Pasticciotto Leccese: Custard Filled Pastry

Pasticciotto is a sweet dish, filled with custard. People mostly like to eat it for breakfast and morning snack. If you want to find it, you can find it anywhere in Puglia, but it actually originates from Lecce.

If you ever go to a pastry shop and you don’t eat it, it would never happen.  Because when you go to any pastry shop, you’ll see a lot of pastries behind glass. I don’t remember how much I ate in a month when I was living there.

HISTORY

This sweet dish has become the most famous and favorite dessert of Puglia. This dessert was found in cafes of the largest cities in Italy, and then it gained popularity in the Italian bakeries of the United States. In US states like Utica, New York etc., it is known as ‘’pustie’’.

CONTENT OF RECIPE

Ingredients / Ingredienti	For Dough Preparation 4 cups of flour 1 cup + 2 tbsp of cold butter 4 egg yolks 1 cup of icing sugar
	For Cream Preparation 1/2 cup of flour 2 cups of milk 6 egg yolks Vanilla 3/4 cup of sugar
	Other Amarena cherries jam or syrup Extra icing sugar
Cooking Time / Tempo di cottura	15-20 minutes (Until golden brown)
Cooking Temperature / Temperatura di cottura	350°F ~ 176°C
Utensils / Utensili	Bowl Pot Molds Serving Plate
Cooking Method / Metodo di cottura	Oven

 METHOD

Step 1: First, boil milk with vanilla in a pot.

Step 2: Take a bowl and mix egg yolks and sugar in it.

Step 3: After adding the flour, cook the milk on low heat and keep stirring until it reaches a creamy consistency.

Step 4: Cream is ready now. Cool it before use.

Step 5: For dough, take flour and butter in a bowl and mix it well.

Step 6: Then add sugar and egg yolk in this bowl.

Step 7: Mix all these things well and make smooth dough.

Step 8: Refrigerate for 60 minutes.

Step 9: After rolling the dough well, put it inside the molds.

Step 10: Alternately add the black cherries first and top with the vanilla custard.

Step 11: Now put a layer of pastry on top of it. 

Step 12: Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes until it turns golden brown.

Step 13: When it turns a nice golden brown, keep it aside to cool.

Step 14: Then use powdered sugar to give it a finishing touch.

Step 15: Your Pasticciotto is ready. Now serve it and enjoy.

Manuela Mazzocco’s Recipe

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is a pasticciotto?

Pasticciotto is a sweet dish, filled with custard. People mostly like to eat it for breakfast and morning snack.

What are Italian pastries?

My favorite Italian pastries are:

• Brioche or Cornetto.
• Tiramisù
• Cassata Siciliana.
• Panettone

How to freeze pasticiotti?

When the pastry is ready, let it cool in tin and then cover it in an airtight plastic bag or foil for freezing.

What is pasticiotti made of?

There are some different ways to make it. But generally it is made of egg custard and ricotta cheese and some filings like black cherries.

How long can you freeze Italian pastries?

You can easily store it for 1 month.