• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Food and Journeys

International recipes. Travel. Savour them all.

  • RECIPE INDEX
  • CUISINES
  • HOW-TOS
  • JOURNEYS
  • ABOUT
    • About Me
    • Notes on Copyright
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
Home » Recipes » Pies » Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto)

Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto)

November 6, 2018 By Neriz 2 Comments

  • 54
  • 3822
Print Recipe Jump to Recipe

Try making this South Italian pastry at home!  Pasticciotto (Italian Cream Filled Pastry) ticks all the boxes for what a perfect pastry should be – sweet, sumptuous and irresistible. Enjoy it for breakfast, snack or dessert!

Overhead shot of Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto), with a cup of coffee and a shot of espresso on the side.

(*This post contains some affiliate links)

If there’s such a thing as ‘comfort pastry’, that’s pasticciotto for me. Sweet, creamy and with a bit of crispiness from the pastry, what more could you ask for?

I discovered this delight when we went to Puglia in summer of 2016. 

It was in the southern part of Puglia, a city called Lecce, where this pastry is as ubiquitous as orecchiette (the region’s pasta).

The locals normally eat them for breakfast, but I’ve also met some who would heat them up after dinner and have them for dessert.  Still as delicious as they were in the morning. 🙂

HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN CREAM FILLED PASTRY (PASTICCIOTTO)

A collage of images showing the step by step process on how to make Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto).

CAN I USE ANY KIND OF PASTRY DOUGH FOR THIS ITALIAN CREAM FILLED PASTRY?

If you already have your favorite pastry dough, then go ahead and use that one.

But if you are still looking for one, give my Pasta Frolla recipe a try.

It’s not too sweet, so adding the pastry cream to it will give you a nicely balanced sweetness in every bite.

Two pieces of Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto) on a plate, with an espresso and a cup of black coffee on the side.

I DON’T HAVE THE PASTICCIOTTO MOLD, CAN I USE OTHER BAKING TINS FOR THESE CREAM FILLED PASTRY?

If you don’t have pasticciotto molds, you can use muffin or mini-tart tins.  I tried looking for them in Amazon, but they don’t have them either. 

I just got lucky that my mother-in-law gave them to me. 🙂

CAN I ADD VANILLA IN THE PASTRY CREAM?

You sure can.  Vanilla extract is fine, but using vanilla pods is even better. 

There was even a time that I added some amaretto in the cream – the result was surprisingly good.

So, feel free to replace the lemon zest with any liquor you want in the pastry cream.

Closer shot of Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto), highlighting the pastry cream inside , with a cup of coffee on the side.

WHAT GOES WELL WITH PASTICCIOTTO?

Coffee. I always have mine with an espresso (and I would have it no other way 😉 ).

These treats are best served warm and heating them up in the microwave for a few seconds will always do the trick. 

Be careful when eating them though, hot pastry cream CAN burn!  Enjoy! 🙂

WANT MORE PIE IDEAS?  THEN CHECK OUT MY PIES COLLECTION!

OR IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR MORE RECIPES FROM PUGLIA, CHECK OUT THESE POSTS –

  • Italian Bread & Cheese Dumplings
  • Focaccia Barese

FOR OTHER SOUTH ITALIAN DESSERTS OR SNACKS, CHECK OUT MY OTHER POSTS –

  • Tomato and Mozzarella Pastry (Rustico Leccese)
  • Sicilian Sesame Seed Cookies
  • Sicilian Brioche

 

Overhead shot of Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto), with a cup of coffee and a shot of espresso on the side.
Print
Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto)
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
 
Authentic pastry from South Italy! Pasticciotto (Italian Cream Filled Pastry) ticks all the boxes for what a perfect treat should be – sweet, sumptuous and irresistible. Enjoy it for breakfast, snack or dessert! (VIDEO ABOVE)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: easy dessert recipes
Servings: 4
Calories: 316 kcal
Author: Neriz
Ingredients
  • 1 single crust pastry dough (or pasta frolla)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 lemon, grated zest
  • 2 large eggs, separated (yolks for the cream and whites for brushing the pastry)
Instructions
  1. Heat up milk on a small to medium saucepan.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest. Use a whisk to mix.

  3. Slowly pour the heated milk on the egg mixture while constantly whisking the mixture. Do not pour the milk all at one, or you might end up cooking the eggs.
  4. Once the heated milk and the egg mixture has been combined, pour the mixture back to the saucepan and bring to a slow boil, or until it has thickened to your desired cream consistency. Do not stop whisking until this point.

  5. Set pastry cream aside to cool.
  6. Preheat up the oven to 180°C (350°F).
  7. Roll the pastry dough and place on the tins. Leave some pastry dough hanging out on the side of the tins, you will be using this part later for sealing the pastry. Prepare (cut out) the pastry dough for covering the top of each tin as well.
  8. Use a spoon to add pastry cream on each tin. Try not to put more than the top of the tin.  
  9. Cover each tin with the rest of the prepared pastry dough. Fold the top pastry under the lower pastry to seal the sides and to ensure that no custard will seep through. 
  10. Brush top with egg whites.
  11. Place in the oven for 20 to 25 mins or until they turned golden.
  12. Serve. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

 

Last Updated on August 30, 2019

Filed Under: Pies, Popular Posts Tagged With: breakfast, italian recipes, italian sweets

Previous Post: « How to Make Pasta Frolla
Next Post: Swedish Saffron Cake »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura Wright says

    November 28, 2018 at 9:57 am

    Hi Neriz, I have noticed that your list of ingreedients for the Pasticciotto does not contain eggs but you mention eggs in the insturctions can you advise how many eggs are required.

    Reply
    • Neriz says

      November 28, 2018 at 10:09 am

      Oj! Thank you for your comment Laura. I really appreciate the correction.

      I have now updated the recipe with the quantity of the eggs. 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Thanks for dropping by!

I’m Neriz and this is my blog. I am originally from Manila, Philippines, but I have been living in Stockholm for years. I love cooking, traveling, and reading, not necessarily in that order, but it all depends on the time of the day, and the day of the week ;-) Learn more >>

Follow me

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Popular Posts

Closer shot of Swedish Almond & Cardamom Mini Cakes, arranged on a cooling rack.
Swedish Almond Tart
Sicilian Sesame Seed Cookies (Biscotti Regina), ready for serving.
A side shot of an entire Tuscan Apple Cake, showing a bowl of apples in the background and a glass of sweet wine.
Feature image for Salt & Pepper Pork Belly
Overhead shot of Italian Cream Filled Pastry (Pasticciotto), with a cup of coffee and a shot of espresso on the side.
Overhead shot of a pot of Calabrese-Style Meat Sauce (Ragu alla Calabrese)
A slice of French Orange and Almond Flourless Cake on top of the rest of the cake. The texture of the cake is highlighted in this image, as well as the undeniable orange color of the inside of the flourless cake.

A participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Copyright © 2019 · FOOD AND JOURNEYS