Italian Easter Cake, known as Pastiera Napoletana in Italy, is a popular springtime dessert. Filled with the delicious flavors of citrus and ricotta, it's also a good source of protein.
Prep Time1 hourhr
Cook Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs20 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Italian cake, Italian desserts, Italian Easter cake, Pastiera Napoletana
Mix the flour with the butter using your fingertips.
Add the 150 g sugar and keep mixing. Then, add the 3 eggs.
Wrap finished dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
To Make the Grano Cotto
Heat the pre-cooked wheat (grano cotto), milk, butter, and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat.
Continue to warm for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and cool.
To Make the Filling
Combine the ricotta cheese, sugar, and 5 eggs, eggs, sugar. Add some lemon peel from the two lemons and the orange blossom water.
Continue mixing and when combined, add the grano cotto wheat mixture and continue to combine.
To Prepare and Bake the Pastiera
Roll out the dough, and place it into a greased pie pan. Remove the excess dough and set aside.
Pour the filling into the pan.
Create decorative strips from the leftover dough and place on top of the filling.
Bake for 80 minutes at 180 C. Cook and enjoy!
Notes
This is a detailed recipe but not difficult once you master its steps. Be sure to read the details in the actual post for lots of tips before you start.
Looking for a shortcut? Use ready-made dough!
You can substitute grano cotto with barley but the taste will be slightly different (but still delicious!).