CoursesBasicsFirst CoursesSecond CoursesSides & VegetablesSoupsSaucesEggs & FrittatePizza & BreadBreakfastSnacksStreet FoodDesserts
DietVegetarianVegan
SeasonSpringSummerAutumnWinter
MainSeafoodMeatEggs
MoreCulture & TraditionsGlossaryAbout
Desserts

Crostata della Babbaiola
Naples' other ricotta tart

Not pastiera. This is Posillipo's answer to the ricotta tart — no wheat berries, no candied fruit, no orange-blossom water. Just ricotta folded into a silky lemon pastry cream, baked under a lattice.

Crostata della babbaiola

Ask most people outside Naples to name the city's ricotta tart and they'll say pastiera, and they wouldn't be wrong exactly — just incomplete. The crostata della babbaiola, sometimes just "la babbaiola," comes from Posillipo, and it takes ricotta somewhere pastiera never goes: no cooked wheat, no candied citron, no orange-blossom water. Instead, the ricotta is worked smooth and folded into a proper lemon pastry cream, so what fills the shell is closer to a lightened custard than to pastiera's dense, grainy interior.

The name is a nod to its inventor rather than a description of the tart itself — the story passed down is that a Neapolitan pastry chef known for her babà earned the nickname "la babbaiola," and this tart, built from pastry scraps and a rich lemon-ricotta cream, ended up carrying her name instead of a more literal one. Whether that's precise history or the kind of origin story that attaches itself to any well-loved recipe, it's the name the tart goes by across Naples today.

Ricotta folded into lemon pastry cream, not mixed with wheat berries — a genuinely different tart from pastiera, not a simplified version of it.

The technique is really two components brought together rather than one filling made at once. A lemon crema pasticcera is cooked first — milk and cream infused with lemon peel, thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch, finished with a splash of fresh lemon juice once it's off the heat — and cooled completely under plastic wrap pressed to the surface. Separately, well-drained ricotta is pushed through a sieve and beaten smooth with powdered sugar. Only once both are ready do they get folded together, which is what gives the final filling its texture: silkier and lighter than a ricotta filling made alone, with the lemon cream doing the work of smoothing out ricotta's natural graininess rather than masking it.

For anyone who likes the flavor of pastiera but not the chew of cooked grano, this is the tart to make instead — genuinely different rather than a workaround, with its own name and its own neighborhood. Some families add dark chocolate chips or a splash of Strega to the ricotta mixture, but the lemon stays the point either way.

The recipe

For one 24-26 cm tart, serving 8. Start the dough well ahead — it needs at least 4 hours to chill.

Crostata della babbaiola — infographic by Giuseppe Astarita
Crostata della Babbaiola — lattice tart with ricotta folded into lemon pastry cream. Click to enlarge.
375 gFlour 00
150 g, cold, cubedUnsalted butter
120 gSugar
2Eggs
Zest of 1Lemon
A pinchSalt
400 mlWhole milk
70 mlHeavy cream
3Egg yolks
100 gSugar (for the cream)
40 gCornstarch
Peel of 1, in stripsLemon (for the cream)
2 tbspFresh lemon juice
250 g, well drainedRicotta
80 gPowdered sugar
1
Rub the cold butter into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, lemon zest, salt, and eggs, and knead briefly just until a smooth dough forms. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 4 hours.
2
Bring the milk, cream, and lemon peel strips just to a simmer in a saucepan, then remove from heat. In a separate pan, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until smooth. Strain the hot milk into the egg mixture gradually, whisking constantly.
3
Return everything to low heat and stir continuously with a whisk until thick. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and let cool completely.
4
Pass the well-drained ricotta through a fine sieve. Whisk with the powdered sugar until completely smooth and lump-free.
5
Gently fold the cooled lemon pastry cream into the ricotta until fully combined and silky.
Both components must be fully cool before folding, or the filling separates instead of coming together smooth.
6
Roll out two-thirds of the chilled dough to about 4 mm and press into a greased, floured 24-26 cm tart pan, leaving a high border. Prick the base with a fork and spread the filling evenly inside.
7
Roll the remaining dough into strips and lay them over the filling in a diagonal lattice, sealing the edges securely.
8
Bake at 175°C (347°F) for 45-50 minutes, until the lattice is a deep golden amber. Cool completely in the pan, then chill a few hours before slicing — it sets and tastes better the next day.

Related

Pastiera Napoletana
Naples' famous ricotta tart — wheat berries, candied fruit, orange-blossom water. A genuinely different dessert. See the full recipe.
Crostata Amalfitana
Another lattice-topped crostata baked with its filling in, lemon cream and amarene instead of ricotta. See the full recipe.

Buon appetito.

More Desserts
Pastiera napoletana
Pastiera Napoletana
The famous ricotta tart — wheat, candied fruit, orange blossom.
 Crostata amalfitana
Crostata Amalfitana
Another lattice tart baked with its filling in.
Desserts