This is a crumbly cake -- Sbrisolona means crumbly -- from Mantova, in the Pianura Padana. It's a very traditional cake, dating from the time when few could afford the ingredients of richer cakes or pastries, and has the added bonus of keeping well. It was also a Christmas favorite. You'll need:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound (200 g) blanched, finely chopped almonds
- 2 cups and 1 tablespoon (250 g) unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 cup (150 g) finely ground cornmeal
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- A packet of vanillin, or a teaspoon vanilla extract
- The grated zest of a lemon
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, at room temperature
- More butter for buttering the pan
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C)Begin by sifting the flours with the vanillin (if you're using it) onto your work surface. Scoop a hole in the center of the mound of flour, and add the sugar, less 2 tablespoons, the almonds, the lemon zest, vanilla extract (if you're using it), yolks, and melted butter. Work the ingredients quickly with the tips of your fingers to form a crumbly mixture; don't expect it to be homogenous.
Take a cake pan large enough to contain the batter (for want of a better term), butter it, and crumble the cake mixture into it, rolling the blebs between your fingers to break them up -- they'll come together again as they bake.
Bake the cake for about an hour, and upon removing the cake from the oven give it a good shake to separate it from the pan. Slide it onto a serving plate, and dust it with the reserved sugar.
Note: this cake keeps quite well, especially when put in a sealed container.
