Pasticciotto Leccese

Name: Pasticciotto Leccese
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Pugliese
Ingredients: 250 g Plain flour; 125 g strutto; 200 g caster sugar; 1 whole Egg; 500 ml Whole milk; 5 whole Egg yolks; 40 g cornflour; 1 strip lemon zest; 8 whole amarena cherries in syrup

Crisp, golden shortcrust pastries filled with thick lemon-scented pastry cream, traditionally served warm for breakfast across Lecce and Salento.

🇮🇹Italy· Apulia

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 70 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 385 kcal

Ingredients

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Servings

250 g Plain flour — type 00 preferred
125 g strutto — rendered pork lard, chilled
200 g caster sugar — divided equally between pastry and cream
1 whole Egg — for pastry dough
500 ml Whole milk — fresh whole milk
5 whole Egg yolks — 4 for custard, 1 for egg wash
40 g cornflour — for thickening pastry cream
1 strip lemon zest — pared thinly without white pith
8 whole amarena cherries in syrup — drained, optional traditional addition

Equipment

•8 oval pasticciotto moulds
•Rolling pin
•Heavy saucepan
•Whisk
•Pastry brush

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 385 kcal
fat: 21 g
carbs: 44 g
fibre: 1 g
protein: 6 g
calories: 385 kcal

Instructions

1
Rub the chilled lard into the flour and 100g sugar until crumbly.
2
Add the whole egg and knead briefly until a smooth dough forms.
3
Shape dough into a flat disc, wrap in film, and chill for one hour.
4
Whisk four egg yolks, 100g sugar, and cornflour in a saucepan until pale.
5
Warm the milk and lemon zest in another pan until steaming.
6
Gradually whisk the hot milk into the yolk mixture in a steady stream.
7
Cook custard over medium heat, whisking constantly until thick and glossy.
8
Discard the lemon zest and cool the custard completely under cling film.
9
Roll two-thirds of pastry to three millimetres and line eight oval moulds.
10
Spoon cold custard into each mould and top with an amarena cherry.
11
Roll remaining pastry, cover each tart, seal edges, and brush with egg yolk.
12
Bake at 200 degrees C for twenty minutes until rich golden-brown.

Chef's tips

Always use fully chilled custard to prevent it from leaking through the pastry during baking. Lard produces the authentic crisp crumb, so avoid substituting butter unless necessary. Traditional oval tin moulds yield the crispest base.

Ingredient substitutions

strutto → cold unsalted butter, yielding a richer but slightly less crisp crust
cornflour → plain flour or potato starch in equal quantity

Storage

Keep cooled pasticciotti in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.

Reheating

Warm in an oven preheated to 160 degrees C for eight minutes to restore crispness.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Filling pastries with hot custard, which softens the raw base pastry.
•Underbaking, which leaves the bottom crust pale and doughy.
•Overworking the pastry dough, making the baked crust tough rather than crumbly.