{"id":8283,"date":"2026-10-19T15:18:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T06:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8283"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:49:26","slug":"sfogliatella","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/sfogliatella\/","title":{"rendered":"Sfogliatella"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is the riccia, whose pleats open out like a seashell, and the frolla, with its smooth shell. Neapolitan sfogliatella is a pastry in which the same filling can be enjoyed in different doughs. The name is a diminutive of sfogliata<\/em>, which refers to layered dough or pastries. The name \u201clittle layered pastry\u201d is used not only for the riccia, whose surface shows thin flakes, but also for the frolla.<\/p>\n

\n\"Sfogliatella\n
Sfogliatella with many layers of thin flakes (April 29, 2011; location unknown). It is dusted with powdered sugar, and one is served on a plate. Photo: stu_spivack \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No alteration of content or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The difference in dough between riccia and frolla<\/h2>\n

The thin flakes of the riccia come from a structure of thinly stretched dough layered with fat; when baked, the layers separate into fine pleats. The frolla dough is a crumbly short dough containing fat, which breaks as a single crust rather than forming fine flakes. The two names are words that refer not only to the flavor of the filling but also to the technique used for the dough.<\/p>\n

In one example of a recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method of making) that produces thin flakes, the outer dough is coated with fat and rested for 5 hours or more, and after being stretched thin and rolled up, it is refrigerated for another 5 hours. The rolled dough is cut into rounds at least 1 centimeter thick, opened by hand into a hat shape, and filled. In this method, a rested flat strip is rolled up, cut, and pressed open into a three-dimensional shape.<\/p>\n

\n\"The\n
Sfogliatella frolla with a smooth crust (December 19, 2021; location unknown). The cut piece on the right shows a thick filling. Photo: Saggittarius A \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No alteration of content or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Combining cooked semolina with drained ricotta<\/h2>\n

For the inside, some versions use ricotta and semolina, combined with candied citrus and aromatic ingredients. The texture of the cooked grain and the flavor of citrus are layered over the softness of the dairy. The filling is prepared separately from the outer crust before the two are combined.<\/p>\n

In this recipe, the ricotta is drained for 2 hours or more, and the semolina is cooked in salted boiling water and cooled for 2 hours or more. The semolina is first mixed with the sugar, and then the ricotta, the flavorings, the eggs, and the candied orange are added in that order. Rather than mixing the grain meal directly into the cheese, this process combines the cooked grains after they have cooled.<\/p>\n

Scaturchio, a long-established shop in Naples, uses equal amounts of ricotta and semolina in its filling. Because the filling includes grain as well as cheese, it has a density different from cheese creams that use no flour or grain. The maker\u2019s own formulation also shows in how sugar and citrus aromas are combined.<\/p>\n

\n\"Santa\n
A pastry published as Santa Rosa (date and location unknown). Cream and dark-colored fruit accompany the pleated dough. Photo: Mess \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Full-size image obtained. No alteration of content or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Origin theories and pastries linked to three convents<\/h2>\n

There are several lines of explanation for its origin. The Naples cultural heritage superintendency, while stating that the origin is uncertain, presents side by side a theory linking it to the Croce di Lucca convent in Naples and a theory about the Santa Rosa convent in Conca dei Marini on the Amalfi Coast. The latter is a story in which Sister Brigida combined leftover semolina with ricotta, sugar, and candied fruit and wrapped it in two sheets of dough made with flour and lard. According to the account, the upper sheet was lifted to resemble the hood of a nun\u2019s habit, and the convent made and sold the pastry as \u201cSanta Rosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The superintendency further notes that the Regina Coeli convent in Naples had the \u201csfogliatona,\u201d baked large from the same short dough as the frolla. This large form with a crumbly crust is also linked to convent confectionery.<\/p>\n

The tradition of Pintauro\u2019s improvement and the spread in Naples<\/h2>\n

According to the superintendency\u2019s account, in 1818 Pasquale Pintauro of Naples reshaped the Santa Rosa recipe into a seashell form and began selling it in large quantities at his shop on Via Toledo. The pastry reminiscent of a hood is said to have changed into a seashell shape sold one at a time in a shop in town.<\/p>\n

In Naples, alongside baba and others, it is a familiar pastry that you can pick out singly at a shop counter and carry with you. Pastry shops offer two kinds: the riccia, whose thin flakes open out, and the rounded frolla. It is eaten at breakfast with coffee or cappuccino as well as a sweet after meals, and people choose between the different crusts while enjoying the shared filling of ricotta and semolina.<\/p>\n

In Abruzzo, it wraps grapes and nuts<\/h2>\n

Despite the similar name and seashell shape, Lama dei Peligni in Abruzzo has a sfogliatella unique to the area. It is also registered on the region\u2019s list of traditional products as \u201cSfogliatella di Lama,\u201d and materials from a local development agency record that a thin dough is filled with grape and amarena jam, reduced grape must, walnuts, and cacao. The flavor of the filling also differs from that of the Neapolitan version filled with ricotta and semolina. The local development agency\u2019s records also convey an origin story that in the late 19th century, a local woman, Anna Di Guglielmo in Tabassi, recreated the Neapolitan pastry with local ingredients. It is reported that the town still holds an event in which families compete with this pastry.<\/p>\n

