Snowflakes, the recipe for Neapolitan desserts from Poppella

THE Snowflakes they are the most famous desserts of Poppella pastry shop, the famous laboratory born in the Rione Sanità and now located in various locations in Naples. Snowflakes are delicious and very delicate brioscine based on a soft and delicious pasta, filled with a delicious milk cream and ricotta, and served covered with a light layer of icing sugar. The original recipe for Fiocchi di latte is secret and jealously guarded by Poppella’s pastry chefs, but several variations that are very similar to the original have now become widespread. Our version is easy and very good, very similar to the original and is made with a simple planetary mixer. It will only be necessary to have a little patience and respect the leavening times of the dough, in order to obtain a soft and very soft result. Prepare the Snowflakes to serve after Sunday lunch, together with other Neapolitan desserts such as the Caprese cake!

Ingredients for 18 pieces

330W strength flour: 300 g
Granulated sugar: 50 g
Milk for the dough: 150 ml
Butter: 50 g
Dry yeast: 2 g
Salt: 1 pinch
Milk for the cream: 200 ml
Corn starch: 15 g
Icing sugar for the milk cream: 30 g
Cow’s milk ricotta: 300 g
Icing sugar for the ricotta cream: 20 g
Fresh cream: 50 ml
Yolk: 1
Milk for finishing: 2 tablespoons

Preparation: 6 hours
Cooking: 10 minutes
Total: 6 hours, 10 minutes
Calories: 187 kcal/piece

Preparation

Pour the yeast and flour into the bowl of a stand mixer. If you use fresh yeast you will first have to crumble it with your hands. Then start pouring the milk.

Once all the milk has been poured in, start kneading with the K whisk or the dough hook.

Add the sugar when the mixture is still rather rough and leave to work for 5 minutes at minimum speed until it is very smooth and homogeneous.

At this point, add half the quantity of butter at room temperature and continue to work until the butter is well incorporated.

Add the last part of butter, knead for another five minutes, then add the salt.

Knead the dough until it is well strung and does not stick to the hook. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cling film. Place it in a warm place without sudden changes in temperature and let it rise for 2 hours at 28°C, until it doubles in size.

Prepare the milk cream: pour the corn starch and icing sugar into a bowl, mixing them with a whisk.

Add the cold milk and give it another stir.

Transfer everything into a saucepan and bring to a low heat. Mix with a whisk until the cream thickens: it will take about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film to avoid the formation of a skin and leave to cool thoroughly.

Sift the ricotta by placing it in a narrow mesh strainer and passing the back of a spoon over the mixture so as to filter it through the mesh into a bowl.

Add the sugar, the grated zest of an organic lemon and the still liquid fresh cream.

Mix until the mixture is smooth and velvety, then add the milk cream and incorporate it well with a spoon. Cover the filling with cling film and place in the refrigerator.

Knock out the leavened dough and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Cut portions of pasta of about 30 grams each.

Roll the dough into balls and place them all on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

In a small bowl, add the egg yolk and milk, mix them well and with a brush apply a layer of liquid on each brioscine.

When you have brushed all the brioscine, cover the pan with transparent film and let them rise until doubled, at 28°C. It will take about 2 hours. Once the resting time has passed, preheat the oven in static mode at 180°C.

Remove the film and brush all the brioches well again with the egg yolk and milk mixture. Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly, then use a smooth piping bag tip to make a small hole under the brioches. Fill the piping bag with the ricotta and milk cream and fill them.

Place on a serving plate and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Tips and tricks

The snowflakes need to be stuffed when they are still warm, because in this way the dough will give up enough space for the milk cream filling. If cooking takes longer it will be more difficult to fill them, so check the color of the brioches carefully in the oven.

You can replace dry yeast with 7 grams of fresh brewer’s yeast.

We recommend using whole milk for this preparation, but you can also use partially skimmed milk. Whole milk will give the ricotta more creaminess.

It is essential that the flour used for this preparation has a strength of at least 330W. To find out how to read the strength of a flour, how to know the differences between the types of flour and their uses in the kitchen, we refer you to our blogpost.

If you have some milk cream left over you can use it to accompany fresh fruit of the seasonlike strawberries, or as a delicious filling pancakes for breakfast.