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1
Combine the 00 flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, softened butter, and grappa. Begin mixing, incorporating the lukewarm water gradually until a very slack, spoonable batter forms — hydration should be approximately 65%. The batter will not hold a shape; it should fall from the spoon in a thick ribbon. Fold the drained raisins and pine nuts evenly throughout. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until visibly doubled and the surface shows bubbles breaking slowly.
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2
Heat the sunflower oil in a deep, heavy pan to 175°C. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: oil below this temperature produces a greasy interior; oil above it burns the exterior before the dense centre has cooked through. Maintain 175°C throughout the frying — check with a thermometer between batches.
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3
Using two wet spoons or a small ice-cream scoop, drop portions of batter — each roughly the size of a walnut — into the hot oil in batches of four to five. Do not crowd the pan. Fry, turning occasionally, until the frittelle are a deep amber-gold on all sides and feel firm when pressed lightly with a slotted spoon. Lift and drain on absorbent paper; the surface should not glisten with excess oil.
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4
If filling with pastry cream: prepare a standard crema pasticcera — beat egg yolks with sugar and flour, scald the milk, combine, and cook over low heat until the cream coats the spoon thickly and leaves a clean line when a finger is drawn across the back of the spoon. Cool completely. Load into a piping bag fitted with a thin nozzle and pipe into each frittella through a small hole at its base.
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5
Dust the frittelle generously with icing sugar immediately before serving. They are served warm; the sugar should lie as a dry, even bloom on the surface, not melt into the crust.