Shortcrust pastry for pastiera by Iginio Massari
The Neapolitan pastiera is an iconic dessert of Campanian tradition typical of the Easter period; every family jealously guards its own variant made of small secrets, aromas and memories.
Today I leave you the recipe for the shortcrust pastry by Maestro Iginio Massari; in the next few days I will also publish his version of the pastiera. If you want to bring to the table a traditional dessert he defines as “almost perfect”, follow me and try it — I’m sure you’ll like it. In the meantime you can try his caprese cake, the chocolate cake or the baked pastry cream for making delicious tarts.
Why does he call it almost perfect? Compared to the traditional recipe, Massari makes a few adjustments to obtain a more balanced and delicate flavor suitable for everyone; in the pastry he uses butter instead of lard and in the filling he uses cow’s ricotta instead of sheep’s ricotta — small tweaks that make the cake perfect even for vegetarians.
The shortcrust pastry for pastiera was made in a stand mixer using the classic method; its structure is fantastic — tender when cut and perfect in baking. If you prefer, you can also mix it by hand.
If you like, also try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: for 730 g (about 1.61 lb / 25.7 oz) of shortcrust pastry
- Cooking methods: No-bake
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, Lent
- Energy 442.91 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 53.23 (g) of which sugars 21.20 (g)
- Proteins 6.05 (g)
- Fat 23.76 (g) of which saturated 15.12 (g)of which unsaturated 8.39 (g)
- Fibers 1.02 (g)
- Sodium 119.28 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups 00 flour
- 7 oz butter (about 7/8 cup (approx. 1 3/4 US sticks))
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
- 1 egg egg (1 medium egg — weigh it, sometimes it can be about 10 g more)
- 1/3 tsp salt
- Half vanilla bean vanilla
- lemon zest (zest of half a fresh lemon)
Tools
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Scale
- 1 Zester / Grater
- 1 Pastry board
- Plastic wrap
Procedure
Cut the butter into small cubes and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes; it should be pliable but not fridge-cold.
Place the eggs in a small bowl, add the salt and mix — this way the salt will dissolve and give a more even flavor.
Put the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, grated lemon zest, eggs and flour into the stand mixer bowl; mix everything with the paddle at low speed until you obtain a homogeneous, compact dough that does not stick to your fingers (this will take about 1 minute).
Form a low disk (about 2 cm — roughly 3/4 inch), wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for 8 hours or overnight.
After resting, take the pastry and work it on the pastry board or in the mixer for 1 minute (especially if you rested it overnight); this step will ensure a homogeneous, pliable dough perfect for making your recipes.
The shortcrust pastry for pastiera by Iginio Massari is ready: roll it out to a thickness of 3 mm (about 1/8 inch), line a well-buttered pastiera pan and create the classic strips.
Tips
Always use fresh, high-quality ingredients so you can store the pastry in the refrigerator for 10–15 days. You can freeze it for 2 months.
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