You cannot visit the city of Naples, an unmissable stop for gastronomy enthusiasts, without tasting a sfogliatella, one of the sweet symbols of the Neapolitan pastry. Loved by both Italians and foreign tourists, this delicious and fragrant pastry, of which the curly and shortcrust variants are known, originated 400 years ago and then underwent changes and evolutions. Let’s go then to discover its fascinating history, from the conception of the recipe to the present day.
According to legend, in 1600, a cloistered nun of the Convent of Santa Rosa in Conca dei Marini (Salerno), on the Amalfi Coast, accidentally invented this iconic sweet from Campania. Some say that a nun from the convent was preparing biancomangiare, a Sicilian sweet made with almonds and milk, but then opted for a creative variant that contained puff pastry and ricotta. The most accredited version narrates that the recipe was born from his desire to create a dessert that contained leftover ingredients in the kitchen. The nun had the idea of adding ricotta, dried fruit, and lemon liqueur to leftovers of wet semolina and inserting everything inside a dough made with lard and wine and shaped like a monk’s cap; what resulted was the first version of the sfogliatella. It is said that the recipe was well-received within the convent and that it was popularized over the years, and then ended up, 200 years later, in the hands of an innkeeper called Pasquale Pintauro, a relative of one of the nuns. The latter, impressed by the idea of the delicious creation, decided to open a pastry laboratory via Toledo and revisited the recipe, thinning the sheet and changing the filling given life to the first real Neapolitan sfogliatella. From the creation of the Pintauro onwards, the sfogliatelle would soon become fashionable, and many bakeries and pastry shops began to produce and sell them.
Evolution of the sfogliatella: from Santa Rosa to the lobster tail
The two main types of sfogliatella are riccia and frolla. The first has a triangular shell shape, is covered with several crisp and thin layers of flaky pastry dough made with semolina, ricotta, candied fruit, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar for the filling.
The frolla variety has a round shape and is characterized by a soft short pastry and a filling identical to the curly one. To the filling, you must add the “historic” Santa rosa, which like the sea urchin, has a hood-shell shape but larger dimensions and an interior based on custard and candied black cherries.
The most recent among the recipes in the sfogliatella categories is the one called a lobster tail, very similar to curly. However, it has a more extensive and elongated shape and is filled with pastry cream, fresh whipped cream, or chocolate cream.
In the past, sfogliatelle were sold mostly by specialized pastry shops, but over the years, they spread everywhere and established themselves as one of the symbolic sweets of Naples. Finally, in recent years, the Neapolitan city has witnessed a new and decisive review of the classic recipe, with successful ambivalent experiments. Among the most famous inventions, ranging from savory, vegan, or gluten-free variants, the latest craze is the konosfoglia—curly cone-shaped shell filled with cream and grain of your choice.
Exotic fillings have been invented as well, such as baba and rum, cream of pistachio, lemon, cream, and prickly pears. Between tradition and modernity, the sfogliatella always remains a beloved artisan dessert, with a delicious characteristic flavor and an unmistakable aroma that hovers in the alleys of Naples.
If you get a chance to travel to the gulf city, make an unforgettable journey to Gran Caffe Gambrinus, and maybe you’ll get to meet the new generation of the Sergio Family.
Via Chiaia n. 1 | Piazza Trieste e Trento, 42 80121 Napoli – T.+39 081 41 75 82
