Neapolitan pastries and sweets: sfogliatella, babà, pastiera and where to find them

All year round

• Sfogliatella: there is the riccia, with crisp, layered pastry, and the frolla, with soft shortcrust-style pastry. The filling is ricotta, semolina and candied fruit. It is eaten warm.
• Babà: a leavened cake soaked in rum, sometimes filled with custard.
• Delizia al limone, a lemon-cream sponge made with lemons from the Amalfi Coast.
• Caprese, the flourless almond and chocolate cake that was born on Capri.

At holiday time

• At Christmas: struffoli, roccocò, mostaccioli, susamielli and raffiuoli.
• At Carnival: chiacchiere (fried pastry strips) and sanguinaccio (a chocolate cream).
• In March, for St Joseph's Day: zeppole, fried or baked, with custard and sour cherries.
• At Easter: pastiera, made with cooked wheat, ricotta and orange blossom, and casatiello, a savoury bread.

Tip: sfogliatella should be eaten fresh from the oven: ask for it warm. Near the Central Station and in the Historic Centre you will find some of the city's most famous historic pastry shops.

Keep eating

• Neapolitan coffeethe coffee ritual
• Christmas in Naplesthe holiday sweets

Frequently asked questions