In Naples, spring has a very particular scent: the orange blossom drifting out of kitchens in the days before Easter. It's the sign that the pastiera is being made, the cake that, more than any other, tells the story of Easter in the city. We've tasted it many times and noticed that every family swears it has the right recipe.
An ancient cake, born of spring rites
The origins of the pastiera are probably linked to pagan festivals and the offerings made in spring to celebrate the return of life. The cake was already widespread in the 17th century: Giambattista Basile mentions it in the fairy tale La Gatta Cenerentola (The Cinderella Cat).
The first written recipe we know of dates from 1693, in the treatise Lo scalco alla moderna by Antonio Latini. In 1837 Ippolito Cavalcanti put forward a new version, and in the last century the recipe settled into the one prepared throughout the city today. Neapolitan convents also played an important role, as the nuns made the cake for Easter.
The legends of the pastiera
The loveliest links the cake to the siren Parthenope. The story goes that every spring she rose from the bay to sing, and that the inhabitants, to thank her, brought her gifts of wheat, ricotta, eggs, flour and orange-blossom water. The gods then mixed those gifts together, creating the pastiera.
Another story, much loved in the city, tells of an Austrian queen married to a Bourbon king, so serious that she was called "the queen who never smiles": only a taste of pastiera is said to have managed to make her smile. These are tales, but they show just how much the cake is felt to be part of Neapolitan identity.
The ingredients and the strips
The base is a shell of shortcrust pastry, filled with wheat cooked in milk, ricotta, sugar and eggs. The filling is scented with orange-blossom water, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon zest and candied fruit. Some families add a little custard for a softer filling.
On top, the pastiera has its characteristic criss-cross strips of pastry, which, as in a tart, hold the filling in place during baking. It is recognised as a traditional agri-food product of Campania.
When it's made
By tradition the pastiera is made between Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, because it needs to rest for at least a day: the aromas blend and the filling becomes firmer. That's exactly our advice: don't be in a hurry to cut it. Today you can find it all year round, but the right time is still Easter.
Nearby
To continue your journey through the city's flavours, read What to eat in Naples and The Neapolitan babà. You'll find the legends of Parthenope in The legend of the siren Parthenope: the myth of the birth of Naples, while other customs are in Famous Neapolitan traditions. To plan everything, start with Naples and its surroundings.
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