Pastiera Napoletana

How To Make Pastiera Naples

Pastiera Napoletana, a traditional Easter cake, can be enjoyed throughout the year. This cake is a celebration of new life, the start of spring, and a new beginning. This pastry is filled with delicious ricotta and cooked wheat filling, flavored with orange flower water and candied orange fruit pieces to give it a citrusy and decadent taste.

My friend Chef Aniello, who is from Naples, has made this sweet for almost his entire life. It’s the most authentic recipe you could find!

Pasteira Napoletana is too good to limit yourself to just one a year. You can trust me, I will make it as much as possible.

Ingredients

• Pastry:
• 500 grams Flour 17.63oz
• 200 grams Butter 7.05oz
• 400 grams Butter 14oz. Room temperature
• 200 grams Sugar 1 cup
• 3 Eggs
• Salt pinch
• Orange zest
• Filling:
• 500 grams Grano Cotto 17.63oz. Annalisa OR 300g/1.27 cups of rice cooked in milk until sticky
• 400g Milk 1 1/2 cups
• 50 grams Butter 1.78oz
• 800 grams Ricotta 3.2 cups
• 500 grams Sugar 2 1/4 cup + 1 tbs
• 8 eggs + 3 egg yolks
• Orange peel
• You can have as little or as much as 200 grams! Candied orange peel
• Cinnamon
• 200 grams Orange blossom water 200mL
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Icing sugar for garnish

  

Instructions

• Pastiera Napoletana is a rich filling. This is where you will start. Add the grano cotto (or rice if it’s not available in the store!) to a pot. Add the milk.
• Add the butter, 50g sugar and orange peel to the pot.
• Stir this mixture with a wooden spoon, and cook it on low heat for about 20 minutes until the mixture becomes very sticky.
• The shortcrust pastry can be made while the filling cooks. Add the flour to the large bowl of a stand mixer along with the butter at room temperature, the sugar, the orange zest and a pinch salt.
• The dough should be crumbly. It will take approximately 5 minutes.
• Add your eggs once the dough has been prepared. Mix the dough for three more minutes, until it pulls away from your bowl.
• The dough will take shape if you knead the dough with your hands.
• The dough should be divided into four equal parts, and then each one shaped into a round. It will be easier to place it later in the pie pan.
• Make this dough in advance. It needs to rest for an hour in the refrigerator and another 1-2 hours out of the fridge. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
• Your cream should be ready after 20 minutes. The cream should now be thick, bubbling slowly and resemble cooked oatmeal. Remove the orange peels using tongs.
• Cover the cream with freezer paper to prevent it from drying out. The cream must cool down before you add the ricotta.
• After the cream has cooled, mix the remaining sugar and ricotta in a large bowl.
• Mix the wheat mixture with the ricotta. Add the beaten eggs, orange blossom water, cinnamon and orange blossom oil. Add the orange peel (200g or as much as you want! ).
• Between two baking sheets, place your dough between the sheets. Roll the dough by pressing down on the middle, going forward then again down the middle. The dough may be sticky but the baking sheet will prevent you from adding extra flour.
• Add the dough to the pan and spray it with non-stick cooking oil. Remove the first layer of baking parchment, then place the dough on the pan with the face facing out. Gently peel away the second sheet of baking parchment and let the dough rest on top.
• Press down on the pastry with your fingertips and adjust it if you see any cracks.
• If the dough is going to overflow, trim it off.
• Fill in any gaps or unevenness at the top of the pastry by adding extra dough and pressing it down.
• This will be used to make the strips that you’ll put on top of your pastiera. The strips will be made from this. Use a pastry cutter to cut the strips. You’ll need 7 strips per pastiera.
• Cover the strips with a baking paper sheet while pouring the filling to prevent them from drying out.
• Add the filling to the crust using a ladle. Leave 1/2 centimeter on top.
• Place the strips over the pastiera, making sure that there are four pieces at the bottom and three pieces crisscrossing on top. This represents the streets of the historic centre of Naples.
• The pastiera should be placed in the oven for 45 minutes at 175degC/347degF. Drop the temperature down to 150degC/302degF and bake for 15 minutes.
• The most difficult part is to let the pastiera completely cool before removing it from the baking pan. Once it has cooled completely, the pastiera will be easier to remove.
• Remove the pastiera the next morning after it has cooled in the refrigerator.
• Before serving, sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
• E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!

