Italian cuisine · Breakfast & Eggs

Sfogliatella

Shell-shaped flaky pastry from Naples filled with semolina-ricotta cream, orange and candied fruit.

Ingredients · for 8 servings

• 400g durum wheat flour
• 150ml water
• 200g clarified butter
• 250g ricotta
• 100g durum wheat semolina
• 250ml milk
• 100g sugar
• 80g candied fruit
• 1 organic orange
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Knead the durum wheat flour with the water into a very firm dough, crumbly at first, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 60 min.
2. For the filling, bring the milk to a boil with 50g sugar, sprinkle in the semolina, and cook, stirring, for 3–4 min into a thick porridge; let cool.
3. Stir the ricotta smooth with the remaining sugar, the egg, the grated orange zest, the cinnamon and the finely diced candied fruit, then mix into the semolina porridge.
4. Roll the dough out paper-thin in batches – ideally with a pasta machine down to the thinnest setting –, brush generously with soft clarified butter, and roll up tightly into a log; chill for 60 min.
5. Cut 2cm thick slices from the log, press each open from the inside with your thumbs into a cone shape, fill with the filling, and seal the edges well.
6. Bake at 200°C for 25–30 min, until the flaky layers visibly fan out and turn deep golden brown; serve lukewarm, dusted with powdered sugar.