Sfogliatella Riccia
Photo: Saggittarius A · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Sfogliatella was created by the nuns of the Santa Rosa convent in Conca dei Marini on the Amalfi Coast around 1700; the recipe reached Naples in the 1800s when pastry cook Pasquale Pintauro adapted it for his Via Toledo shop, and the Neapolitan version became the city's definitive pastry. Today the canonical addresses for the riccia are Pasticceria Attanasio near the central station and Scaturchio in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs

Make it at home

Yield 12Hands-on 1 hr 30 minTotal 4 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • For the dough: 500g strong flour, 200ml water, 10g salt, 30g lard or shortening
  • For laminating: 200g lard, softened
  • For the filling: 350ml water
  • 150g semolina
  • 300g fresh ricotta
  • 2 eggs
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 80g candied orange peel, diced
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • Icing sugar to finish

Method

  1. Mix flour, water and salt into a firm dough. Knead for 10 minutes, wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
  2. Roll dough out very thin (pasta machine down to setting 5). Spread soft lard across the entire surface. Roll the sheet into a tight cylinder, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  3. For the filling: bring water to the boil, rain in semolina stirring constantly, cook for 5 minutes to a thick porridge. Cool completely. Beat in ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied peel, cinnamon and lemon zest.
  4. Slice the chilled dough cylinder into 1cm rounds. With lard-greased hands, stretch each round from the centre outward into a cone shape 8cm deep.
  5. Fill each cone with 2 tablespoons of ricotta filling. Pinch closed, forming the ridged shell shape.
  6. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 to 25 minutes until deeply golden. Dust with icing sugar and eat warm.

Tip from the editors. The pastry must be eaten within 2 hours of baking; refrigerating softens the crust irreversibly. If you cannot eat them all, freeze unbaked.

Where to eat sfogliatella riccia

Sfogliatella Riccia in Naples

Pasticceria Attanasio ★ 4.7

€€ €2-4BrunchStation-side sfogliatella specialistCentro Storico

Attanasio near Naples Central Station fries sfogliatelle since 1930 at 2 euros, the city's cheapest and best standing breakfast and the closest good.

OrderSfogliatella riccia freshly fried, eaten standing at the counter.

TipClosed Monday. Cash only at the counter. The queue moves fast; sfogliatella riccia sells hot from 06:30.

Directions

Scaturchio ★ 4.2

€€ CafeCentro StoricoUntil 21:00

Scaturchio in Naples' Piazza San Domenico Maggiore opens its evening aperitivo from 18:00-21:00, with the ministeriale (chocolate-rum disc) and babà au.

TryMinisteriale, babà au rhum, espresso

TipOpen daily 07:00-21:00. The aperitivo set runs 8 euros with a spritz and pasticcini from 18:00.

Directions

Sfogliatella Mary ★ 4.1

€ Street foodToledo

Mary in Naples' Galleria Umberto I is the standing counter inside the 1887 arcade, with the sfogliatella riccia baked all day, sold piping hot.

TrySfogliatella riccia hot

TipOpen daily 07:00-20:00 inside the Galleria. Sfogliatella runs 2 euros; the riccia is the local-buy.

Directions

Gran Caffe Gambrinus ★ 4.5

€€ €3-12BrunchBelle Epoque pastry breakfastToledo

Gran Caffe Gambrinus on Piazza Trieste e Trento in Naples (1860) is the city's defining morning ritual, with the counter espresso and hot sfogliatella.

OrderSfogliatella riccia hot from the counter, cioccolata calda in winter.

TipStanding at the counter is one-third the price of the seated terrace. Arrive by 09:30 on weekends before the tour groups.

Directions

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