The Apulian gastronomy offers a wide choice of sweet products, that lie in ancient rural traditions, when setting a table with pastries was possible only in occasion of feasts or special events.
The Apulian desserts, as well as the the typical cuisine of Puglia, are based on simple and humble ingredients, and they use what’s good from our region such as the almonds, the wheat, the oil…
Let’s see which are the traditional Apulian sweets:
During the Christmas festivities in December the Cartellate cannot be missing, they could have very ancient origins even dating back to the period before Christ, and their shape reminds a notched rose or crown. They are fried or baked and then immersed into the hot honey or vincotto.
In Christmastime typical are the sweet Pettole (and salty too) fried in plenty of oil and dipped into sugar, honey or vincotto.
At Carnival it is customary to eat the Chiacchiere or Frappe, a sort of crunchy shortbread covered with powdered sugar, also produced in others Italian regions.
On the 19th March in occasion of the Father’s Day the Zeppole are being prepared, fried or baked donuts topped with custard and sour cherries.
During the Easter season you can taste the Scarcella, a shortcrust pastry with different figures decorated with chocolate eggs or hard-boiled eggs on the top, which are symbolic of the birth of a new life.
All over the Puglia throughout the year you can enjoy several desserts:
in Lecce and Salento the leccese Pasticciotto is a must for breakfast, it is a pie crust filled up with a delicious custard. The Bocconotto is an alternative version of the Pasticciotto, it is kneaded in the same way but smaller so that it could be eaten in one bite, that’s why the reason of the name. It is usually full of jam or honey.
Among the specialities of the Apulian patisserie we can also mention the almond paste sweets, the classical dry pastries with coffee beans or candied fruit, the Biscuit of Ceglie, recognized as Slow Food Presidium, the Mostaccioli cookies with a spiced and citrus flavour that evokes Christmas holidays, the almonds Taralli.
Then, in Bisceglie the Sospiri are the symbol of the city, also declared as Slow Food Presidium, and realized with sponge cake and stuffed with pastry or chantilly cream and sprinkled with icing sugar.
The Sospiri dessert in the city of Altamura is called Tette delle Monache: they are very similar to each other but they are covered with powdered sugar not glaze. The unusual nickname is probably due to the pointed shape which looks like a woman’s breast.
Multiple and creative are the legends around the origin of the Sospiri or Tette delle Monache cakes: it is said that a nun gave this particular design making a mistake in the recipe so a passerby identified it as nun’s breasts; some other people suppose that a pastry chef in love invented this kind of cake inspired by his lover breast.
In Bari you can try the Sporcamuss dessert, such a puff pastry prepared with custard and powdered sugar. When you will eat, you can realize why it’s impossible avoid getting dirty and you will understand the reason of the name.
There’s enough for everyone, I’d say… and which one do you prefer?
viaggieitinerari... in Puglia by Valeria Dicarlo 