In Abruzzo, it is also a pastry on which households spend considerable effort at Christmas. In the method of local cook Martina Spadano, a thin dough kneaded with oil and wine is layered with lard and filled with \u201cscrucchiata,\u201d made by cooking Montepulciano grapes. You can taste the stickiness and slight bitterness of a jam made at home by processing the grapes one by one and cooking them. There are also variations from household to household, such as adding amarena, nuts, or cacao.<\/p>\n

Stretching the dough thin is easier when two people work together. The rolled dough is chilled and then cut into rounds, stretched out in the directions of a cross, and wrapped around the filling. After cooling completely, the pastries are dusted with powdered sugar and kept in an airtight container or similar to be enjoyed over several days. Unlike the Neapolitan pastries filled with moist cheese or cream, these fruit-filled pastries are made ahead in this way in households at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

\n\"Coda\n
Coda d\u2019aragosta, named after a lobster tail (May 9, 2022; location unknown). The shape of the elongated crust can be seen. Photo: Saggittarius A \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No alteration of content or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Santa Rosa, and coda d\u2019aragosta made with choux pastry<\/h2>\n

Santa Rosa is described as a larger pastry made with cream and amarena jam. The pastry called coda d\u2019aragosta, meaning \u201clobster tail,\u201d is made by baking choux pastry inside a riccia crust and filling it with cream. The outer flakes are similar, but the filling differs from that of the riccia, which is filled with semolina and ricotta and then baked.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Ricotta<\/strong>: An Italian dairy product made by heating whey and similar liquids. Used in the filling of sfogliatella.<\/p>

Semolina<\/strong>: Coarsely ground wheat. It is cooked to create the texture of the filling.<\/p>

Riccia<\/strong>: Sfogliatella whose crust is layered into thin flakes and baked.<\/p>

Frolla<\/strong>: Sfogliatella whose crust is made with a crumbly short dough.<\/p>

Martina Spadano<\/strong>: Creator of The Spadanos, a cooking website introducing the food of Abruzzo.<\/p>

Anna Di Guglielmo in Tabassi<\/strong>: A woman who appears in the origin legend of the sfogliatella made in Lama.<\/p>

Sister Brigida<\/strong>: A figure who appears in the origin story of the pastry of the Santa Rosa convent.<\/p>

Sfogliatona<\/strong>: A pastry linked to the Regina Coeli convent, baked large from the same short dough as the frolla.<\/p>

Lama dei Peligni<\/strong>: A town in the Abruzzo region. It has a sfogliatella filled with fruit and nuts.<\/p>

Pasquale Pintauro<\/strong>: A figure linked to a shop on Via Toledo in Naples. He appears in accounts of how sfogliatella spread in the 19th century.<\/p>

Amarena<\/strong>: A type of sour cherry. Used in pastries, preserved in syrup or as jam.<\/p>

Choux pastry<\/strong>: A dough made by heating flour with liquid and fat before adding eggs; it forms hollows when baked.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n

  1. \u30fbPublished in the Abruzzo Region Official Bulletin: GAL Maiella Verde, \u201cItineraries of Food Culture\u201d<\/a> \u2014 PDF p.12: Lama\u2019s dough and filling, the late-19th-century tradition, and the local event.\n\u30fbAbruzzo Region, \u201cList of Traditional Products 2023\u201d<\/a> \u2014 PDF p.4: the item name Sfogliatella di Lama.<\/p><\/li>

  2. \u30fbItalia.it, \u201cStreet food di Napoli\u201d<\/a> \u2014 A single sweet bought in town, and riccia\/frolla.\n\u30fbScaturchio, \u201cSfogliatella riccia\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The shop\u2019s equal amounts of cheese and semolina, the two crusts, and serving at breakfast and after meals.\n\u30fbDolcesalato \/ SIGEP 2011 Italian team, \u201cLa sfogliata riccia napoletana\u201d<\/a> \u2014 A crust made with vegetable fat, resting and shaping, cooked semolina, and drained cheese. The waiting times in the main text are this competition team\u2019s example. Scaturchio\u2019s equal-proportion formulation is likewise that shop\u2019s own specification.\n\u30fbNaples Cultural Heritage Superintendency, \u201cLe sfogliatelle\u201d (2019)<\/a> \u2014 The two convent-origin theories, Pintauro in 1818, Santa Rosa, and coda d\u2019aragosta. The dates and formulations of related documents in church archives have not been verified. The completion of the two types is not definitively attributed to the creation of a single nun.<\/p><\/li>

  3. \u30fbTreccani Vocabolario, \u201csfogliatella\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The etymology as a diminutive of sfogliata, and the dictionary distinction between riccia and frolla.<\/p><\/li>

  4. \u30fbMartina Spadano, \u201cSfogliatelle Abruzzesi\u201d (2022)<\/a> \u2014 Christmas home baking by a local cook, scrucchiata, thin sheets layered by two people, and cooling and storage.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When you choose a sfogliatella at a pastry shop in Naples, you encounter two forms with different exteriors: the riccia, whose fine layers open out like a seashell, and the frolla, wrapped in smooth dough. The same name carries different textures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6752,"menu_order":38,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Sfogliatella","subtitle":"Fine, seashell-like layers: the riccia and frolla of Naples","topics":"Naples\uff0fRiccia\uff0fFrolla","country":"Italy","show_toc":true,"ingredients":[],"texture":["crumbly","smooth"],"occasion":["tea"],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[151],"class_list":["post-8283","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"manual","sweetlore_related_articles":[8282,8248,8249,8250,8251,8254,8255,8257]},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t