Pasticciotti or Bocconotti? The Authentic Recipe from Puglia

I grew up calling them Pasticciotti.

Then I married into a family from Taranto and discovered that, a little further north, around Martina Franca, many people insist on calling them Bocconotti.

The buttery shortcrust pastry is the same.

The silky pastry cream is the same.

Sometimes there’s even an Amarena cherry hidden inside.

Different name.

Different town.

Entirely predictable Italian behavior.

Pasticciotti or Bocconotti first appeared in Taranto’s Simposio, a cookbook celebrating one of Puglia’s hidden gems.

Pasticciotti pugliesi

WHAT ARE PASTICCIOTTI OR BOCCONOTTI?

Pasticciotti (in Lecce) and Bocconotti (in Martina Franca) are among Puglia’s most beloved pastries.

Both are made with fragrant pasta frolla filled with rich crema pasticcera. In Martina Franca, Bocconotti are often enriched with Amarena cherries and a spoonful of their syrup, while the traditional Pasticciotti Leccesi remain faithful to pastry cream alone.

Like so many Italian recipes, they change ever so slightly from one town to the next, each community proudly claiming its own version as the authentic one.

WHEN APULIANS EAT PASTICCIOTTI

For many Apulians, breakfast means standing at the counter of a café with an espresso and a still-warm Pasticciotto.

Others wait until the late afternoon, after a long day at the beach, when sugar suddenly feels like an excellent idea again.

Either way, these little pastries have become one of the edible symbols of Puglia.

bocconotti recipe

HOW TO MAKE PASTICCIOTTI OR BOCCONOTTI

Making them at home takes a little patience but no complicated techniques.

A delicate shortcrust pastry, silky pastry cream, and—if you’re making the Martina Franca version—a few Amarena cherries are all you need to recreate one of Southern Italy’s most beloved desserts.

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Pasticciotti or Bocconotti Pugliesi

Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting time 2 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Author Claudia Rinaldi

Ingredients

for the shortcrust pastry

  • 2 + 1/3 cups 0 flour 300 gr or 10.6 oz
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter 150 gr or 5.3 oz
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 1 + 1/4 cups confectionary sugar 150 gr or 5.3 oz
  • 3 egg yolks
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • zest of half a lemon

for the pastry cream

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 cups cow milk 500 ml or 17 fl oz
  • 3/4 cup sugar 150 gr or 5.3 oz
  • 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon 00 flour 50 gr or 1.8 oz
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 1 pinch salt

for the finishing

  • 1/2 cup syrupy Amarena cherries including the syrup - only for the Martina Franca Bocconotti
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 splash milk

Instructions

  1. Place the butter, cut in pieces, sugar, and honey in the mixer, and work the ingredients over low/medium speed.
  2. Beat the egg yolks and salt in a cup and pour them into the mixer bowl.
  3. Carve the vanilla bean and add the pods to the bowl. Add the lemon zest as well. Mix to amalgamate, but don't overwork.
  4. Sift the flour twice and add it to the bowl. Mix the dough for a few seconds, just the time needed to get a dough that won't stick to your hands. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate it for two hours.
  5. Roll out the dough. It should be circa 0.25 cm (1/10 inch) thick.
  6. Cut out circles with a large cookie cutter or a mug. The circles should be one and a half times the muffin mold cavities.
  7. Display the discs on a tray and refrigerate them ten minutes more.
  8. Preheat the oven to 190°C (370°F).
  9. Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan, turn off the heat and add the salt and the vanilla bean (carved to release pods). Let infuse for a few minutes.
  10. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy.
  11. Sift the flour and add it to the yolks and sugar mixture. Mix well.
  12. Add a few scoops of milk through a fine sieve and mix well. Add the remaining milk (through the sieve) and incorporate it thoroughly.
  13. Return the cream to the saucepan and cook it over medium/low heat, continuously stirring, until it thickens.

  14. Time to assemble your Bocconotti. Grease the mold with butter.

  15. Place one disc in each spot, adjusting it to line the bottom and the sides. Add about one to one and a half tablespoons of cream, three to four cherries, and a splash of syrup.
  16. Place another disc on top and press the sides with your thumb to seal the sides.
  17. Use the dough scraps to form tiny studs to place on top of the Bocconotti.
  18. Whisk the remaining egg yolk and milk and brush the mixture over the Bocconotti's surface.
  19. Bake fifteen to twenty minutes until golden brown.
  20. Before unmolding, bring to room temperature to avoid the shortcrust pastry from cracking and to let the cream firm.

Enjoy your Pasticciotti or Bocconotti Pugliesi!

Claudia