Pastiera Napoletana (Neapolitan Easter Cake/Tart)
Pastiera napoletana is a lovely sweet Italian tart that's a traditional dessert for Easter. This Neapolitan cake has a wonderfully creamy filling, thats gently aromatic with orange, and a crisp, buttery crust. A delicious treat whenever you enjoy it.
For a number of places that celebrate Easter, either a sweet bread, cake of other slightly indulgent treat is often traditionally part of the celebration, like cozonac in Romania and tsoureki in Greece. I imagine it's in part to enjoy some of the things you may have missed during Lent, plus they can be perfect for sharing as you gather with family.
This lovely ricotta and grain pie or tart is one you'll find across Italy, but in particular in the Naples area where it's from. Not only is it delicious, but it's perfect for serving a crowd and is conveniently made ahead, too.
- 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
- 1 ½ cups grano cotto cooked wheat berries (see notes)
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 strip lemon peel
- 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