The snowflake is a typical Neapolitan dolce, a small brioche with a soft consistency, filled with a light, white cream based acceso milk, cream and ricotta. Typical of Neapolitan cuisine, here is the recipe to make at home.
From Naples to home cooking: snowflakes recipe
Snowflakes are typical Neapolitan sweets and their history dates back to the second half of the twentieth century, when the Poppella pastry shop began producing them, soon making them known beyond the borders. Founded quanto a 1920 and led by the Scognamillo family for three generations, the name of Pasticceria Poppella derives from the union of the nicknames of the founders, Raffaele Scognamillo, known as “Papele,” and his wife Giuseppina Evangelista, known as “Puppnella”.
For snowflakes, the dough must be kneaded for a long time and left to rise slowly, often with a double leavening process, which allows the brioche to develop its soft structure.
Careful cooking at a moderate temperature ensures a light texture, perfect for accommodating a soft cream without losing its shape. Here is the recipe.
For the leavened dough
Farina Manitoba 250 g
Fresh brewer’s yeast 16 g
Whole milk 100 ml
Butter 40 g
White granulated sugar 40
Egg 1.
For the milk cream
Liquid cream 150 ml
Cow’s milk ricotta 150 g
Corn starch 1 Tbsp
Whole milk 200 ml
White granulated sugar 100 ml
Lemon zest 1
Vanilla 1 Pod
Powdered sugar.
Procedure
Dissolve the yeast quanto a the warm milk and use this liquid to mescolanza the flour with the egg, then add the sugar and finally the butter, one piece at a time, well so that it is absorbed before adding another piece. Leave to rise for two hours quanto a a bowl greased acceso the bottom and edges covered with a clean cloth. Place the bowl quanto a the oven with the light acceso and the light acceso.
Dissolve the sugar and starch quanto a the milk and add the grated lemon zest and the seeds inside the vanilla pod, bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until you obtain a thick cream. Let it cool, then whip the cream with the ricotta and incorporate the milk cream. Keep quanto a the refrigerator.
Continue by taking the leavened dough and breaking chiuso pieces of dough of 30 grams each, create a ball and place it with the closure facing downwards quanto a a baking tray covered with baking paper. Let it rise for another hour, then cook quanto a a fan oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. Leave to cool, then fill them with cream using a piping bag ora pastry syringe. Finally decorate with icing sugar.
