Like many Italian recipes, the maritozzo (plural, maritozzi), a cherished Roman dolce, has a tale to tell. Legend says that every first Friday of March, young suitors would gift the sweet pastry to their betrothed with a ring or gold trinket hidden inside. A testament to their love, the gesture ensured that they would become their marito (husband). In fact, maritozzo is an affectionate way of saying “husband.”
Another story states that the pastry was baked in a heart shape and presented by women of marriageable age to the most sought-after eligible bachelor in town. The lucky lad would choose his future spouse based on the beauty and taste of the maritozzo.
Today, the most well-known maritozzo is a whipped cream-filled sweet bun, but its predecessor was a Lenten treat called Maritozzi Quaresimali. Smaller and studded with raisins, pine nuts, and candied fruit, it was one of the few luxuries permitted during the 40-day fasting period.
Today the cream-filled bun prevails. It’s as common for Romans to nosh on one for breakfast alongside a cappuccino as it is to eat one at a late-night bakery after a night out. In this version, mascarpone enriches the whipped cream filling, and a red ale simple syrup replaces the simple sugar glaze.
Maritozzi With Mascarpone Cream
Photo: Riccardo Lettieri, Styling: Beatrice Prada
Recipe: Emanuele Frigerio
Time: 1 hour + 1 hour and 50 minutes rising
Ingredients for 4
For the maritozzi:
1 lb. Manitoba or all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
⅔ stick unsalted butter
⅓ cup sugar
1⁄2 Tbsp. honey
5 tsp. fresh yeast
3⁄4 tsp. salt
zest of 1 orange, finely grated
For the filling
9 oz. mascarpone
7 oz. red ale
3⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup fresh cream, cold from the refrigerator
Make the maritozzi:
Mix 1⁄2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour with 1⁄2 cup milk and 2½ tsp. crumbled yeast. Leave to rise until doubled in volume (around 30 minutes in a switched-off oven with a saucepan full of hot water).
Chop the butter into 1⁄4" cubes. Mix the yeast starter/sponge with the sugar and honey, flour, and the remaining yeast and milk until smooth and elastic. Stir in the eggs then the butter, salt, and
a little orange zest. Knead until smooth, then transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise until doubled in volume.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Shape the maritozzi (see slideshow) and let rise for 25-30 minutes in a switched-off, closed oven with a saucepan of hot water on the bottom shelf.
Bake at 375°F for 5 minutes, then at 340°F for 10 minutes. Place them on a wire rack to cool.
For the filling:
Work the cold mascarpone with 1⁄2 cup sugar. Add the cream and whip until creamy—don’t whip further because over-whipping causes the cream to split.
Boil the beer for 1 minute with 1 cup sugar and 1⁄4 cup water. Open the maritozzi lengthwise down
the middle, but not all the way through, leaving them hinged together. Brush the inside of the bun with a little beer syrup and fill with the cream.