What's Inside A Sfogliatelle?

Having read about Sfogliatelle here on the forum, I had to try one. So at the store I was offered a choice of a Sfogliatelle with cannoli filling or a Sfogliatelle with custard.

Are there two different types of Sfogliatelli, one with cannoli filling and the other one with custard?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think traditional sfogliatelle has citrus flavored ricotta.

kanin wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think traditional sfogliatelle has citrus flavored ricotta.

So neither one was traditional?

Sorry I didn't really answer your question... The traditional filling would probably be the custard one, IF it is orange flavored. I'm pretty sure there's eggs in the filling.

kanin wrote:Sorry I didn't really answer your question... The traditional filling would probably be the custard one, IF it is orange flavored. I'm pretty sure there's eggs in the filling.

Thank you! I tried the cannoli filling one, so now I have to try the custard one to see if it's orange flavored.

Isn't cannoli filling made with ricotta? Custard would be some combination of eggs and cream or milk, but would not include ricotta.

Yes, it's very similar to cannoli filling.

The filling in most of the sfogliatelles I've had is not cannoli filling or custard. It's drier than both. Some recipes call it semolina pudding.

When I visited GNR Nominee Il Mulino, they offered a choice both kinds of filling.

What's inside a sfogliatelle?

The evil eye.

I've also had it with semolina pudding. I don't know if that's an Italian or Italian-American variation, but I somewhat prefer the creamier filling.

Checked my Nick Malgieri Italian Dessert cookbook and he makes the filling from semolina, ricotta, eggs, sugar and citrus.

rickster wrote:Checked my Nick Malgieri Italian Dessert cookbook and he makes the filling from semolina, ricotta, eggs, sugar and citrus.

Soooooo, all of the above, then?

I just had the fortune to be in Venice, and had two sfogliatelle from two different places- when I asked what was in one of them, she said "rice".. it did have a ricotta like texture, but the taste was rice-puddingy, almost cinnamon-y. They were great, I've never had them before, but remembered reading about them here.

I never stop working for you.

Upon seeing this thread devolve into uncertainty and confusion, I immediately hopped the first flight to my personal epicenter of cannoli-making, Philadelphia's Termini Bros. Bakery. Whereupon I was informed by one of the baking nonne that their delicious sfogliatelle are indeed filled with a mixture of sweetened ricotta and orange zest. She'd never heard of the semolina pudding option, and the face she made indicated that she'd prefer not to hear of it again. Then again, she also thought sfogliatelle were Sicilian, so she may not be the ultimate authority. But she fills a mean cannoli!

Anyway, what was my point, again? Oh yeah: I ate a lot of sfogliatelle this week. I hope this important information may be of some use.