Something has been happening at our counter on Fulton Street, and the Italian press has noticed. In recent weeks the polacca aversana, the filled brioche we serve for dessert, has drawn a wave of coverage across Italy, from the news agency Askanews to Rai Italia and Food & Wine Italia, along with dozens of other titles.
For anyone meeting it for the first time, the polacca aversana is a southern Italian classic with roots in the province of Caserta. It is a soft, golden brioche filled with crema pasticcera (pastry cream) and amarene sciroppate (amarena cherries in syrup), a sweet reserved for special occasions in Campania for well over a century. Tradition even traces the recipe to a convent near Aversa, the town that gave the dessert its name.
For Roberto Caporuscio, it is also a memory. Long before he became a master pizzaiolo in New York, the polacca was a stop on his drives from Naples back to his hometown of Pontinia, a dessert you could find only in Aversa. Years later, he brought it to Kesté.
What surprised the Italian outlets most was the welcome. New Yorkers, many of them tasting amarene for the first time, took to the sweet-and-sour contrast right away. The press reported that the polacca has quickly become the best-selling dessert at Kesté, with around fifty portions leaving the kitchen on a busy day. At Easter, Roberto added a seasonal version, a colomba filled in the spirit of the polacca.
Come taste the original at Kesté, 77 Fulton Street. For the full story, every article is collected in our press kit below.
