ATRANI PASTICCIOTTO: THE EXQUISITE FILLED PASTRY THAT HAS BEEN WINNING THE PALATES OF COASTAL TOURISTS FOR MORE THAN 70 YEARS

The very curious name, later translated into pasticciotto instead, may derive from the term "bocconetto" that is, a sweet to be eaten "in a mouthful", so of small size. Its size makes us think of a humble origin, perhaps peasant, not accustomed to waste and glitz.

Certainly this sublime sweet, prepared throughout southern Italy and especially in Puglia, arrived on the Amalfi Coast thanks to the intuition of master ice cream maker Francesco Cretella who, together with his wife Alda De Pascale, decided to make a local version of this pastry,filled with delicate pastry cream, scented with sfusato amalfitano lemon and juicy sour cherries. It was meant to be served with espresso coffee, first in Cretella’s small place, Bar Lucia, and later at Bar Vittoria, in the square of Atrani.

Since that time, and after renaming it "Pasticciotto atranese," this delicacy has been proposed both in the traditional version and in countless new variations in all the pastry shops of the Coast, continuing to delight the palates of the many tourists who arrive every year in this earthly paradise.

• In a planetary mixer, place the eggs, sugar, salt dissolved in a little water, softened butter and vanilla. Emulsify everything.
• Add the flour and mix until the dough is smooth and firm.
• Form the mix into a loaf, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour.

• Boil the milk, cream, lemon peel salt and vanilla in a small saucepan.

• Emulsify the yolks with the sugar, add the cornstarch, and then pour into the mix the still-boiling milk (removed the lemon peel and vanilla bean before pouring it).

• Transfer the mix back to the heat and stir continuously until the cream has thickened.

• Once the cream is the right consistency pour it into a container and cover it with clingfilm.

• Let it cool.

• Roll out the shortcrust pastry to a thickness of about ½ cm and cover the single-portion steel molds of the shape you desire.

• Stuff with black cherries on the bottom, custard up to ¾ of the mold and more black cherries with some juice.

• Close with another layer of pastry making sure of sealing the edges properly and bake at 180°C until golden brown ( about 35 min.).

• Once cooled, cover the Atranese pasticciotti with powdered sugar and consume it within 3 to 4 days.