Napoletana pastry

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 300 g wheat flour type 00 or 405, sifted
• 100 g butter
• 75 g sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 30 ml whole milk
• 20 g blossom honey
• 200 g wheat, cooked, from the can
• 25 g butter
• 75 ml whole milk
• 1 pinch of salt
• 200 g ricotta
• 3 eggs
• 100 g sugar
• 3 tbsp orange liqueur or orange blossom water
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 50 g candied orange peel
• 50 g candied lemon peel
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 20 ml whole milk
• e.g. powdered sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

Easter cake from Naples

First, knead the shortcrust pastry. Warm the milk slightly and dissolve the honey in it. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until frothy, then add the orange and lemon zest with a pinch of salt. Combine everything with the flour and butter and knead into a dough that is very smooth but no longer sticky to your fingers. Add a little more flour if necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. For the wheat cream, combine the cooked wheat with the butter, whole milk, and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Immediately turn off the heat, remove the pan, and mash the wheat with a fork, mixing everything thoroughly several times. Let the contents cool in another container. For the remaining filling, separate the eggs, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, then add to the ricotta, first roughly mixing and then finely blending with an immersion blender. Add the remaining ingredients, except the egg whites, and mix, then add the wheat mixture and orange liqueur or orange blossom water. Mix everything well again. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold in. Cut off 1/4 of the shortcrust pastry, roll out the larger piece so that it fits a 24 cm springform pan and leaves about 4 cm of space at the sides. Spread the filling on top. After rolling out the dough, cut 6 or 7 strips of about 1-2 cm wide from the smaller piece and place 3 or 4 of them parallel over the filling. Then place the others back on top at a slight angle. Trim off any excess. Place the pan in a preheated oven at 180 degrees (top/bottom heat) for 60 minutes. Then check the filling with a pin. Bake for another 10-15 minutes if necessary. The filling often appears undercooked in the oven, but after a day of resting, it will set. Let the cake cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar. This cake is baked in Naples at Easter and heralds the arrival of spring. Pastiera is also very popular in other regions. The cooked wheat, known as “grano cotto” in Italian, can be found in Italian specialty stores or online. It’s a good idea to let the pastiera cool for a day, as this is also because the filling only then achieves the right consistency.