DESSERTS
Cakes, Tarts and Pastries, Spoon Sweets, and the “Keeping Cakes” of Winter
This panorama of Emilia Romagna’s desserts spans both time and distance. It does not pretend to encompass the wealth of the region’s sweets, but rather is a sampling of each area and period. Included here are 400 years of court food, beginning in the 1500s with Cardinal d’Este’s Tart and weaving through the centuries to the contemporary Frozen Hazelnut Zabaione with Chocolate Marsala Sauce. I have borrowed as well from the vast collection of sweets marking feast days and festivals. And there are home dishes, their origins ranging from mountain villages to the farms of the Po River plain. Some are country desserts still baked in the hot coals of kitchen hearths, while others were created in the modern stainless steel kitchens of city restaurants.
Desserts in Emilia-Romagna possess almost as much diversity as do her pastas. The simplest of sweets, like fresh melon with balsamic vinegar and mint, exist side by side with the unrestrained excess of a frozen mousse of espresso, mascarpone cheese, and cream. The same pastry shop may produce the homey Ciambelle cake and sophisticated Duchess of Parma Torte. Desserts fall into several categories. Dolci is the all-inclusive term for sweets. A torta can be a cake, a tart, or a pudding in the shape of a cake.
“Keeping cakes” of winter is my own phrase for the spiced cakes of Christmas, baked in autumn and mellowed until the holidays. They are part of a category of sweets meant for long storage or maturing (dolci di lunga conservazione). Jams, conserves, cookies, candies, grape syrup, and liqueurs all fall into this group. Spoon sweets (dolci al cucchiaio) are literally spoonable custards and creams. For me, fruit dishes are part of this category, as are frozen desserts.
Chestnut dishes are under yet another heading. Although there are only three, they represent rich traditions from the hills and mountains of the region. These nuts were the flour, sweetener, and substance of many sweets in the past.
With each recipe you will find information on its traditions and ideas for serving the dish today. The menu suggestions at the end of each recipe get down to specifics, explaining how to serve the sweets with the rest of the dishes in this book.
A Note on Pastry: The tarts in this chapter share a similar pastry, a butter/sugar dough called pasta frolla. Some tarts demand a crust with more butter or sugar, and some less. In Nonna’s Jam Tart, there is yet another possible interpretation of the pastry. The butter and sugar are whipped to a fluff with flour folded in later, creating a shortbread-style crust that is light and crisp.
Shorter, sweeter crusts may break apart as you transfer them to the tart pan. But remember, no one sees the bottom of your dessert. As long as the thickness of the crust is even for proper baking, there is nothing to worry about. Just press the pieces into the pan, joining the edges by pinching them together. These fragile crusts reward with melt-in-the-mouth tenderness.
Torta Barozzi
A sensational specialty, made only in the castle town of Vignola outside Modena, Torta Barozzi is to chocolate cake what a diamond is to zircon. It looks like yet another flourless chocolate cake, but one mouthful banishes any sense of the mundane. This is a chocolate essence, moist and fudgy, with secret ingredients known only to the baker. Serve the rich cake cut in small wedges, and do tell the story of Modena’s obsession with a seemingly conventional chocolate cake.
[Makes 1 cake, serving 6 to 8]
½ cup (2 ounces) blanched almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa (not Dutch process)
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
3 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) sugar
4½ tablespoons smooth peanut butter
4 large eggs, separated
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2½ tablespoons instant espresso coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water
1½ teaspoons dark rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Decoration
1 tablespoon cocoa
½ tablespoon confectioner’s sugar
Method Working Ahead: The Barozzi can be baked ahead and has admirable keeping qualities. It may be slightly better tasting in the first 24 hours after baking, but the cake keeps all its flavor when tightly wrapped and stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days. It freezes well 2 months. Serve at room temperature.
Making Almond Powder: Combine the almonds, 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, and 3 tablespoons cocoa in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until the almonds are a fine powder.
Blending the Batter: Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with the 1 tablespoon of butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to cover the bottom of the pan. Butter the paper with ½ tablespoon butter and line the pan with it, butter side up. Use the 3 to 4 tablespoons flour to coat the entire interior of the springform, shaking out any excess. Preheat the oven to 375°F, and set a rack in the center of the oven. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed 8 to 10 minutes, or until almost white and very fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl several times during beating. Beating the butter and sugar to absolute airiness ensures the torta’s fine grain and melting lightness. Still at medium speed, beat in the peanut butter. Then beat in the egg yolks, two at a time, until smooth. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and beat in the melted chocolates, the dissolved coffee, and the rum and vanilla. Then use a big spatula to fold in the almond powder by hand, keeping the batter light.
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Lighten the chocolate batter by folding a quarter of the whites into it. Then fold in the rest, keeping the mixture light but without leaving any streaks of white.
