Italian Easter Cake “ Pastiera Napoletana”

foodandmood.eu's Note:

For Easter in Naples and now every where in Italy, we prepare “Pastiera Napoletana”. Is a ester cake with some strange ingredients, and I’m not sure I can translate. I’ll try :-) An American friend tell to me that the “corn” in the recipe is actually a wheat, spring wheat, many Italian specialty shops carry the wheat around Easter time, it can come in cans (already cooked), some shops actually cook the wheat and you can buy it ready to go, and you can also buy it dry, look for “skinless wheat” if it’s dry. In this case, soak wheat for a few days making sure to change the water daily. The day before you make the pastiere, drain the corn well, and cook it for about fours hours in half a liter of milk, adding the rind of half a lemon and a pinch of salt. Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook on a low flame. When cooked, scent the corn with the grated rind of half an orange, and add a pinch of vanilla.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 12 muffin

• 180 g butter , at room temperature
• 200 g flour , double 00
• 70 g powdered sugar
• 50 g white almond extract
• 50 g eggs
• 1 pinch salt
• ½ g netural vanilla powder

Ingredients for the inside dough

• 200 g ricotta cheese (variety of Italian cheese similar to cottage cheese )
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 200 g eggs
• 200 g corn , for pastiera already done
• 150 g candied orange , small cube
• cinnamon
• orange flower water
• vanilla essence

Directions:

1. For Pasta Frolla.
2. Put together tender butter, sugar, salt melted in a water spoon, almond and the eggs. combine everything and then add flour and vanilla just a little bit. Put in your fridge for 10-12 hours.
3. For the dough inside: put ricotta together with powdered sugar and eggs and just a little bit of essences, prepared corn, and candied orange.
4. Finally, lay your Pasta Frolla and put in muffin molde (the big one). Then put the dough inside and over with a little bit of pasta frolla. Stendete quindi la pasta frolla e mettetela nelle formine (ne verranno almeno 6). Put in oven for 20 minutes at 180°C Dish out with powdered sugar.
5. We prepare this plate gifting to friends with this basket.

Reviews

[stephanierndos]

Being from an Italian Heritage ~ this very much sounds like a recipe my Great Grandmother and Aunts made... however, and alas - they are not around to 'translate further' :-( I am unfortunately not 'educated' enough to guesstimate on the amounts and what you mean by 'corn prepared for pasteira'... I would LOVE to attempt this recipe, someday...