The Cake Boss of Lecce

Special occasions and holidays always required a visit to the Italian bakery.

  The smell of fresh baked bread, the cookies with unpronounceable names waited in an endless glass case to be selected, it was too hard to choose a favorite. 
Until I visited Lecce in Puglia I had never tried a pasticciotta, a specialty of this Southern Italian region.

  Each pastry crust (cup) is filled with a sweet custard.    They can also be filled with a chocolate custard and frosted.      Pastricciotta are found in all the bars in Lecce and can be served warm with your favorite café.  

     The ‘dolce boss’ of Lecce is undoubtedly  Luca Capilungo.    His shop is more desert boutique where seasonal displays create a fantasy world.   The cakes and gift platters become a part of the theme created.    This talented chef has posted the ingredients for pastricotta on his web site so that you can enjoy them this holiday.

The recipe for pastricotta

Cake Pasticciotto Lecce                                                        
Ingredients for 15 people
pastry
– 500 grams of sugar
– 500 grams of lard
– 8 eggs
– 5 grams of ammonia for cakes  (baking powder)
– 1 kg of flour

custard
– 400 grams of sugar
– 8 egg yolks
– 150 grams of flour
– 1 liter of milk
– Lemon peel q. b.
– Cherries q. b.

photos from Luca Capilungo’s web page.   Video from my visit to be on line soon.