Sfogliatelle

Sfogliatelle is a crispy, flaky pastry filled with a sweet ricotta and candied fruit filling, baked until the paper-thin layers shatter when you bite them. The key is building a laminated dough with butter, which creates dozens of delicate sheets that puff and crisp in the oven.

Ingredients for Sfogliatelle

All-purpose flour forms the base of a laminated dough that will be folded repeatedly with butter. Butter, kept cold and worked in gradually, creates the distinct layers that make sfogliatelle crispy and flaky. Salt and sugar season the dough and balance the sweet filling. Water brings the dough together without toughening it. Whole milk ricotta is the main filling ingredient, creamy and mild enough to let other flavors shine. Granulated sugar sweetens the filling. Candied orange peel and candied citron add brightness and chew. Dark chocolate chips melt slightly in the warm filling for richness. Cinnamon and vanilla extract add warm spice and depth. Egg white seals the pastry edges so they stay crisp. Honey brushed on after baking gives shine and helps the pastry stay crispy.

Why This Sfogliatelle Works

Sfogliatelle relies on lamination, the same technique that makes croissants flaky. You fold cold butter into the dough several times, creating hundreds of thin layers that separate during baking. Each layer bakes up golden and crisp, shattering between your teeth rather than cheating and becoming dense.

The dough itself is a simple, forgiving mix of flour, water, and salt with a small amount of butter kneaded in. This base dough is stiff and easy to handle, so the many folds do not tear it. The real lamination happens when you roll it out, brush it with cold butter, fold it, chill it, and repeat.

The filling stays moist and flavorful because ricotta is naturally creamy and the candied fruit holds moisture. Baking the pastry at a high temperature sets the outside quickly, trapping steam inside that puffs the layers, while the interior stays soft enough that the ricotta does not weep out.

Mistakes To Avoid

Warm butter mixes into the dough instead of staying in distinct layers, giving you a tender but not flaky pastry. If the dough feels soft or the butter starts to show through the surface as greasy spots, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before the next fold.

Rolling the dough too thick means the layers will not bake through evenly and the center will be dense and doughy. Aim for 1/8 inch thick so the heat penetrates all the way and every layer crisps up.

Skipping the egg white wash or applying it unevenly means some edges will open during baking and the filling can leak out. Brush it on right before baking and make sure the edges are sealed all the way around.

Filling the pastry when the ricotta mixture is still warm or very soft makes it leak out during baking and leaves the pastry soggy. Chill the filling for at least 1 hour so it holds its shape, and let the baked pastry cool slightly before serving so the filling sets.

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Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, plus 10 tablespoons (142 grams) cold unsalted butter for lamination
• 1 pound whole milk ricotta, drained in a fine-mesh strainer for 30 minutes
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup candied orange peel, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup candied citron, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons honey, warmed

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a stand mixer. Add 4 tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces and mix on low until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
2. Add 3/4 cup cold water slowly while mixing on low until the dough just comes together, about 2 minutes. It will be stiff and slightly shaggy.
3. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for 2 to 3 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Do not overwork it or it will become tough.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling.
5. For the filling, combine the drained ricotta, 1/3 cup sugar, candied orange peel, candied citron, chocolate chips, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl and stir until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the filling firms up and the flavors blend.
6. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12 by 16 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Brush evenly with 2 tablespoons softened butter from the 10 tablespoon portion.
7. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter: fold the top third down over the middle, then fold the bottom third up and over. Rotate the dough 90 degrees so the open edges face left and right, not top and bottom.
8. Roll the folded dough into a 12 by 16 inch rectangle again. Brush with 2 more tablespoons softened butter, fold into thirds again, rotate 90 degrees, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
9. Repeat the rolling, buttering, and folding two more times, chilling 20 minutes between each fold, for a total of four folds. After the final fold, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
11. Roll the laminated dough into a 10 by 14 inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 8 rectangles, each roughly 3 1/2 by 5 inches.
12. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the chilled ricotta filling onto the center of each rectangle. Fold the dough over the filling to create a packet, pressing the edges to seal. Brush the outside with egg white.
13. Place the pastries seam-side down on the prepared pan, leaving 1 inch between them. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 22 to 25 minutes until the pastry is deep golden brown and crisp when tapped with a knife.
14. Remove from the oven and brush the warm pastries with warmed honey. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely so the pastry stays crisp.