“Pasticciotti alla leccese”- cream pastries from Lecce

Difficulty:  Time:

“Pasta Frolla “(crust pastry base)

INGREDIENTS:

• - 600 gr plain flour
• - 300 gr unsalted butter
• - 300 gr caster (granulated) sugar
• - 6 egg yolks
• - 1 lemon zest (grated)
• - 1 pinch of salt

WHAT TO DO:

• 1.  Sift the flour in a circle, add the softened butter, mix quickly.
• 2. Recreate a circle and add in the middle the sugar, the lemon zest, the yolks, and the pinch of salt.
• 3. Mix quickly and shape it in a ball.
• 4. Cover with plastic food wrap (the original recipe had linen cloth!) and let it rest in the fridge for at least 20 mins.

“Crema pasticciera”

INGREDIENTS:

• - 1/2 liter whole milk
• - 4 egg yolks
• - 70 gr plain flour
• - 100 gr caster sugar
• - 1 lemon peel

WHAT TO DO:

• 1. Separate the yolks, and make sure you keep 1-2 egg whites for later.
• 2. In a non stick pot mix yolks and sugar with a wooden spoon, add the  flour and the lemon peel (make sure you don’t cut the internal white part).
• 3. Heat  the milk separately, and then slowly pour it on the mix while still hot. make sure you mix constantly.
• 4. Put the pot on the stove, moderate temperature, continue to mix until the cream reaches the desired consistency. Let it cool down when ready.

Putting them together:

• - Pre-heat the oven at 170 degrees celsius.
• - Take the ball of pasta frolla out of the fridge, sprinkle the working area with flour and roll it flat to get to a thickness of about 7-8 mm butter a muffin or cupcake pan, and then sprinkle with flour, removing the excess flour (the original recipe has an oval shape if you could find a good pan).
• - For each pasticciotto, cut 2 pieces of pasta frolla: the bottom one to cover the walls of the containers, and the top one, slightly smaller to be used as a top cover.
• - Fill each muffin/container with the bottom round, fill in the crema pasticciera, and then put the cover and make sure you close the edges well.
• - Whisk the egg whites and brush the tops of the pasticciotti.
• - Put the cupcake pan in the oven for 10mins at 170C, then raise the temperature to 200C and bake until the pasticciotti turn golden/amber color.
• - Take out of the oven, and let them cool down before taking them out of the pan.

 

ENJOY :)