Steps in Making Lobster Tail Pastry Recipe

Knowing to Steps in Making Lobster Tail Pastry Recipe

One of the best and most delectable pastries the Italians made is the La Sfogliatella, known in English as Lobster Tail. It does not literally mean lobster tail, though. The Italian name is derived from the word "sfoglia", which means "unfold that leaf". However, the form of the pastry resembles that of the lobster's tail more than leaves, hence the name.

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This pastry originated in the 18th century from the Santa Rosa convent in the Amalfi Coast of the Province of Salerno, Italy. The first sfogliatella did not look like a lobster tail then, more like a nun's hood, but eventually when the pastry was brought to Naples, it changed to what is now the famous lobster tail form. The creamy, white filling, however, did not change, and since its popularity, it has spawned many variations, from using ricotta cheese (which is the most common), to using nuts, cinnamon, candied fruits or French cream.

Learning About Lobster Tail Pastry Recipe

The steps of creating the dough and the filling are the same throughout the years, but you can have different substitutions to the kind of filling you want. The following recipe, taken from Cassandra Vivian's famous book, Immigrant's Kitchen: Italian, is using the ricotta filling mixture.



Lobster Tail Pastry Recipe - Pastry:

• 2 cups all purpose flour


• 1 cup semolina flour


• 2 tablespoons sugar


• 1/8 teaspoon salt


• 3/4 cup butter


• 1/2 cup water


• 1/2 cup lard or better, melted

Combine flours, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Add butter, cutting it into the dough until blended. Slowly add water. Knead until firm. Form into a ball, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Lobster Tail Pastry Recipe - Filling:

• 1 cup milk


• 1/4 cup semolina flour


• 1 cup ricotta cheese


• 1 large egg, beaten


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 1 tablespoon of either


• candied orange peel


• lemon zest


• candied fruit of choice


• pinch of cinnamon


• confectioners sugar


• parchment paper, optional

Place a saucepan over medium heat. Add milk. Bring to a boil and slowly add semolina flour. Stir constantly so as to avoid lumps. Simmer three to four minutes, remove from the heat, pour into a bowl and allow to cool. After five minutes add ricotta (which has been passed through a sieve), egg, sugar, candied fruit, and sugar to semolina. Beat well. Set aside.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Divided it into two equal parts. Place on a dusted pastry board and roll with a rolling pin into an 18 inch square. It will become very, very, thin. Brush the thin pastry with butter. Begin at one end and roll it like a jelly roll. Cut the roll into a number of 3-4 inch pieces.

Pick up one piece of the dough in your hand. Press your thumb in the center of the pastry and push it down to form a hole like a cup. Fill the cup with 2 tablespoons of filling. Fold the cup until the open edges touch. Gently press the edges together to seal the pastry. Set it in front of you. Gently pull out the sides of the front to form a shell. Brush the top with beaten egg yolk.

Repeat above until all pastry and filling are used. Preheat over to 425 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the shells on the paper and bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Let the pastry cool on the cookie sheet for five minutes. It will harden a bit. Then place on a rack.

Once the pastry has cooled down, you may serve it or sprinkle confectioners sugar before serving.Lobster Tail Pastry Recipe