Baking: Turn the batter into the baking pan, gently smoothing the top. Bake 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven heat to 325°F and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few streaks of thick batter. The cake will have puffed about two thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Cool the cake 10 minutes in the pan set on a rack. The cake will settle slightly but will remain level. Spread a kitchen towel on a large plate, and turn the cake out onto it. Peel off the parchment paper and cool the cake completely. Then place a round cake plate on top of the cake and hold the two plates together as you flip them over so the torta is right side up on the cake plate.
Serving: Torta Barozzi is moist and fudgy. Just before serving, sift the tablespoon of cocoa over the cake. Then top it with a sifting of the confectioner’s sugar. (Or for a whimsical decoration, cut a large stencil of the letter “B” out of stiff paper or cardboard. Set it in the center of the cake before dusting the entire top with the confectioner’s sugar. Carefully lift off the stencil once the sugar has settled.) Serve the Barozzi at room temperature, slicing it in small wedges.
Suggestions Wine: In Vignola, homemade walnut liqueur (Nocino) is sipped with the Barozzi. Here, the black muscat-based Elysium dessert wine from California does well with the cake’s intense chocolate.
Menu: Serve after Modena dishes such as Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, Beef-Wrapped Sausage, Balsamic Roast Chicken, and Rabbit Dukes of Modena, or after light main dishes and first courses.
Cook’s Notes Chocolate: Use a chocolate rich in deep fruity flavors, such as Tobler Tradition or Lindt Excellence.
Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is the surprise ingredient in the cake, and an important one. I use creamy Skippy, but no doubt other brands work well too.
Whipped Cream: Although not served this way in Vignola, the Barozzi is superb topped with dollops of unsweetened whipped cream. Count on whipping 1 cup of heavy cream to serve 6 to 8.
“It’s All There on the Box”
Cracking the code of Torta Barozzi is Modena’s favorite food game. For decades local cooks have tried to unravel its mystery, without success. When a Modenese dinner party gets dull, ask about Torta Barozzi and settle back. The heat of the debate will warm you for the rest of the evening. Eugenio Gollini invented the cake in 1897 at his Pasticceria Gollini in Vignola. The cake commemorated the birthday of Renaissance architect Jacopo Barozzi, a native son of Vignola who invented the spiral staircase. Today Gollini’s grandsons, Carlo and Eugenio, still make Barozzi at the same pasticceria. Its recipe is secret, although its ingredients are stated on the cake’s box. Family members have sworn never to reveal nor change the formula. But Eugenio Gollini smiles serenely when he tells you it is all there in plain sight.
Gollini offered no clue of how peanuts—a startling and definitely non-Italian ingredient—became part of the cake. I speculate that late 19th-century cooks considered these nuts, brought from Africa, to be exotic and intriguing. Perhaps in experimenting with them, the elder Gollini discovered how good they are with chocolate. Then he might have found that peanuts puréed into peanut butter ensured a smoother and even more melting Torta Barozzi Historian Renato Bergonzini explained why the people of Vignola believe the cake’s secret eludes discovery: “Barozzi left the last step of his spiral staircase unfinished. No one knows why, and no one would presume to finish it. To imitate the torta is like trying to finish Barozzi’s staircase: impudent and foolish. Only the master himself can complete his work.” I confess to both impudence and foolishness, but also to success. This recipe comes tantalizingly close to the original.
Torta di Riso
The food of grandmothers, this baked rice pudding is scented with citron or almond. Baking burnishes it to a glowing gold and makes it firm enough to be sliced like a cake. Although made throughout the region, this rendition from Modena was shared by Catherine Piccolo of the Modena/St. Paul, Minnesota, Sister City Committee. This pudding is the dessert served after Sunday dinner in farmhouses on the Po River plain. It is pulled from the cold pantry for special guests, and is especially favored around Easter time.
[Serves 8 to 10]
3½ cups milk
1 cup (7 ounces) imported Superfino Arborio or Roma rice
1¼ cups (8¾ ounces) sugar
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
5 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
¾ cup (4 ounces) high-quality candied citron, finely diced, or ¾ cup (3 ounces) blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Method Working Ahead: The pudding can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap the dish and store it in the refrigerator until 1 hour before serving. It is equally good served warm from the oven or chilled.
Cooking the Rice: In a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan, combine the milk and rice. Bring to a gentle bubble over high heat. Turn the heat down to low, cover tightly, and cook 20 to 25 minutes at a very slow bubble. Stir occasionally to check for sticking. When the rice is tender but still a little resistant to the bite (it will be a little soupy), stir in the sugar. Turn it into a bowl and allow it to cool.
Mixing and Baking the Torta: Butter a 9-inch springform pan with the 1½ tablespoons butter. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Stir the eggs, lemon zest, and citron or almonds into the cooled rice. Turn into the pan, and bake 55 to 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted 2 inches from the edge comes out clean.
