Indulge in a delightful culinary journey with Pastiera, a traditional Italian Easter ricotta cake brimming with rich flavors and textures. This delectable treat has captured the hearts of many with its irresistible combination of sweet ricotta filling, fragrant orange zest, and a hint of cinnamon, all enveloped in a tender pastry crust. But the adventure doesn't stop there. Alongside the classic Pastiera recipe, discover a tantalizing Strawberry Sauce that elevates the cake to new heights of indulgence. This vibrant sauce, bursting with the sweetness of strawberries and the tang of lemon, adds an extra layer of flavor that perfectly complements the creamy ricotta filling. And for those seeking a vegan alternative, a delightful Vegan Pastiera awaits, offering the same irresistible taste experience without compromising on richness and satisfaction. Embark on this culinary exploration and create memories that will last a lifetime.
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PASTIERA (ITALIAN EASTER TART)
Pastiera is among the most iconic of Italian desserts. Originally from Naples, it's most typical during Easter season, but it is served year around. The traditional filling is made of cooked wheat berries and sheep's milk ricotta. [Recipe originally submitted to Allrecipes.it]
Provided by Nesrine
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian
Time 2h
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Combine cooked wheat berries, milk, butter, and zest of 1 lemon in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until creamy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 11-inch springform pan or aluminum pan and line with one of the pastry crusts.
- Combine ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, 1 tablespoon orange flower water, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor; mix until smooth. Mix in remaining lemon zest and orange peel. Fold in wheat berry mixture and pour over the bottom crust.
- Roll out remaining pastry crust and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips. Place on top of the pie in a lattice pattern and brush with beaten egg.
- Bake in the preheated oven until filling is cooked through and top is lightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for about 30 minutes.
- Remove pie carefully from the pan and place on a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 710.7 calories, Carbohydrate 105 g, Cholesterol 146.9 mg, Fat 27.2 g, Fiber 6.5 g, Protein 16.7 g, SaturatedFat 9.8 g, Sodium 359.2 mg, Sugar 46.4 g
RICOTTA CAKE
Our Neapolitan cake is soft as a down pillow, creamy like custard, and lightly flavored with vanilla and cinnamon. Serve wedges at room temperature with an easy sauce of fresh strawberries.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Bring milk to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in rice, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla bean. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until rice is very tender and has absorbed all liquid, about 30 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Cover; let cool, stirring occasionally. Discard vanilla bean.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch-round, 3-inch-deep springform pan. In a large bowl, combine the rice mixture, ricotta, whole eggs and egg yolks, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until golden on top and almost set in the center, 65 to 70 minutes; cover with foil if starting to brown too much. Transfer pan to a cooling rack.
- When cake has completely cooled, run a knife around edge to loosen. Gentlyremove ring; transfer cake to a serving platter. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve with sauce.
ITALIAN EASTER CAKE " PASTIERA NAPOLETANA"
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.
Provided by foodandmood.eu
Categories Dessert
Time 1h20m
Yield 12 muffin
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- For Pasta Frolla.
- 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.
- For the dough inside: put ricotta together with powdered sugar and eggs and just a little bit of essences, prepared corn, and candied orange.
- 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.
- We prepare this plate gifting to friends with this basket.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 473.7, Fat 16.8, SaturatedFat 9.8, Cholesterol 128.7, Sodium 158.2, Carbohydrate 73.6, Fiber 1.1, Sugar 55.8, Protein 7
STRAWBERRY SAUCE FOR PASTIERA
Serve this sauce with our Pastiera.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes
Yield Makes 1 1/2 cups
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Combine all ingredients in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
PASTIERA NAPOLETANA
Good things come to those who wait-three days, to be exact.
Provided by Letitia Clark
Yield Serves 8-10
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- Soak 100 g (3½ oz) farro or wheat grains (berries) in plenty of cold water, changing the water daily, for three days.
- For the pastry, put the flour, icing sugar, salt, orange zest and butter in a food processor and blitz to a fine breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg yolks to the mixer and blend again briefly, until the mixture comes together as a dough (add a tablespoon or two of iced water if the dough is still dry and does not come together). Form the dough into two equal rounds with your hands. Wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the fridge or freezer, depending on when you want to use it. It needs to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before you roll it.
- Grease a deep 23 cm (9 in) cake tin/crostata tin with butter, then dust it lightly with flour. After the dough has rested, roll it out to a rough 2 mm (1/16 in) thickness and line the cake tin, pushing the dough up the sides of the tin to create a 5-7.5 cm (2-3 in) depth and trimming any overhang. Don't worry too much about perfectly thin, even pastry. Reserve the pastry trimmings for the lattice top. Chill the pastry case in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Remove the pastry case from the fridge and blind-bake until just golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool while you prepare the filling.
