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Neapolitan Cheese Easter Pie (Pastiera Napoletana)
Neapolitan Cheese Easter Pie, or Pastiera Napoletana, is a rich sweet pie featuring a tender, buttery dough filled with a creamy mixture of cream cheese, semolina, honey, candied fruit, eggs, and aromatic vanilla and lemon. This traditional Italian Easter dessert features a thick custard-like filling inside a delicate pastry shell, crowned with lattice dough strips before baking to a golden finish.
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
1 hr
Additional Time
30 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 30 mins
Servings:
12
servings
Course:
Dessert
Cuisine:
Italian
Ingredients
Dough:
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 80 g butter
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp sour cream
Filling:
- 700 g cream cheese
- 150 ml milk
- 6 tsp semolina
- 120 g honey
- 100 g candied fruit
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 egg
- 200 ml cooking cream
Instructions
Dough:
- Sift the flour and make a well in the center. Add the salt and butter, then begin kneading until you get a crumbly dough. Gradually add the whisked egg, sour cream, and water until your dough is smooth and uniform. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for half an hour.
Cup of Yum
Filling:
- Put the milk on medium heat and when it starts to boil add the semolina in a steady stream while whisking well. Take off the heat when it starts to thicken. Add the honey, then the eggs one at a time, stirring well and quickly. Leave to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 160 °C (320 °F) and ready a 20-22 cm (7.5 - 8.5 inches) baking tray. Grease the bottom and sides with oil.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out into a circle, about 0.3mm (1/8 in) thick. Place the dough in the baking tray and carefully shape it to cover the sides.
- Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and candied fruit (I use cantaloupe) to the semolina and egg mixture, then stir gently until smooth. Add the vanilla essence and lemon juice. Continue stirring.
- Pour the cream cheese over the dough and bake for about an hour. Let it cool completely, then portion it out.