Maritozzi with Cream

La storia di questo piatto

Rome's maritozzo is a bun with ancient roots, but the soft, small, cream-filled version is a twentieth-century gift of the capital's coffee bars. Folk tales of sweethearts and Lenten gifts linger around it, charming and impossible to prove.

Ingredienti

• 250 g Manitoba flour
• 125 ml Lukewarm whole milk
• 8 g Fresh baker's yeast
• 1 piece Whole egg
• 40 g Granulated sugar
• 20 g Acacia honey
• 40 g Soft butter
• 4 g Fine salt
• 1 piece Untreated orange (zest)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 40 g Raisins
• 20 g Pine nuts
• 1 piece Egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon Milk for brushing
• 30 ml Water for the syrup
• 30 g Sugar for the syrup
• 300 ml Fresh heavy cream for whipping (very cold)
• 3 tablespoon Icing sugar

Preparazione

1. Start by soaking the raisins (40 g) in lukewarm water for 15 minutes, then squeeze them and pat them thoroughly dry with a cloth: if they stay wet they will ruin the dough. Meanwhile, dissolve the yeast (8 g) in the lukewarm milk (125 ml), which should feel only barely warm on the skin, never hot, or the yeast will suffer. Pour the milk into the stand mixer bowl with the flour (250 g), the egg, the sugar (40 g) and the honey (20 g), and work with the dough hook at low-medium speed for 8-10 minutes. It is ready when the dough pulls away from the sides and wraps around the hook, smooth and elastic.
2. Add the salt (4 g), the grated orange zest (only the orange part, since the white pith is bitter) and the vanilla (1 teaspoon), and knead for 2 more minutes. Then add the butter (40 g): place it in small pieces, one at a time, waiting for each to disappear into the dough before adding the next. At first the dough will seem to crumble and feel greasy, but don't worry: after 8-10 minutes it will become smooth, glossy and soft, and will pull cleanly away from the bowl. Finally, incorporate the raisins and pine nuts (20 g) with a couple of turns by hand, without overworking.
3. Gather the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film or a damp cloth. Let it rise in a sheltered, warm spot, around 26-28°C: an oven turned off with the light on is perfect. It takes about 90 minutes, until the dough doubles and becomes puffy and airy. To check, press with a floured finger: if the dent rises back slowly, it's ready.
4. Turn the dough (about 600 g in total) out onto a lightly floured surface, gently deflate it and divide it into 6 equal portions of about 100 g each: a scale helps you avoid mistakes. For each portion, fold the edges toward the centre, turn it over and roll the ball under your cupped palm until the surface is taut and smooth. Then elongate it slightly into an oval shape. Arrange the 6 maritozzi on the tray lined with baking paper, well spaced apart as they will grow, and cover.
5. Let the covered maritozzi rest for about 45 minutes: they should become well puffed and soft to the touch, almost double their earlier size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C in static mode, with the rack at mid-height. Beat the yolk with the tablespoon of milk and brush the surface with a light hand. Take care not to let the liquid drip onto the tray, or the maritozzi will stick and not rise well in the oven.
6. Bake at 180°C for 18-20 minutes, until the surface is golden and glossy and the kitchen fills with the scent of butter and orange. To check, tap the bottom with your knuckles: it should sound slightly hollow. While they bake, bring 30 ml of water with 30 g of sugar to the boil for one minute, and there is your syrup. As soon as they come out of the oven, brush the syrup over the still-warm maritozzi: it is the secret to a shiny crust. Then let them cool completely on a wire rack, because with cream on top a warm maritozzo would melt.
7. Whip the very cold cream (300 ml) with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar at medium speed: if you chill the bowl and beaters in the fridge for 15 minutes beforehand, it whips better. Stop when it forms soft peaks that hold their shape but remain glossy; if it becomes dull and grainy you have overdone it, as it is turning into butter. With a serrated knife, cut each maritozzo lengthwise, opening it like a book without separating it completely. Fill it with plenty of cream (about 50 ml each), using a piping bag or a generous spoonful, and level it off with the blade of a knife.
8. Dust the maritozzi with 1 tablespoon of icing sugar, a light veil, and serve them immediately, ideally alongside a cappuccino. Before bringing them to the table, taste a bite: the sweetness of the cream should balance the orange fragrance of the dough. For an extra touch of freshness, a grating of orange zest over the cream brightens everything.