- For the farro or wheat berries, on the third day of soaking, drain the soaked grain. Cook in a saucepan with the milk, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt over a very low heat, covered with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until the grain is plump and tender and all the milk had been absorbed. Spread the grain out on a plate to cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
- For the rest of the filling, whisk or beat the ricotta in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the orange zest, candied fruit, sugar, orange blossom water, vanilla and salt. Into this mixture, stir the cooled cooked wheat. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then fold them gently into the ricotta mixture.
- Pour the whole lot into the prepared pastry case. Cut the leftover pastry dough into strips about 2 cm (¾ in) wide, and arrange them over the top in a diagonal lattice. Use your fingers to press the edges of each strip into the pastry case walls to seal them.
- Brush the top of the tart with the beaten egg and bake for 90 minutes, or until biscuit brown all over.
- Let the tart cool and the filling settle, for at least 12 hours in a cool place before slicing into it. Serve, finally, with coffee and congratulations.
PASTIERA WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE
Steps:
- Bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the rice, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla bean. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the rice is very tender and has absorbed all the liquid, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Cover; let cool, stirring occasionally. Discard the vanilla bean.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan. In a large bowl, combine the rice mixture, ricotta, whole eggs and egg yolks, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until golden on top and almost set in the center, 65 to 70 minutes; cover with foil if starting to brown too much. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack.
- When the cake has completely cooled, run a knife around the edge to loosen. Gently remove the ring; transfer the cake to a serving platter. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve with sauce.
- Strawberry Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries are soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- About Pastiera
- Pastiera, a traditional Neopolitan Easter "pie," is actually a type of cheesecake. Though no two recipes are alike, all contain ricotta cheese and a sweetened grain (usually rice or wheat berries), symbolizing spring's fertility.
PASTIERA DI PASQUA (ITALIAN EASTER TART WITH RICOTTA)
This orange-flavored Italian Easter tart recipe is a classic dessert from Naples. Sometimes referred to as a "Neapolitan grain pie", pastiera di pasqua is made with cooked wheat grains and ricotta cheese.
Provided by Nesrine
Categories Holidays and Events Recipes Easter Desserts
Time 2h45m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Bring wheat grains, milk, butter, and 1/2 of the lemon zest to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 11-inch tart pan.
- Combine ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, orange flower water, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in remaining lemon zest and candied orange peel. Fold in wheat mixture and mix filling until well combined.
- Roll out 1 sheet puff pastry on a lightly floured surface so it will fit into the tart pan. Place pastry in the pan and spoon filling on top. Roll out the second puff pastry sheet and cut into 3/4-inch thick strips. Layer a lattice pattern on top of the filling and brush with beaten egg.
- Bake tart in the preheated oven until filling is set and lattice is lightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool inside the tart pan, at least 1 hour.
- Carefully unmold tart, transfer onto a cake platter. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 721.5 calories, Carbohydrate 95.8 g, Cholesterol 143.6 mg, Fat 32.5 g, Fiber 3.6 g, Protein 15.5 g, SaturatedFat 10.8 g, Sodium 256.6 mg, Sugar 46.5 g
PASTIERA WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE - EASTER RICOTTA CAKE
I hunted through a dozen pages of recipes to make sure this was not duplicating, couldn't find one like it. This is an incredible cake--light, creamy-like custard, flavoured lightly with vanilla, all in one. The perfect Easter pastiera, originally from Martha Stewart Living.
Provided by Derf2440
Categories Dessert
Time 2h
Yield 16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Bring milk to a boil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat.
- Stir in rice, cinnamon, salt and vanilla bean.
- Reduce heat to medium low, cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until rice is very tender and has absorbed all liquid, about 30 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat, stir in 3/4 cup granulated sugar, cover, let cool, stirring occasionally.
- Discard vanilla bean.
- Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
- Butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan.
- In a large bowl, fold together, the rice mixture, ricotta, whole eggs and egg yolks, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar, very carefully using a rubber spatula.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake until golden, 65 to 70 minutes, cover with foil if starting to brown too much.
- Transfer pan to cooling rack.
- When cake has cooled completely, run a knife around edge to loosen.
- Gently remove ring; transfer cake to a serving plate.
- Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve at room temperature with sauce.
- Sauce:.
- Combine all ingredients in a medium nonreactive saucepan.
- Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 316.9, Fat 15, SaturatedFat 8.8, Cholesterol 128.6, Sodium 183.8, Carbohydrate 32, Fiber 0.8, Sugar 21.8, Protein 14
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients: This will make a big difference in the taste of your pastiera. Look for fresh ricotta cheese, eggs, and butter. You should also use a good quality strawberry jam or sauce.
- Don't overmix the batter: Overmixing can make the pastiera tough. Mix the ingredients just until they are combined.
- Bake the pastiera in a water bath: This will help to prevent the pastiera from drying out.
- Let the pastiera cool completely before serving: This will allow the flavors to meld and the pastiera to set.
Conclusion:
Pastiera is a delicious and festive Easter cake that is sure to impress your family and friends. With its creamy ricotta filling, sweet strawberry sauce, and flaky crust, pastiera is a true taste of spring. If you're looking for a special dessert to make for Easter, pastiera is a great option.
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