Maritozzo con la Panna · Maritozzo Romano con la Panna
Lazio · dolce · serves 8 · 240 min total · medium
Older than the Republic. The ancient Romans baked sweet rolls with honey and raisins for working men; the medieval version was given by fidanzati to their fiancées (mariti — "husbands-to-be" — hence maritozzo). The cream filling is a 20th-century Roman pasticceria invention. Eaten standing at a bar counter on Via del Boschetto, dusted in sugar.
Ingredients
- 500 g 00 flour
- 180 ml warm milk
- 12 g fresh yeast
- 2 eggs eggs
- 90 g sugar
- 80 g soft butter
- 1 orange orange zest
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 yolk egg yolk for brushing
- 600 ml cold heavy cream (35% fat)
- 60 g icing sugar
Method
- Dissolve yeast in warm milk with 1 tsp sugar. Stand 10 minutes until foamy.
- Mix flour with remaining sugar, orange zest, salt. Add the milk-yeast, eggs, and knead 8 minutes. Work in the soft butter a small piece at a time until the dough is silky and elastic.
- First rise: covered, in a warm spot, 2 hours or until tripled.
- Knock back. Divide into 8 pieces of 100 g. Shape each into a smooth oval — the classic shape is taller than wide, like a small loaf.
- Arrange on a lined baking sheet. Second rise: 1 hour, until puffy.
- Brush with egg yolk thinned with a splash of milk. Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 16–18 minutes until deep gold.
- Cool completely on a rack. The maritozzi must be cold before filling.
- Whip cold cream with icing sugar to firm peaks. Slit each maritozzo lengthwise, almost to the bottom but not through.
- Fill with a generous quantity of cream — scrape the top flat with a long knife so a clean white slab shows along the cut. Dust with icing sugar.
- Eat the same day, ideally for breakfast with a cappuccino.