3tablespoons(40grams)oilcanola or sunflower seed oil
2tablespoons(30grams)anise liquoror any other liquor (or plant milk for alcohol free)
1teaspoonvanilla extract
Topping
½cupsugar(if you like you can cinnamon to the sugar)
½cupplant milk(needed only for the oven baked castagnole)
For frying
½gallon(2liters)frying oil
To a bowl, add the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and orange zest. Stir with a whisk to mix.
Now add the wet ingredients: plantmilk, oil, liquor, and vanilla extract. Mix with a spatula till you get a dough ball.
Transfer the dough ball onto a worktop and knead with your hands for about 5 minutes.
Cut the dough into 32 pieces.Tip: first cut the dough in half. Then cut each in half again. Keep cutting each piece in half till you have 32 pieces.Shape each piece into small balls, between the palms of your hands.
Oven-Baked Castagnole
Place the doughnut holes into a baking tray lined with parchment paper.Bake in a preheated oven at 360F or 180C for 12 to 14 minutes max.NOTE: do not over-bake. Oven-baked donut holes should NOT be golden. They should be white on top, so that they keep their soft and moist core. If you bake them too long they'll dry out.
Let the donut holes cool for 2 minutes, then quickly dip each one of them in plant-milk, and then roll them in sugar.
Deep-Fried Castagnole
In a small pot with tall edges, bring the frying oil to frying temperature. To fry castagnole your oil should be at 330F or 165C.Dip a few castagnole at the time in the oil. Turn them around while they fry and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes mx, until they get slightly puffy, crispy and golden.
Let the castagnole cool down for 5 minutes on a tray lined with kitchen paper to get rid of the excess oil.Then roll them in sugar till they are fully coated.