Chocolate pastiera

If you are looking for an alternative recipe for Easter without straying too far from tradition, here is the chocolate pastiera!

For an even tastier Easter, how about preparing a chocolate pastiera? In essence, the traditional classic is dressed in black thanks to the presence of the cocoa pastry in the dough and lots of delicious dark chocolate melted in the filling.

Nothing light of course, but we guarantee that at the first taste you will be amazed by the goodness of the Neapolitan chocolate pastiera and you will start to think of a new occasion to prepare it. The process is a bit long but very simple. Ready to get cooking?

How to prepare the chocolate pastiera recipe

1. First prepare the shortcrust pastry . In a bowl, place the flour, cocoa powder, 150 g of sugar and the cold butter cut into pieces.
2. Start kneading with your fingertips until you obtain a rather crumbly mixture.
3. Flavor it with the zest of 1 lemon , add a pinch of salt and 2 eggs. Finish kneading until it forms a dough.
4. Wrap it in cling film and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours .
5. In the meantime , prepare the filling . Heat the milk with the cooked wheat in a saucepan and as soon as it comes to the boil, turn off the heat and add the chopped dark chocolate with a knife. Stir until it has dissolved. Keep aside and let cool.
6. In a bowl , combine the ricotta, the grated orange and lemon zest, a pinch of cinnamon, the orange blossom water and the remaining sugar and mix well until you obtain a cream.
7. Add the remaining eggs, candied fruit and cooked wheat and mix everything well, keeping it aside.
8. Once the pastry is cold, divide it into two parts respecting the proportion 2/3 and 1/3. Roll out the largest one between two sheets of baking paper until it reaches half a centimeter thick and transfer it into a 26-28 cm tart mold.
9. Remove the excess edges and pour the chocolate filling, leveling it.
10. With the remaining pastry, cut some strips and arrange them on the surface to obtain the characteristic diamond decoration .
11. Cook at 170°C for 90 minutes then let cool completely before cutting. The ideal would be to prepare it the day before.

Another variation of the classic recipe that we recommend you try is the rice pastiera : ideal for Easter or for the Easter Monday nic.

storage

The dark pastry can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days . We advise you to bring it back to room temperature before enjoying it.