Sweet Befana Stocking is a quick and tasty puff pastry treat with a creamy filling that you can customize as you like. Last year, for the Epiphany, I made the savory Befana stocking (or the Befana broom, sweet and savory) and this year I couldn’t resist making it in a sweet version! Delicious and very easy, the sweet Befana stocking is perfect to beautifully (and tastefully) conclude the Christmas holidays. It’s made of many stuffed balls (I used Nutella and jam), like a Danubio, but you can fill it with whatever you like. It’s so simple to make (even more so with step-by-step photos) that you can prepare it with the little ones!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 1 Piece
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric oven, Air fryer
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Epiphany
Ingredients
- 2 rolls puff pastry (rectangular)
- to taste Nutella®
- to taste jam
- to taste powdered sugar
- to taste chocolates
Steps
The sweet Befana stocking is very simple and quick to prepare. First, unroll a sheet of puff pastry and cut it into 4 parts vertically and 3 horizontally, yielding 12 small pieces.
Fill each small piece of pastry with a bit of Nutella and close them to form balls. Unroll the second sheet of pastry, cut it into 3 horizontal parts, and then cut only two strips into 4 parts each, resulting in one long strip and 8 small pieces.
Fill both the strip and the small pastry pieces with a bit of jam, fold the strip in half, and form balls with the pieces, as before.
Brush all the balls and the strip with beaten egg, then assemble the sweet Befana stocking: place the strip on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you can use the pastry’s paper), folding the side parts inward. Below it, form 4 rows of 3 balls each and 2 rows of 4 balls, slightly staggering them to create the tip of the stocking.
Bake the sweet Befana stocking in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 25 minutes, until golden, then garnish it with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and, if you wish, some colorful chocolates.
Tips:
The sweet Befana stocking can be stored at room temperature for 5-6 days. You can fill it with your preferred filling, Nutella or jam (preserves), pistachio cream, pastry cream, or other spreadable creams.
Other recipes for the Epiphany HERE
