La sfogliatella from Campania
If you ever go to Naples then there are a few must-tries. Obviously that includes pizza, espresso, spaghetti with clams and rum baba. There is one delicacy for which there is no translation into English however, and it is one of my absolute favourite sweets, and one of the best breakfasts out: the sfogliatella
The one pictured above is only one kind of sfogliatella, the sfogliatella riccia, made with loooooooooong strips of thin puff pastry, and the most complex to make. You can also make them with shortcrust pastry, the sfogliatella frolla, but I personally prefer the riccia.
The outside is golden and crispy, sprinkled with icing sugar, and the inside is warm creamy ricotta cream with candied peel. Just writing this made my mouth water!
I didn’t make these, my colleagues mother did, and I am waiting for her to give me her recipe. Until then, I’m going to have to buy these when I get a craving (like now, but I’m stuck in the office… Doh!), and I will post as soon as I have the method, which is apparently pretty complex… but I can tell you, even if it takes an entire afternoon, it will be worth it!
lovefromitaly 
Yes yes yes- please post the recipe! We live in a VERY rural area and it is soooo hard to find good pastries so we have taken to make our own. These look fantastic!
Hi, I promise I will! I’ll get the shortcrust recipe too, they’re easier to make…
Couldn’t wait, I looked it up on the web and am making a version this weekend.
Ooooh post it on your blog so I can try it too will you? 🙂 I’m going to put a pear pastry recipe up shortly which you might like to try if you like pears.
Try as we might in the USA to recreate the taste of food we eat in Italy, the taste somehow changes due to the water, the flour, the pomodori, the uova….so it never comes out the same. Soon…very soon…we’ll be back in Italy in May! Thanks for sharing your photos.
I noticed that when I was back in the UK… I think part of the problem can be solved by following the locavore or Slow Food philosophy, as that way the ingredients are fresh and local. The context makes a definite difference too though. Where in Italy are you going to be?
Agree totally with you on the local food thoughts. For the trip: fly into Milano, train to Lucca, cooking class there for one week, 3 friends join me for 5 nights in 3 cities, (I’ll be their tour guide!), Hubby joins us, then off to Firenze, send the friends to Rome and Greece to continue their vacay. Then Hubby & I are in Genova, San Miniato, and back to Milano to fly home. WHEW! Too much info, right? LOL