How to prepare the Neapolitan sweet casatiello

If you love Easter desserts, why not try the sweet casatiello recipe, a fragrant and soft Neapolitan recipe?

When Easter arrives, the kitchens of the housewives of Naples are filled with scents, first of all that of orange blossom that mixes with that of cinnamon and wheat, typical ingredients of the pastiera. There is, however, another recipe, less known today: the Neapolitan sweet casatiello. This leavened product has nothing to do with salty casatiello : it is a sort of sweet cake or donut decorated with colored icing and sprinkles.

How to prepare the sweet casatiello recipe

1. Before trying your hand at this recipe, remember to refresh the mother yeast twice and use it 3/4 hours after the last refreshment. In this way you will exploit it to its full strength.
2. First, whip the eggs with the sugar . You can use the planetary mixer or the electric whisk, then add the flour and the mother yeast.
3. Also add the soft butter and lard , then the aromas: Strega liqueur, vanilla essence and lemon zest.
4. Transfer the dough to the special 1 kg greased and floured mold and put it to rise in the oven turned off with the light on until it reaches the edge of the mold.
5. It will take 12 to 24 hours depending on the strength of the yeast.
6. Then bake it at 170 ° C for 1 hour , doing the toothpick test before taking it out of the oven. When it has cooled, prepare the icing by dissolving the icing sugar in the egg white. Pour it on the surface and decorate with colored sprinkles and candied fruit.

Casatiello Neapolitan dessert without criscito: the recipe for the variant

If you don’t have mother yeast at home, don’t worry, the sweet Easter casatiello can also be prepared with simple brewer’s yeast. To do this you simply need to make the leaven: put in a bowl about 150 g of flour with a stick of fresh brewer’s yeast, about 100 ml of warm water and a teaspoon of honey or sugar. Mix well, cover with a cloth and leave it in a warm and dry place until doubled.

At this point, add the other ingredients and continue with the original recipe of the sweet casatiello. Attention, once the dough is formed, the rising times will be much shorter than with the mother yeast: 4-5 hours will be enough to be ready to cook (but not before it is about 2 fingers from the edge of the mold).

Characteristics and origin of the Neapolitan sweet casatiello

Its recipe varies from family to family, but the ingredients remain unchanged: lard in the first place and mother yeast, or criscito as it is usually called in Naples. We have said that fewer and fewer people are dedicating themselves to the preparation of this Easter recipe and the motivation is to be found in the fact that it really takes a long time . In particular, leavening can last up to two days : it all depends on the temperature and strength of the yeast.

Originally the Neapolitan sweet casatiello was prepared at home (think that some kept it in the bed to let it rise in a warmer environment) and then baked in the municipal oven . It was a real moment of joy and conviviality for families and preceded the even more fun one in which children could decorate it as they pleased.

The characteristic that is found with the savory recipe lies, mainly, in the shape: once it was almost always prepared as a donut , just like the savory recipe, but it is not strange to find it also as a simple glazed cake and enriched with colored sugar sprinkles or other small edible accessories that give the idea of ​​Easter celebrations.

This recipe will be perfect to end your Easter menu !

storage

We recommend that you keep your soft sweet casatiello for a maximum of 2-3 days in a cool and dry place, preferably under a special bell for sweets. We do not recommend freezing in the freezer.