Countdown to the day of the Epiphany with expectations, on the part of the little ones, of socks full of sweets and little coal.
Epiphany day on January 6 promises to be multitasking, with proposals ranging from classic desserts to brunches and aperitifs, to get to themed menus and delicacies for gluten intolerant.
Among the desserts, there are small brooms, hats and Epiphany smileys made of marzipan, praline dried fruit, decorated shortbread biscuits, fruit jellies and filled pralines and Epiphany socks made entirely of dark, milk or white chocolate.
Also rich is the whole range of desserts from the tradition of the feast, which touches all the regions.
In Lombardy, in the province of Varese, for example, sweet puff pastry camels are offered which recall the mounts of the Magi and which, compared to the past, are now also stuffed with cream, cream, jam or fruit.
In Piedmont, in the province of Cuneo, on the other hand, fugassa d'la Befana is proposed, a dessert with a soft, rounded dough, while in Liguria anicini are prepared, a festive dessert characterized by the presence of
anise halfway between a focaccia and a biscuit that does not involve the use of any kind of fat.
Triveneto is dedicated to the caliper de la marantega (Befana, in Venetian), a sweet bread enriched with raisins, dried figs, candied orange, pine nuts, grappa, preferably cooked under the ashes of bonfires and covered with cabbage leaves.
Descending instead in Central Italy and precisely in Tuscany, in Siena, the typical dessert is the cavallucci, soft leavened biscuits, while in the Marche, in Ancona, the confectionery proposal is the sheep, puff pastry sweets filled with jam and dried fruit.
In Puglia there are also the folders from Bari prepared with flour, oil and dry white wine.
The dough in particular is shaped like a rose which, once fried, is stuffed with cooked must or cooked fig wine.
