oreillettes

Sweet fritters by a thousand names are made throughout the Mediterranean region for Carnival and probably date back to the ancient Roman Saturnalia. Airy deep fried pastries made with flour, eggs, and butter, they are often flavoured with citrus zest and orange flower water or anis, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

In Provence and Languedoc they are oreillettes (little ears); further west they tend to be known as merveilles. Other names are fantaisies (Burgundy), bugnettes (in Catalan Roussillon), chichi frégi (eastern Provence), faverolles/frivolles (Champagne), ganses (Nice), risoles (Jura), rousserolles (Tours) and schankala (Alsace).

In some places they are called beignets or bugnes, although these often mean a thicker, moister, more donut-like deep fried pastry.