Pastiera Napoletana – Traditional Neapolitan Easter Cake

Just in time for spring and Easter, the Pastiera Napoletana – a traditional Neapolitan cake – is a classic found throughout the Campania region of Italy. It’s a dream come true for both carb-lovers and those with a sweet tooth. We turned to Italian-born, Augsburg, Germany-based Ooni Ambassador, Vincenzo Viscusi (aka @vincenzoviscusi), for his take on the famed dessert.

Neapolitans traditionally prepared this cake in the week leading up to Easter (to allow all the ingredients’ flavors to develop). But it’s so popular today, that pastry shops and restaurants in Naples now sell it year-round. 

The Pastiera Napoletana is known for its shortcrust pastry base and creamy filling made with grano cotto (an Italian cooked-wheat product – more on that in the note below) and ricotta scented with lemon zest, orange blossom, vanilla and cinnamon. For an extra dose of sweetness, you can also add candied fruit. 

Who first created this Easter dessert is a bit of a mystery. Legend has it that it was a mermaid named Partenope. During one spring stay in the Gulf of Naples, the Neapolitan citizens brought him the ingredients of the cake as a gift. Partenope, in turn, took them to the gods, and the dessert was born. If you’re not one for mythology, the dish may be from the 18th or early 19th century, when sugar became more available and Swiss immigrants, who loved their sweet dishes, started to make homes in Naples. 

Whoever invented the Pastiera, we’re very happy they did. It’s a tad time-consuming, but the dessert is well worth it. 


Pastiera Napoletana – Traditional Neapolitan Easter Cake

Note

The pastiera will need 24 hours to set before serving, so be sure to cook in advance. Vincenzo cooked his Pastiera in the Ooni Karu 16 oven, fueled by charcoal. Because the Pastiera requires gentle cooking to thoroughly cook the filling, Vincenzo added a couple of pieces every 10 minutes to maintain a low flame and low heat (but you can also use the Karu 12 or Fyra 12). For the filling, you’ll need to source cooked wheat – known in Italy as grano cotto and sold in cans – at your local Italian deli, specialty shop, or online. If you can’t find it, barley is a good substitute, just be sure to cook it until it is extremely soft and tender, about 45 to 50 minutes. 


Two hands holding uncooked shortcut pastry Two hands placing strips of dough in overlapping patterns over the raw filling of the pastiera in a cake pan. Two hands lifting the cake pan off of the cooked pastiera on a bamboo serving board.