the first time I made sfogliatelle after coming back from naples, they didn’t quite work out - they had too few layers, the layers were too thick and they became stale almost immediately after baking
but it was somewhere around the third attempt of coaxing that dough longer, thinner, silkier, until it’s practically translucent, spreading it with butter, rolling it into a coil, stretching and shaping it into that iconic ridged seashell that i realised what i was making was not dissimilar to a circular baklava
and if I was already halfway to baklava technique, why not go all the way?
so I swapped the traditional ricotta filling for something closer to baklava: crushed walnuts, warm spices, rosewater with a warm syrup hit as they come out of the oven
they’re not traditional but they are delicious
makes six small sfogliatelle
ingredients
dough
125g strong bread flour
5g sugar
65g water
35g butter, softened for laminating
walnut filling
50g walnuts, finely chopped
20g caster sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
0.5 tsp rosewater
pinch salt
syrup
50g sugar
50g water
1 strip lemon or orange peel
squeeze of lemon juice
method
dough
combine strong bread flour (125g), sugar (5g), and water (65g) in the bowl of a stand mixer
mix and knead until a stiff but smooth dough forms
cover and rest for 30 minutes to relax the gluten
knead until dough becomes stretchy and supple
wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight
turn out the dough onto a clean work surface
roll out to a very thin sheet either by hand or with a pasta machine
it should be about 6-7cm wide, very long, and thin enough to read a newspaper through
you can cut the dough into two pieces and work with one piece at a time if easier to handle
brush the entire sheet with softened butter (35g)
roll into a tight spiral log
cover and chill until firm (at least an hour)
walnut filling
combine finely chopped walnuts (50g), soft brown sugar (20g), cinnamon (0.5 tsp), and a pinch of salt
add a dash of rosewater (0.5 tsp) and stir together
assembly
trim the edges of the log to form a neat, even cylinder
cut the chilled log into six even slices
with buttered fingers, press the center of each disc outward while holding the edges to gently form a cone shape
spoon a small amount of filling into the hollow of each pastry cone
pinch the open end lightly to close
preheat oven to 180°C
arrange filled sfogliatelle on a lined tray
bake for 20–25 minutes until deep golden brown and crisp all over
syrup
while they bake, simmer water (50g), sugar (50g), and a strip of lemon or orange peel to form a syrup
add a splash of lemon juice at the end
dunk each hot sfogliatelle in the syrup as soon as they come out of the oven then let cool