Every self-respecting Neapolitan has surely eaten so much sfogliatelle to lose count and continues being crazy about it. Needless to say, anyone who visits Naples cannot avoid tasting this spectacular dessert, whose origins date back to the 18th century.
Actually, the first sfogliatella was baked in the province of Salerno, in the conservatory of Santa Rosa da Lima in Conca dei Marini. Legend has it that the cake was born almost by chance, made with the leftovers of the convent: semolina dough, dried fruit, sugar and limoncello.
In order to obtain the sfogliatella that all Neapolitans know and love, it was necessary to steal the recipe. It seems that the pastry chef Pasquale Pintauro took possession of the secret recipe of the convent and, after making some changes, he decreed the birth of the typical Neapolitan sfogliatella.
The fact dates back to 1818 and included the filling still in use today: semolina, ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, candied fruit and aromas. There are two different versions of sfogliatella: “riccia” (curly), which is made with puff pastry on the outside, and “frolla”, made with the short pastry, named precisely “pastafrolla” in Italian.
This division has created real schools of thought, affirming the superiority of one or the other version. There is no absolute truth about this, the suggestion is simply to try!
Dining and Cooking