Sfogliatelle: a delicious Naples treat

Buongiorno!  I can’t think of anything more Neapolitan to eat for breakfast with an expresso than a Sfogliatelle.

Sold from 1818 from a pasticceria on Via Toledo, this delicious little shell is best eaten warm.  It combines the crunch of the many layered, sugar dusted pastry, the smoothness of the ricotta, the sweetness of the candied fruit and a hint of vanilla and cinnamon.  They are also satisfyingly hard to pronounce, with the first letters making a ‘shh’ sound in the Naples dialect and with a silent ‘gli’ in the middle, leading to confused looks when ordering one (or many).

In this article Perfect Pasteries from Naples in Intelligent Life, the author visits a bakery founded in 1930 near the station making sfogliatelle with its original recipe. The owner says:

‘Nothing has changed….we use the same secret family recipe and the same suppliers as 90 years ago, and our ingredients are locally produced to our specifications. Even our kitchen staff are all descendants of the original team.’

For those wanting a crack at making them, look at the recipe here by WordPress blogger Chef in Disguise.