipe calls for sheep’s milk ricotta only, which has a much stronger taste than cow’s milk ricotta.
  • Very important! Allow the ricotta to drain in a colander at least two hours before using it. 

Directions

1. Let’s start with the shortcrust pastry – Form a fountain with the flour, add the eggs, oil and sugar (right in the middle). 
2. Knead until you get a smooth dough that you will let rest in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap, for the time needed to prepare the filling: about 20 minutes. 
3. Time to prep the filling – In a large bowl, sift the ricotta (preferably with a medium-mesh sieve); otherwise with a fine-mesh (but not too fine) strainer. Add the lemon zest and, with a wooden spoon, mix until no lumps are present. 
4. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with part of the sugar until fluffy, then fold the cream into the ricotta. 
5. Beat the egg whites (with the rest of the sugar) until stiff-peak, then add it to the ricotta mixture. 
6. Grease the muffin molds, keep aside.
7. Take the shortcrust pastry, with a rolling pin, roll it out until thin, and cut out some squares (10×10 cm each side). 
8. Lay the squares into each cup, making sure to let the corners out. Fill with 2 tablespoons of cream/each and close the flaps without sealing them, this way your soffioni will be able to swell up while baking. 
9. At this point you can decorate them with strips of dough. 
10. Bake the soffioni at 180 °C for about 45 minutes in a static oven and, after they have cooled, sprinkle with plenty of powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Interesting link

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