Pastiera Napoletana: The Traditional Italian Easter Dessert

Pastiera Napoletana, an Italian Easter pie on a plate with candied oranges in the background

Pastiera Napoletana: The Traditional Italian Easter Dessert

Pastiera Napoletana is the king of Italian Easter desserts. This pie tastes better as it sits for a few days, so feel free to make it well in advance of your big Easter celebration day!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 1 20

Total Time 2 10

Servings people

Calories 534kcal

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

For the pasta frolla (shortcrust dough):

3.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 ¼ cup butter unsalted, at room temperature
zest of one lemon (about 1 tbsp)

For the filling:

2 cups grano cotto (cooked wheatberries)
1 cup whole milk
1 lemon zested
2 tablespoon butter
1.5 cups ricotta
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup candied orange peels diced into small pieces
⅓ cup candied citron or candied lemon peel
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon fior d'arancio (orange blossom water)
1 vanilla bean, seeded 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
extra powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Make the pasta frolla (shortcrust pastry):

In bowl of a KitcheAid mixer, stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder.
Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, and add the eggs, egg yolk, butter and lemon zest.
Beat the ingredients together in the mixer until the dough starts to come together, until it almost forms a ball, about 2-3 minutes.
On a smooth surface, very gently form the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for one hour.

Make the filling:

Add the grano cotto, milk, lemon zest and butter to a medium sized pot.
Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly so that the mixture doesn't stick to the pot. Cook until mixture is dense and creamy, about 20 minutes. Let it cool.
If ricotta has a lot of moisture to it, drain it of the excess moisture with a colander.
In a large bowl, mix ricotta, eggs and sugar with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are incorporated together.
Add grano cotto mixture to the ricotta mixture. Add candied oranges, cinnamon, fior d'arancio, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix well.

Assemble the pastiera:

Remove dough from the fridge, and cut off ¼ of the dough for the lattice top. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough a couple of times to soften it. Then roll it out to ¼ inch thick.
Add the dough to a springform pan, cut and remove any overhang. Fill with the ricotta/grano cotto mixture.
Decorate the pastiera with a lattice top with the remaining ¼ of the dough. Fold the edges of the dough over the lattices.
Place in a preheated 325°F oven. Bake for 80-100 minutes, or until edges of the pastiera are golden brown.
Top with extra powdered sugar.

Video

Notes

The candied orange peels in the filling give the pastiera a very distinct and unique flavor, so I would recommend adding them. I used these candied orange peels. If you can't find candied orange peels, or do not wish to add them, you can add the zest of one orange instead.
In a very traditional pastiera recipe like this one, candied citron is also used. A citron is a citrus fruit very similar to a lemon, but with a much thicker peel. I used candied citron that I bought in Italy, but Amazon also sells it. If you can't find candied citron, you can can also use candied lemon peel.
The fior d'arancio (orange blossom water) also gives a beautiful depth to the pastiera so I would recommend adding it as well if you can find it in your city or online. But once again, if you're unable to use it for whatever reason, use the zest of one orange instead.
Use a metal pie dish or springform pan to make your pastiera. The pastiera crust will come out better this way. Do not use a glass dish, or anything but metal.
This recipe was made in a 9 inch springform pan, so the filling amounts are suited to a pan of this size.
The filling in this pastiera is not meant to be dry. Once baked, it remains quite moist/wet and this is normal.

Nutrition