Easy Snowflakes recipe and original creation of Poppella pastry shop in the Rione Sanità of Naples, founded in 1920. A typical Neapolitan dessert, particularly soft, which indeed resembles a snowflake, filled with a cream of milk and ricotta. I must be honest, this particular and delicious dessert requires a lot of patience and time: it takes several hours of rising, and then, once the dough has tripled, after preparing the buns, they need to rest for another hour. But being a super sweet tooth as I am, I certainly couldn’t miss such a simple but uniquely delicious recipe in my repertoire of desserts.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 50 Minutes
- Portions: 30 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 112.58 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 10.55 (g) of which sugars 3.64 (g)
- Proteins 2.95 (g)
- Fat 6.62 (g) of which saturated 2.07 (g)of which unsaturated 1.27 (g)
- Fibers 0.29 (g)
- Sodium 23.33 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 45 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 to Prepare Snowflakes
- 1.5 cups Manitoba flour
- 0.8 cups all-purpose flour
- 0.25 cups sugar
- 4 tbsps butter
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsps fresh yeast
- 0.65 cups milk
- 1 tsp lemon zest (grated)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup cow's milk ricotta
- 0.25 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup whipping cream
Tools to Prepare Snowflakes
- Stand Mixer
- Whisk
- Electric Whisk
- Food Scale
- Measuring Jug
- Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
- Bowl with lid
- Lemon Zester
Steps to Prepare Snowflakes
If needed, let the ricotta drain for a few hours to ensure it doesn’t contain water. Add the sugar and work it with a whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whip the cream and gently fold in the ricotta with a wooden spoon from bottom to top to avoid deflating both. If you wish and if they are not intended for children, you can add a couple of tablespoons of rum. Put the cream immediately in the refrigerator until ready to use.
In the stand mixer, place the two flours with a pinch of salt and the crumbled yeast along with the sugar and mix.
In a glass, put the milk with the egg and the yolk and mix them together with a whisk.
Gradually add the liquids to the flours in the stand mixer. Let it work for several minutes until the mixture is well combined. Add the butter in small pieces, a little at a time.
When the dough is nice and smooth, cover it and let it rise for 3 hours until it triples in volume.
After the rising time, take the dough, pass a piece of butter on the work surface, and start preparing small buns of about 0.7 oz each. I made 30.
Place them directly on the baking tray lined with parchment paper, keeping them spaced apart.
Cover the snowflakes with plastic wrap and let them rest for another hour.
Sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
Bake the snowflakes for 12 minutes in a static oven at 338°F
Let them cool well before filling them
Fill a pastry bag with the milk cream ready in the fridge. Make a hole on the bottom of the snowflake with the handle of a wooden spoon, fill with the cream. Here are the easy snowflakes ready.
Useful Tips
To obtain a light and fluffy dough, certain precautions will definitely help to make it the best. For example, using all ingredients at room temperature, such as milk with eggs and butter, is one of the secrets, as well as sifting the flours, salt, yeast, and even powdered sugar. Even substituting part of the all-purpose flour with potato starch can be useful to have a soft and light dough. Lastly, but not least, slow rising is important to develop the gluten well and achieve a light dough.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Are there any alternatives to the milk cream for filling the snowflakes?
Yes, of course, an alternative could be custard, chocolate cream, or pistachio cream. I think the ideal remains the ricotta cream, the most classic and popular.
Can snowflakes be made gluten-free?
To make gluten-free snowflakes, you can use rice flour or a gluten-free flour mix for cakes. Of course, also add gluten-free yeast.
