Sfogliatelle: Limoncello, Tiramisu, and Pistachio
Crispy, sweet, and pain-staking to make - Sfogliatelle is one pastry that every Italian dessert fan should attempt.
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Pasta Machine
Ingredients
Sfogliatelle Dough
- 500 grams all-purpose flour
- 10 grams salt
- 190 ml luke warm water
- 30 grams honey
To Roll Out
- ½ cup butter, softened
Filling Base
- 450 ml milk
- 100 grams sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 150 grams semolina flour
- 475 grams ricotta, full fat Italian
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 2 eggs
- 1 orange, zested (skip if doing a flavour below)
Pistachio
- ⅓ recipe Sfogliatelle filling base
- 1½ tbsp pistachio pudding mix
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
- 1 tsp icing sugar dusting
Tiramisu
- ⅓ recipe Sfogliatelle filling base
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp fine espresso powder
- 1 tbsp cognac or brandy
- ½ tsp icing sugar dusting
- ½ tsp cocoa powder dusting
Limoncello
- ⅓ recipe Sfogliatelle filling base
- 2 lemons, zested
- 2 tbsp limoncello
- 1 tsp icing sugar dusting
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt for 2-3 pulses to combine.
- In a measuring cup, mix the honey and luke warm water together.
- With the food processor running, slowly pour the honey water in a slow stream into the flour . Blend until the water is evenly distributed and the dough is the texture of wet sand. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead the dough a few times on the counter to bring it together.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and rest the dough in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
Roll Out Process
- Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 5 pieces, covering with cling film to avoid drying them out. Take the 1st piece and press into a flat oval disc about 1 cm thick.
- Using a pasta machine, roll out the dough down gradually until you're using the thinnest setting (#8). Unlike fresh pasta, you do not need to laminate this dough, and try not add any additional flour while using the pasta machine. I highly recommend using an electric KitchenAid pasta maker attachment.
- Once your dough has been ran through the thinnest setting it will be the width of about 15 cm but we need to stretch it out wider, about double to 30 cm. Lay the dough on a long counter and gently stretch the dough to about double the width and lightly press the edges onto your counter to prevent the dough from shrinking back, it should be almost translucent. It is important to get a good starting roll, so at the end start tightly forming a thin log to begin your sfogliatelle roll.
- As soon as you have a good starting point to your roll you can begin spreading on the butter. The process will go stretch, butter, roll, repeat. When rolling be sure to pull the log down a bit to create some tension, this needs to be an extremely tight roll or else you will have problems down the road.TIP: Rub the butter between your hands first and then lightly smear it across the pastry in an even layer. Even better, delegate the butter spreading role to a buddy. Once you have almost completed rolling the first piece, repeat the process with the next portion of dough until all 5 portions have been rolled into a thick log.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and rest overnight in the fridge.
Filling
- In a large saucepan, heat the milk, salt, and sugar together until gently simmering. Remove from the heat and add your semolina flour. Stir until smooth and then set aside to cool.
- Once cooled, transfer your semolina mixture to a bowl and beat in the ricotta, vanilla paste, and eggs. The final texture should be smooth and thick enough to comfortably pipe.
- If making multiple flavours, divide the filling into three bowls and add your flavour elements.
- TIP: This is where the fillings can be customized, so play around with what you like and (if you don't have a problem with raw eggs) taste the filling and see what it needs. If your mixture is too thick add a bit more milk, and if its too thin add more semolina.
- Once you're happy with the flavouring, scoop the filling into a ziploc bag and trim the corner for a make-shift piping bag. If making ahead of time, chill the fillings in the fridge.
Assembly & Baking
- Preheat your oven for 375°F
- Setup your filling piping bags so they are ready to go as you will need to work fast.
- Remove your dough log from the fridge and, with a very sharp knife so as not to smush the layers, cut into about 1.25cm slices and set on a baking tray. Cover both sides of the disc with softened butter or shortening.
- Working on one disc at a time, lightly press the disc flat and then using your thumb and fingers make an impression on the center and slowly fan out the layers to create a cone shape. This does take a bit of practice but just try to feel out the cone and use the 4 fingers to gently coax out the layers. The end result should look like a shallow ice cream cone or clam shell.
- Pipe your filling into the sfogliatelle cone, about 1.5-2 tbsp per cone, and then gently close the top. This doesn't have to be a tight seal, just a gentle press together. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly for 1-2 minutes, then dust with icing sugar while still warm.
- Enjoy with a glass of Limoncello over ice.