The quick sfogliatella cake is created for those who love Neapolitan sfogliatelle, although the difficult choice is between the ricce ones with puff pastry and the frolle ones with shortcrust pastry. I am a fan of ricce sfogliatelle, but making the pastry requires time and skill.
For those who are greedy like me, I propose the version of the quick sfogliatella cake, made with ready-made puff pastry, without giving up the typical Neapolitan filling of ricotta and semolina.
Alternatively, you can replace the ready-made puff pastry with the shortcrust pastry from my basic recipe, it will be more laborious but exceptionally good.
To make this exquisite cake, you need a pan of 9.5/10 inches and you will get 10/12 servings.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 packages puff pastry (round)
- 2 1/4 cups ricotta
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 1/2 oz candied orange
- to taste lemon zest (grated)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup semolina
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 2 pinches ground cinnamon
- to taste powdered sugar
Preparation
Prepare the filling for the sfogliatella cake by placing water and salt in a saucepan. When it boils, sprinkle in the semolina and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until it thickens and dries out, about 5/6 minutes. Set it aside and let it cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the ricotta by draining it of its liquids. When the semolina is cool, combine it with the ricotta along with the sugar, candied orange, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Mix well by hand with a whisk or using a stand mixer and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Take the baking pan, grease it, and place the first sheet of ready-made puff pastry at the bottom. Trim the excess pastry over the edges. Pour in the ricotta and semolina mixture, level it well, and cover the cake with the second layer of puff pastry. Trim again the excess puff pastry edges and seal them together.
Preheat the oven to 340°F (convection) or 355°F (static) and when hot, bake the cake for about 1 hour, slowly, until it is cooked and golden. Let it cool before removing it from the mold. Finally, sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve.
