Our breakfast in Naples almost always has the same star: a still-warm sfogliatella and a coffee. Crisp on the outside, fragrant with citrus and cinnamon inside, it is one of the city's signature pastries along with babà and pastiera. Its story, however, begins far from Naples.
The origins: the Santarosa of Conca dei Marini
It all started in the eighteenth century, in the monastery of Santa Rosa da Lima at Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi Coast. According to tradition, some semolina cooked in milk had been left over in the kitchen: the nuns enriched it with dried fruit, sugar and limoncello, wrapped it in a pastry casing and baked it.
The pastry was called Santarosa, in honour of the saint to whom the monastery was dedicated, and it soon became well known. The original version, with custard and black cherries, is still made today: we tell you about it in The Santa Rosa sfogliatella.
Pasquale Pintauro and its arrival in Naples
In 1818 the recipe reached Naples thanks to the pastry chef Pasquale Pintauro, who changed it: he removed the custard and cherries, reworked the filling and gave the pastry the shell shape we know. Pintauro also introduced the frolla (shortcrust) version, and from then on the sfogliatella became Neapolitan in every respect.
Riccia, frolla and lobster tail
Today the two classic versions are the riccia, with its many thin layers of pastry that flake with every bite, and the frolla, softer and smooth. The filling is the same: semolina, ricotta, sugar, candied peel and a touch of cinnamon. We prefer the riccia, but we admit the frolla has its staunch supporters.
Then there is the coda d'aragosta (lobster tail), an elongated version of the riccia baked empty and filled with cream, custard or chocolate. It is more indulgent and less traditional, but worth a taste.
How to enjoy it
Our advice is simple: eat it warm, fresh from the oven, perhaps with a coffee. That is when you can taste the difference between the crisp layers and the fragrant filling. The riccia needs to be eaten with a little care, because the layers crumble with every bite: that is part of the fun.
You will find it in pastry shops and cafés all over the city, at breakfast as well as for an afternoon snack. In the same display case there is almost always babà too and, around Easter, pastiera: we suggest tasting them all, perhaps on different days, to understand why Neapolitan pastry-making is so loved. And if you pass through the Amalfi Coast, look for the original Santarosa: comparing it with the Naples sfogliatella is a fun way to retrace its history.
Nearby
To discover everything the city has to offer, start from Naples and its surroundings. You will find the other sweets in our articles on Neapolitan babà and Neapolitan pastiera, while to pair the sfogliatella with the quintessential Neapolitan ritual read Neapolitan coffee and the caffè sospeso.
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