Curly puff pastry

Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, the curly puff pastry is a typical dessert of Naples. Let's see the recipe to make it at home!

Babà, puff pastry and curly puff pastry: you cannot leave Naples without having tasted these typical desserts . The curly puff pastry is a dessert born in a convent of nuns in the 1600s. Originally filled with custard and black cherry, Pasquale Pintauro changed the recipe in 1818 to the one we are used to today.

Neapolitan curly puff pastry consists of a crunchy wrapper and a ricotta and semolina-based filling. It differs from the shortcrust pastry only for the outer shell: the latter is in fact made with a dough similar to shortcrust pastry.

There are some variations of the Neapolitan puff pastry called sweet lobster tails, which however are longer and filled with cream, chantilly or chocolate cream.

How to prepare curly puff pastry

1. The preparation is quite complex and the dough, once ready, must rest for a whole day in the refrigerator. Mix the flour with water, honey and a pinch of salt. Work the dough vigorously until it forms a smooth dough. Grease it with lard and let it rest for 30 minutes .
2. At this point, roll out the dough as thin as possible (preferably with a pasta machine like the grandma duck) forming a single 20 cm wide and very long strip .
3. Starting from one end, roll up about 10 cm of dough, then start spreading the lard all over the dough. Roll tightly, then smear the entire outside of the roll with the remaining lard.
4. Let it rest in the refrigerator for one night .  
5. The following day, dedicate yourself to preparing the filling . Mix sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Bring the water to the boil with a pinch of salt, then pour in the semolina . Cook stirring for 10 minutes, then transfer to a bowl and leave to cool. Once cold, add the ricotta , the egg and the candied fruit, mixing to obtain a cream.
6. Now retrieve the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into slices about one centimeter thick. Press with your thumbs from the center towards the outside of the slice so that a sort of bell slowly forms.
7. Stuff with a spoonful of filling and close by pressing the broths together.
8. Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cold dusted with icing sugar.

And here's how to close the dessert perfectly with this video :

If you love Neapolitan desserts, try also the puff pastry !

storage

The sfogliatella is good, indeed not very good, as soon as it is ready or at the latest a few hours after cooking and filling. If you can't eat them all, you can keep them in the refrigerator for a maximum of 1 day, inside a container with an airtight lid. Heat them in the oven for a few minutes before serving. We do not recommend freezing in the freezer.

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