I’ve been in the region of Puglia, in the heel of the Italian boot, this week. The most southern part of the region is called the Salento and here they eat a favorite sweet pastry — pasticciotto!
This single-serving, crusted cake with sweet filling was born sometime in the 18th century. Of course, there is debate about where exactly this sweet treasure was invented. About 10 miles from the capital of the region, Lecce, the Ascalone bakery in Galatina claims to have invented it in 1745. Others believe Ficile in the town of Martano created the first pasticciotto.
The ingredients for this Salentino cake are simple – flour, butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder and a pinch of salt for the crust. The traditional filling is made from milk, sugar, egg, flour and vanilla bean stick or lemon zest.
Buon Appetito!
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