Today I want to share with you the recipe for one of the most classic Italian Easter sweets: pastiera napoletana. As the name suggests, it is a typical cake from the city of Naples and it is a very ancient dish, as it appears to have originated before the Christian era, when it was eaten to celebrate the arrival of spring (this very likely explains the use of wheat kernels in the filling). This is also one of my all time favourite cakes. I love all sweets with ricotta, but this has a special place in my stomach heart. What makes it so special to me is the orange blossom water used in the filling. Ever smelt the scent of zagare (orange blossoms)? It is one of the most inebriating scents ever and eating a piece of pastiera takes you straight to a beautiful garden full of zagare. It is the perfect symbol of spring and that is why it is eaten for Easter. To fully enjoy it, it is best prepared on the Thursday and then served on Easter Sunday. This gives the cake enough time to set. So, I leave you to this week’s Regional Italian dish: pastiera napoletana from Campania! Enjoy!
Ingredients: (for a 20 cm – 8 inches round spring form pan)
Pastry
125 gms – 4.4 oz. butter
250 gms – 2 cups flour
1 egg + 1 yolk
100 gms – 3.5 oz. sugar
1 sachet Vanillina or ½ tsp vanilla extract
Filling
15 gms – 1 tbsp orange blossom water
100 gms – 3.5 oz. candied orange peels, chopped
15 gms – 1 tbsp butter
½ tsp cinnamon
125 gms – 4.4 oz. pre-cooked durum wheat kernels (you can substitute this with cooked barley)
100 ml – 3.5 oz. milk
Zest of ½ lemon
300 gms – 10.5 oz. ricotta
300 gms – 10.5 oz. sugar
2 eggs (keep 1 tsp to brush on strips)
1 sachet Vanillina or ½ tsp vanilla extract
Start by making the pastry. Put all the ingredients in a mixer and blend until combined. Then knead the mixture for a minute on a lightly floured surface until you get a smooth dough. Wrap it in cling wrap and put it in the fridge to rest for at least 40 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the filling.
Put the pre-cooked durum wheat kernels a sauce pan. Add the milk, butter and lemon zest. Let it simmer on a low fire until it thickens and becomes custard like. Remember to stir it often or it may burn. When ready, put it in a big bowl and let it cool down.
In the meantime, put the ricotta, eggs (remember to keep aside 1 tsp of egg to brush the cake with), sugar, orange blossom water, Vanillina and cinnamon in a mixer and blend well.
Mix the durum wheat kernel cream with the ricotta mixture and add the chopped orange peels.
Take the pastry out of the fridge and cut out a small piece that you will use to make the griddle on the top. Roll the remaining pastry into a 3 mm – 0.1 inches thick round sheet and put it into a greased 20 cm – 8 inches spring form pan. Make sure to leave a border of about 6 cm – 2.5 inches to contain the filling (1). Then pour the filling mixture into the pan (2). Roll the remaining dough (3), cut some strips 1.5 cm – 0.6 inches wide and put them on the top of the cake to make a diamond pattern (4). Brush them with the little egg you kept aside (5-6).
Bake in a preheated oven at 190ºC – 375ºF for about 1 hour. Let it cool down completely before unmoulding. Let it rest at least 24 hours before serving it.
Some people like to dust it with some icing sugar, but I like it “plain”. Enjoy!
Before I leave you, I would like to THANK Fiona from Nuts about food who awarded MsM with the Liebster Award!
I found Fiona’s blog by chance about a year ago and since then I have been hooked. We have quite a few things in common (to name just one… she lives in my home town) and I consider her a good friend, one that I hope to meet in person the fist time I get the chance to fly back to Milan on holiday!!! If you haven’t visited her site yet, please do! She has some fantastic recipes and I am sure you will be back for more! 🙂 GRAZIE Fiona! <3
My Neapolitan MIL used to make a whet pie that was SAVORY and not sweet. cant find a recipe for anything even close to it. not sure if its an actual “thing” or if she mad e it up herself. have u ever heard of such a pie? If I were to ‘invent’ one I wonder how id do it? what would go in it?
Hi Julie!
It does exist! It’s called Pastiera Salata (aka savoury pastiera). I have found a recipe for it, but it’s in Italian. You can find it here: http://www.misya.info/ricetta/pastiera-salata.htm See if you can translate it with google. If something isn’t clear, do let me know and I will try and help out with the translation. Have a great Easter weekend! Manu
OMGGG I love you..Ill have my husband translate if I need it LOOVVVEEEE YOUUUUU!!! xoxoxoxox Buona Pasqua 🙂
Ciao Manu,
thanks for such an easy to follow recipe and great photos. My mother has always made Pastiera di Riso for festive occasions – she substitutes rice for durum wheat. I’d love to try the traditional Pastiera but where do I source the pre-cooked durum wheat?
Ciao Lucia. Thanks for your comment! I am very glad you like my Pastiera recipe! 🙂 I find it at any continental delis. They may have it at the back, so you may have to ask. Not sure where you live, but I know they have it at Haberfield/Leichhardt here in Sydney. Hope it helps!
Grazie Manu for your sweet words… I look very much forward to meeting you when you come to Milan!
I am very behind on my blogging and reading and am catching up with all your incredible posts of the past weeks so I just saw this now. Grazie.
I am not a fan of the ingredients in Pastiera Napoletana, but yours looks like you just walked into a pastry store in Naples and bought it!
Lovely Easter cake,. Someone was telling me about this this week
aww that little chicken is adorable! it looks delicious and very well done
This looks sooo delicious, and light and fluffy too. The chicken on top is hilarious!
I absolutely love Pastiera Napoletana, it became a tradition for me since I moved to Canada. Being from the north of Italy I never really had pastiera when I grew up – ironically, now that I’m here, I’m discovering more dishes from the whole country. For instance, I can more easily find pre-cooked durum wheat kernels here than in northern Italy. Happy Easter, btw!
Buona Pasqua Manu!
mmmmmmmmm This looks so yummy. Like a super cheesecake. I may try it the next time I get a hankering for cheesecake.
Your cake reminds me a lot of the French Gâteau Basque but I think yours would be better since it has a ricotta filling. I’m sold on anything with ricotta in it. Especially when the anything with ricotta looks as fab as this cake.
Fantastica Manu!!
This looks adorable with that cute little chicki on the top!
I have to say beautiful lattice top and orange blossom water sounds wonderful here…
Beautiful!
I love everything about this dessert! I have smelt orange blossoms but I’ve never had orange blossom water. It’s got to be good and with the candied orange peels – YUM! Beautiful dessert! Thanks so much for passing the Liebster Award to me! I just love the meaning of the word Liebster, so to receive the award is very flattering! Thanks Darling!
Lovely recipe!Love your filling and such a delicious and gorgeous outcome :)Love your lattice work too!Happy Easter 🙂
Oh, my…this filling sounds irresistible and your lattice work is impeccable!!! Such a fabulous holiday dish! Happy Easter, Manu!!! xo
Ooooh, that looks so, so delicious! And fancy, the top is just gorgeous.
Thank you so much! 🙂
wonderful recipe for a wonderful cake!
as always with your easy step-by-step instructions.
You are the best Manuela!
Buona Pasqua
;D Karin
Wow! That filling is so good! It sounds and looks so yummy!
fantastica!!! adoro la pastiera!! ^_^ buona Pasqua Manu
Grazie Debora!!! Anch’io (purtroppo) l’adoro… hahahaha Buona Pasqua anche a te! 🙂