EQUIPMENT

• Medium cooking pot
• wooden spoon
• Three large mixing bowls
• Stand Mixer
• Tart baking dish
• Plastic wrap
• tongs
• A rubber spatula to transfer cream
• Rolling pin
• Baking Paper
• Pastry cutter
• Ladle
• Pastiera cooked with a knife

Pastiera Napoletana

Pastiera Napoletana, a traditional Easter cake, can be enjoyed throughout the year. This cake is a celebration of new life, the start of spring and a new beginning. This pastry is filled with a delicious ricotta and cooked wheat filling, flavored with orange flower water and candied orange fruit pieces to give it a citrusy and decadent taste

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Servings 10

Equipment

• Medium cooking pot
• wooden spoon
• Three large mixing bowls
• Stand Mixer
• Tart baking dish
• Tart baking dish
• tongs
• a rubber spatula to transfer cream
• Whistler
• Rolling pin
• Baking Paper
• Pastry cutter
• Ladle
• Pastiera cooked with a knife

Ingredients

  

Pastry

• 500g Flour 
• 200g Butter
• 400g Butter (room temp)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• Salt (pinch)
• Orange zest

Filling

• 500g Grano Cotto (17.63oz.) Annalisa Or (300g/1.27 cups) of rice cooked in milk until sticky
• 8 eggs + 3 egg yolks
• 2 1/4 cup + 1 tbs Sugar
• 1 12 cup Milk
• 50g Butter
• Orange peel
• 200g Orange blossom water
• 200g Candied orange peel
• 800g Ricotta
• Cinnamon
• Icing sugar (for garnish)
• Non-stick cooking spray

Instructions

 

• Pastiera Napoletana is a rich filling. This is where you will start. Add the grano cotto (or rice if it's not available in the store!) to a pot. Add the milk.
• Add the butter, 50g sugar and orange peel to the pot.
• Stir this mixture with a wooden spoon, and cook it on low heat for about 20 minutes until the mixture becomes very sticky.
• The shortcrust pastry can be made while the filling cooks. Add the flour to the large bowl of a stand mixer along with the butter at room temperature, the sugar, the orange zest, and a pinch of salt.
• The dough should be crumbly. It will take approximately 5 minutes.
• Add your eggs once the dough has been prepared. Mix the dough for three more minutes, until it pulls away from your bowl.
• The dough will take shape if you knead the dough with your hands.
• The dough should be divided into four equal parts, and then each one shaped into a round. It will be easier to place it later in the pie pan.
• Make this dough in advance. It needs to rest for an hour in the refrigerator and another 1-2 hours out of the fridge. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
• Your cream should be ready after 20 minutes. The cream should now be thick, bubbling slowly and resemble cooked oatmeal. Remove the orange peels using tongs.
• Cover the cream with freezer paper to prevent it from drying out. The cream must cool down before you add the ricotta.
• After the cream has cooled, mix the remaining sugar and ricotta in a large bowl.
• Mix the wheat mixture with the ricotta. Add the beaten eggs, orange blossom water, cinnamon and orange blossom oil. Add the orange peel (200g or as much as you want! ).
• Between two baking sheets, place your dough between the sheets. Roll the dough by pressing down on the middle, going forward then again down the middle. The dough may be sticky but the baking sheet will prevent you from adding extra flour.
• Add the dough to the pan and spray it with non-stick cooking oil. Remove the first layer of baking parchment, then place the dough on the pan with the face facing out. Gently peel away the second sheet of baking parchment and let the dough rest on top.
• Press down on the pastry with your fingertips and adjust it if you see any cracks.
• If the dough is going to overflow, trim it off.
• Fill in any gaps or unevenness at the top of the pastry by adding extra dough and pressing it down.
• This will be used to make the strips that you'll put on top of your pastiera. The strips will be made from this. Use a pastry cutter to cut the strips. You'll need 7 strips per pastiera.
• Cover the strips with a baking paper sheet while pouring the filling to prevent them from drying out.
• Add the filling to the crust using a ladle. Leave 1/2 centimeter on top.
• Place the strips over the pastiera, making sure that there are four pieces at the bottom and three pieces crisscrossing on top. This represents the streets of the historic centre of Naples.
• The pastiera should be placed in the oven for 45 minutes at 175degC/347degF. Drop the temperature down to 150degC/302degF and bake for 15 minutes.
• The most difficult part is to let the pastiera completely cool before removing it from the baking pan. Once it has cooled completely, the pastiera will be easier to remove.
• Remove the pastiera the next morning after it has cooled in the refrigerator.
• Before serving, sprinkle powdered sugar on top.