The Mantovana, named after the city of Mantova, is tremendously simple, and, as a friend who has lived in Italy off and on but is now in the US remarked, "smells like Italy." The aroma certainly does evoke northern country cooking, and a mantovana with a glass of vinsanto is a wonderful way to end a meal. With coffee, on the other hand, it's an excellent breakfast.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) unbleached flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups potato starch (if you live in the US, check the Jewish section of the market)
- 3/4 cup butter, broken into bits and warmed to room temperature
- The grated zest of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon double acting baking powder
- 3 eggs, separated
- Salt
- A little milk (optional)
- A buttered, floured 9-inch (23 cm or so) ring pan
Preparation:
Cream the butter in a large bowl, then work in the sugar as well, continuing to beat until you have a pale white cream.While you are creaming, preheat your oven to about 380 degrees F (190 C).
Beat the yolks and the lemon zest into the butter mixture, then whip the whites to soft peaks, adding a pinch of salt to them as you whip. Sift the flour and the starch into the egg mixture, together with the baking powder.
The batter (for want of a better term) will at this point probably be crumbly. The traditional recipe simply has you mix in the whipped egg whites, and put the cake in the oven. More modern recipes tell you to add just enough milk for the crumbly mixture to hold together well, and then add the egg whites. You can follow either course.
Once you have your batter, pour it into the tube pan, put it into the oven, and bake for about 40 minutes. When it is done remove it from the oven and let it rest for five minutes, then remove it from the pan and let it cool.
Note: This cake is also known as Bussolano, and was traditionally made for Christmas.
