Pastiera napoletana (Neapolitan Easter cake)

Pastiera napoletana (Neapolitan Easter cake)

This lovely dessert, traditional for Easter in Naples, is similar to a cheesecake but with more texture and a lovely aromatic orange flavor.

Prep Time40

Cook Time1 20

cooling time (approx)1

Total Time2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: approx

Calories: 403kcal

Author: Caroline

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Ingredients

For the pastry (pasta frolla)

2 cups all purpose flour plain flour
1 pinch salt
⅓ cup sugar
5 oz unsalted butter cold, cut in chunks
1 egg
¼ cup water cold, or a little more as needed

To prepare grano cotto

1 ½ cups grano cotto cooked wheat berries (see notes)
¾ cup milk
1 strip lemon peel

For rest of pie/cake

1 ⅔ cup ricotta cheese whole milk
3 eggs large
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon orange flower water also called orange blossom water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup candied citrus peel

Instructions

For pastry

Place the flour, salt, sugar and chunks of butter in a food processor and mix to form coarse crumbs. Add the egg, mix again, then gradually add the water with the motor running so that the pastry comes together in clumps. You may not need all the water, or you may need a little more.
Bring the pastry together in a ball - make sure it sticks together but try not to over-work it. If sticky, dust with a little flour. Flatten the pastry into a disc, wrap in cling wrap/film and chill in the fridge for around an hour.

For grano cotto

Note, if using canned/jarred grano cotto, taste a little first to see if they are salty or not as if they are, you may want to rinse and drain before using. Place the cooked grano cotto (wheat berries) in a pan with the milk and strip of lemon peel (ie peel a wide strip with a vegetable peeler).
Bring the grains and milk to a simmer, reduce the heat a little and cook for around 20 minutes until the grains are very soft and the mixture looks creamy. Don't worry if it seems to curdle as it cooks, it's fine. And if slightly liquid after cooking, it's likely also fine as it will evaporate as it cools. You just don't want it wet.
Pour the cooked grains onto a plate, spread them out and leave them to cool to room temperature.

Also ahead of time

Place the ricotta in a fine sieve lined with paper towel over a bowl and allow it to drain for a good hour, or overnight if you have time, in the fridge.

Final preparation

Line a 9 inch (23cm) diameter springform cake pan/tin with parchment on the bottom (or you can leave if it's generally easy to unstick from).
Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
Remove the chilled pastry, unwrap and cut off around ¼ of the dough. Re-wrap this small piece and place in the fridge while you work on the rest.
Roll out the larger piece of pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a large circle, then transfer the pastry to the cake pan/tin and gently press into the bottom and sides so that it evenly lines the base and most of the way up the sides. If needed, patch any thin areas or pieces where the pastry is lower. Trim it down a little below the top. Add the cut off scraps to the pastry that's chilling.
Place the drained ricotta, eggs, sugar, orange flower water and vanilla in a wide bowl. Whisk so everything is well mixed. Finely chop the candied peel and add this, along with the cooled grano cotto mixture, to the ricotta mixture. Stir so everything is well mixed.
Pour the ricotta filling mixture into the pastry in the cake pan - it should come to just a little below the top pastry level.
Remove the smaller piece of pastry from the fridge and roll it out into a strip that's about the length of the cake pan and half as wide, roughly. Cut long strips around ¾in (1 ¾cm) wide either with a knife or a pastry cutter - straight or wavy edges are both fine. Place the strips over the top of the cake/tart to give a cross design, usually three strips one way, four the other and with diamond-shaped spaces in between. Make sure the strips stick to the pastry around the side of the cake.
Carefully place the cake/tart in the oven and bake for around an hour. You may need to turn now and then to get even browning. If it browns too quickly, cover it for part of the time. When done, the cake should have a good relatively even light brown color over the top and no longer seem wobbly. It will likely puff up a little then deflate as it cools. If it's not quite brown or firm enough after the hour, give it a couple minutes more.
Leave the cake to cool completely then cover and chill overnight in the fridge to help the flavors mingle and for it to set a little better. Dust with powdered sugar, in particular on the pastry, before cutting slices and serving.

Notes

As noted in recipe and post above, about the easiest is to used canned/jarred grano cotto but you may want to rinse the grains first if they seem very salty. You can also soak then cook wheat berries yourself prior to making this - ideally use soft white wheat berries.

You can also make this pie with other grains like rice or farro, in both cases cooked (for rice only par-cooked) then cooked with milk as above, though if it seems wet drain excess liquid. The texture will be a little different with those, but still similar. Use a similar cooked volume.

You can also make this in a pie dish, but make sure it is a deep one as you should get a good depth of filling and you don't want it to overflow.

Nutrition

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