Pasticciotto

The short-crust pastry dough used to make pasticciotti was originally shortened with lard, but modern recipes may use butter instead, though this alters the texture of the crust.^[3][5] An egg wash is often applied to the top of each pastry before baking.

Fillings for pasticciotti include the traditional lemon-flavored custard^[4] or ricotta,^[1] and variant fillings such as almond, chocolate, pistachio or vanilla custard, fruit preserves, gianduja or Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spreads.^[2][3][5] An unusual variation filled with ground veal and almonds but topped with sugar, pasticciotti di carne, is a local favorite in the Sicilian town of Patti.^[6] Pasticciotti di carne are similar to the Moroccan pastilla which also combines a meat filling with a sugar topping. In Italy, custard-filled pasticciotti are the typical variety in Apulia,^[5] particularly in the province of Lecce, where the city of Lecce named the pasticciotto its typical cake.^[4][7] The ricotta filling is more commonly seen in Sicily. In Naples, in southwestern Italy between Apulia and Sicily, custard fillings are common but the pasticciotto napoletano also includes cherries.^[8] Both custard and ricotta fillings can be found in the United States.^[1][9]

The invention of pasticciotti is credited to Andrea Ascalone, a chef in the town of Galatina, near Lecce, who in 1745 used ingredients left over from full-sized tortas to create a smaller cake. The name pasticciotto allegedly comes from Ascalone himself regarding his creation as a pasticcio, or "mishap".^[3]However, recent studies demonstrate that the Ascalone family was not present in Galatina before 1787.^[10]

In southern Apulia, pasticciotti are sold in bakeries, bars, coffee shops and restaurants.^[4][5] They are also commonly available at Italian-American bakeries in the United States, alongside other Italian pastries such as cannoli and sfogliatelle.^[11][12]