♫ Figolli, Figolla ♪
- wingedmermaid
- Apr 3, 2021
- 3 min read
Figolli (singular: figolla) is probably my favorite food that I can't actually eat.
Imagine a pastry that's almost like a giant, fun-shaped cookie with a ground almond, sugar and lemon zest paste in the middle, dipped in chocolate or royal icing, and then topped with a chocolate egg and decorated with even more icing. That is a Maltese figolla.
I don't mind so much the rest of the year, but when it's figolli time, I REALLY wish I wasn't allergic to almonds!
Figolli are especially fun, because there's no wrong way to shape or decorate them.
My aunt is the master figolli maker in my family, and she typically makes ones that are shaped like mermaids, rabbits, eggs, birds, and horses. She usually makes enough to share with all of her siblings and their families -- which is typical of figolli. They're edible gifts made to be shared with those you love during Easter.
In Malta, you can find figolli all across the island just before and during Holy Week; ready to be purchased and given to friends and family on Easter.
People also have their figolli (and Easter eggs) blessed by priests! You'll find gatherings in plazas all over Malta, where people will stand together with their Easter treats raised high, while a priest says a blessing over them.
Here in the United States, it's highly unlikely you'll find figolli in any bakery anywhere. Your best bet for figolli is a Maltese person who enjoys baking.
If I weren't allergic to almonds, I would be all over making figolli. They're so fun, so beautiful, and they look delicious. But unfortunately, the most I can do is claim the chocolate egg and watch my other family members enjoy them (which is still fun).
When I added Truly Me #86 to my collection and made her my Maltese-American girl (I'll be introducing Sophie properly soon, I promise), I decided she needed some actual Maltese food. And since it's Easter, I thought why not make her some figolli?
Make not Bake
It's been a while since I made anything out of clay, and I almost went with standard FIMO for this project, but then I found this...
This was my first time using FIMO air, and I think it'll probably be my last. The clay was kind of finicky. I'd try to knead it and it would shred and not want to stick together. It seemed to dry out really fast, too. Next time, I'll go back to standard FIMO.
But despite the clay's issues, I was able to make a bunch of different shapes. I chose my favorites that my aunt makes:
Thankfully, the imperfections in the clay actually made them look more realistic. I also added a line around the middle of each piece to make it look like I'd sandwiched two pieces of dough together.
After letting them dry for a full 24 hours, it was time to start painting!
I used acrylic paint for the base of the pastry, then a variety of puffy paint for the decorations. It was the closest thing I had to real frosting, and it was a good way to use up more paint from previous crafts!
The most difficult part was trying to paint and then attach the chocolate eggs. They're so small, they were hard to hold while painting, and then wanted to roll everywhere. To attach the eggs, I used more puffy paint, and then went back and kept adding more, because as the paint dried, it'd shrink up and not look quite as similar to frosting as I wanted.
The final step was packaging some of the larger figolli. My aunt typically takes a piece of cardboard, covers it with foil, adds the figolla, and then covers it with some plastic wrap. That way it stays safe on the journey home (until it's slowly devoured by several people over the following days).
For my version, I started doing the same, and then I realized how glaring these pieces would be in my display case if I had that much foil visible. So, I opted to add some prettier leftover paperboard in the center to minimize the amount of foil.
The Result
I'm pretty happy with how these turned out! I gave half to my mom and she was really excited. My family is very close-knit, and it's been really hard missing out on gathering together for Easter for the second time, so I think even just having clay figolli cheered us both up a little.
I think eventually I might try to make more Maltese foods, but definitely with regular FIMO next time.
