Flavors · Naples

Sfogliatella riccia

Sweet shaped like a shell made of very thin overlapping sheets of pastry that crackle when you bite them. The filling is cooked semolina, ricotta, sugar and candied fruit. Served warm, it is one of the best-known pastries of Naples.

Traditional sweet from Naples, Campânia

Also known as: sfogliatella, sfogliatella napoletana, sfogliatelle

Updated November 2026

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Sfogliatella riccia — Naples, Italy — Sfogliatella riccia

Sfogliatella riccia — Naples, Italy

The sfogliatella riccia has the shape of a shell with ridges. The dough, made from flour, water, salt and lard, is stretched until very thin, rolled into layers and cut into discs, which are opened into cones and filled. In the oven, the sheets separate and become crisp. The filling contains semolina cooked in milk, ricotta, sugar, candied fruit and flavorings such as cinnamon and vanilla.

There is also the sfogliatella frolla, with the same filling but a smooth, tender pastry similar to a tart crust. Both coexist in the city’s pastry shops.

The most often-told history begins outside Naples, in a cloistered convent dedicated to Saint Rosa in Conca dei Marini on the Amalfi Coast, between the 17th and 18th centuries. There the santarosa is said to have been born, still a distinct sweet today, with cream and cherries in syrup. According to tradition, around 1818 a tavern owner on Via Toledo, Pasquale Pintauro, obtained the recipe, removed the cream and cherries, added candied fruit and turned the business into a pastry shop. How the nuns’ recipe came into his hands is disputed in the different versions.

In Naples, sfogliatella is eaten at any time, preferably still warm, accompanied by a coffee. The debate over which is the true one — the Neapolitan riccia or the Amalfi santarosa — remains lively among locals.

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Where it comes from

Naples , Campânia
The riccia version, with sheets of puff-like pastry, was spread in Naples in the early 19th century, originating from a convent recipe from the Amalfi Coast.

Ingredients

Flour, water, salt and lard in the dough; semolina cooked in milk, ricotta, sugar, candied fruit, cinnamon and vanilla in the filling. Confectioners’ sugar on top.

How it is eaten

By hand, standing at the counter or to take away, preferably warm. It is usually accompanied by a coffee.

When it is eaten

All year round, for breakfast or afternoon snack.

Your questions

Questions about Sfogliatella riccia

What is the difference between sfogliatella riccia and frolla?

The riccia has thin, crispy layers of pastry. The frolla has a smooth, tender dough. The filling of semolina, ricotta and candied fruit is the same.

Was the sfogliatella born in Naples?

According to tradition, the earliest version, the santarosa, originated in a convent on the Amalfi Coast. The riccia acquired its current form in Naples in the early 19th century.

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