Italian Pasticiotti from Lecce

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 500 g flour
• 200 g sugar
• some lemon peel
• 250 g butter
• 5 egg yolks
• 600 ml milk
• 1 vanilla pod(s)
• 4 egg yolks
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 50 g flour
• Sour cherries or other fruits as desired
• 2 egg whites
• Flour for the work surface

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

cream-filled tartlets in shortcrust pastry, makes 12 servings

For the shortcrust pastry, mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and softened butter in a bowl and knead the dough well. Then add the egg yolks and continue kneading until you have a nice, relatively firm dough. Wrap the dough in aluminum foil and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. For the cream, warm the milk in a saucepan with the vanilla extract. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and add the flour. Add this mixture to the warm milk and whisk until a thick custard forms. Stir continuously to prevent the cream from burning. After about 10 minutes, the cream should thicken. If that doesn’t work, you can add custard powder if necessary. Then let the cream cool for a while. Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a floured surface to a thickness of about 0.5 cm. Then you can take greased muffin cups, Pfitzau cups, cups, or whatever else you have on hand and line the cups with 2/3 of the shortcrust pastry. Fill each cup with the cooled cream. If you like, you can also add a sour cherry or other fruit. Cover the baking cups with the remaining pastry. Brush the shortcrust pastry lid of the pasticiotti with beaten egg white and bake at 180°C for 30-40 minutes, until the pasticiotti are golden brown. Then remove from the oven and let cool briefly. Tip: They taste best warm. The pasticiotti can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.