A Neapolitan Layer Cake, or Dolce alla Napoletana: According to Artusi this is extremely refined, and he is, of course, right.
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- For the cake:
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 4/5 cup (100 g) cake flour
- 3/4 cup sweet almonds
- 4 eggs
- --
- For the filling:
- 2 yolks
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Vanilla extract
Preparation:
Begin with the layers:
Peel the almonds and dry them well in the sun or by the fire. Separate the largest third and halve them; sliver the rest. Whip the eggs and the sugar in a bowl over a burner without allowing the mixture to exceed 70 degrees, for at least fifteen minutes. Remove the mixture from the fire and add the flour, mixing gently. Pour the batter into a smooth sided cake pan that's been greased and dusted with flour and powdered sugar; the pan should be such that the cooked cake will be about four fingers high. Bake the cake in a 380 F (190 C) oven until done, about 40 minutes, and after it has cooled, cut it into half-inch (1 cm) thick layers.
And next, the filling:
Next, make a pastry cream from the ingredients listed above (see instructions of need be).
While the cream's still hot, spread it over one of the layers and stack them together to make the cake.
Now the exterior of the cake must be plastered with an icing (the use of icings must have been relatively rare in Artusi's day, to judge from the fact that he begins another recipe by saying what they are and goes on to hope someone will come up with a better name for them than glasse, which is French. Italians still frequently cover cakes with layers of thick pastry cream rather than resort to icings of the kind he suggests here). To do this, boil 1 1/8 cups of sugar and a half cup of water till a drop of the syrup, when pressed between the fingers, sticks but doesn't leave filaments; another indication that the syrup is ready comes when it stops steaming and large bubbles form. At this point remove it from the fire, and when it begins to cool, add to it the juice of a quarter lemon and whip it till it becomes white as snow. Should it stiffen, add just enough water to soften it and give it the consistency of a very thick cream. Once the icing's prepared, stir in the slivered almonds and use it to plaster the cake; dot the iced cake with the almond halves.
Artusi closes with: You can use fruit preserves instead of cream, but the cake comes out wonderfully with the cream, and I therefore suggest you try it
While the cream's still hot, spread it over one of the layers and stack them together to make the cake.
Now the exterior of the cake must be plastered with an icing (the use of icings must have been relatively rare in Artusi's day, to judge from the fact that he begins another recipe by saying what they are and goes on to hope someone will come up with a better name for them than glasse, which is French. Italians still frequently cover cakes with layers of thick pastry cream rather than resort to icings of the kind he suggests here). To do this, boil 1 1/8 cups of sugar and a half cup of water till a drop of the syrup, when pressed between the fingers, sticks but doesn't leave filaments; another indication that the syrup is ready comes when it stops steaming and large bubbles form. At this point remove it from the fire, and when it begins to cool, add to it the juice of a quarter lemon and whip it till it becomes white as snow. Should it stiffen, add just enough water to soften it and give it the consistency of a very thick cream. Once the icing's prepared, stir in the slivered almonds and use it to plaster the cake; dot the iced cake with the almond halves.
Artusi closes with: You can use fruit preserves instead of cream, but the cake comes out wonderfully with the cream, and I therefore suggest you try it