Serving: To serve at room temperature, cool the pudding to room temperature on a rack, and then unmold. Refrigerate if you will be holding it for longer than 2 hours. Slice into narrow wedges. Serve warm by reheating the pudding in its mold at 325°F about 20 minutes. Then release the sides of the pan and set the torta on a round plate.
Suggestions Wine: Usually no special wine accompanies the torta, just a little of the wine taken with dinner. On special occasions, I like small glasses of a chilled dry Marsala or a little Vin Santo from Tuscany.
Menu: Have a few Garlic Crostini with Pancetta as antipasto. Follow with Ferrara’s Soup of the Monastery as the main dish, and then the torta. The pudding is also a fine dessert after Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora or Rabbit Roasted with Sweet Fennel.
Cook’s Notes Citron and Substitutions: High-quality candied citron tastes sweet/tart and spicy. You can find it in large chunks in specialty food stores and Italian markets around Christmas time. If unavailable, substitute ¾ cup coarsely chopped candied pineapple, diced fine and blended with 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. This substitution is successful in this dish, but not always in others calling for citron.
My Own Variation: I like to pour hot Fresh Grape Syrup over chilled slices of the torta.
Bensone di Modena
“Bensone always stains the tablecloth” declares an old Modena saying. Dunking the crumbling cake in glasses of sweet wine is a favorite way of eating Bensone. The cake breaks up in the wine and is eaten with a spoon.
Simple ingredients and even simpler technique create the S-shaped cake. Its crust is craggy, and the melting sugar on top looks like molten crystal. Bensone is never too sweet. It looks and tastes homemade—like a sweet, slightly crumbly biscuit.
[Makes 1 cake, serving 8 to 10]
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
2 cups (8 ounces) cake flour
Pinch of salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
12 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup milk
1½ tablespoons pearl sugar (see Note) or granulated sugar
Method Working Ahead: The cake is best eaten within several hours of baking. It will keep, tightly wrapped, at room temperature 2 days.
Blending the Dough: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a large baking sheet with the 1 tablespoon butter. Set a rack in the center of the oven. Make the cake in the easiest and most traditional way—by hand. Put all the dry ingredients (including the lemon zest but not the pearl sugar) in a shallow bowl. Blend them with your hands or with a fork. Rub the chunks of butter into the dry ingredients, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the middle of the mixture, and add all the liquids. Stir them with a fork to blend. Then gradually work in the dry ingredients, using a tossing motion rather than stirring to blend the dry and moist ingredients together. Thoroughly moisten the dough, but do not worry if it is lumpy. Avoid beating the dough, as that toughens it. The dough should be lumpy, sticky, and moist.
Shaping the Cake: Sprinkle a little flour on a work surface and turn the dough out on top of it. Lightly flour your hands. Protect the dough from being overworked by just patting and nudging it into shape. Create a long, slightly flattened cylinder 3 to 4 inches wide and about 1 inch thick. Twist it into an S shape. Transfer it to the baking sheet, and sprinkle it with the 1½ tablespoons sugar. (Some Modenese cooks first brush the dough with 3 tablespoons milk.) Slip the baking sheet into the oven.
Baking and Serving: Bake 25 minutes. Then lower the heat to 250°F and bake another 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the Bensone to a rack. Either let it cool about 20 minutes and serve it warm, or let it cool for about 1 hour and serve it at room temperature. Cut it into ½-inch-thick slices.
Suggestions Wine: The Piedmont’s Moscato d’Asti or Freisa di Chieri Amabile is a fine wine for sipping and dunking with the Bensone. In Modena it would be a fresh and sweet Lambrusco Amabile.
Menu: This is a simple, homey dessert, excellent after country dishes like Maria Bertuzzi’s Lemon Chicken, Grilled Beef with Balsamic Glaze, Herbed Seafood Grill, Seafood Stew Romagna, or Rabbit Roasted with Sweet Fennel. Often Bensone is taken between meals with coffee.
Cook’s Notes Pearl Sugar: These pea-size pellets of white sugar are found in specialty food stores.
Ciambelle con Marmellata
Bake fruit jam in the center of Modena Crumbling Cake and you have a sweet called Ciambelle in Emilia-Romagna. This long, low cake tastes like a cross between a soft filled cookie and a sweet biscuit.
Ciambelle embodies the simple, direct quality of the homemade cakes of generations ago. Made by almost every grandmother in Emilia-Romagna, it is also found in every pasticceria. The cake greets youngsters after school, feeds neighbors dropping in for midmorning coffee, and makes a comforting finale to family dinners. In this country I take it on picnics and to potluck suppers, and serve it at casual dinners and buffets.
[Makes 1 cake, serving 6 to 8]
Dough
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup (4 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
1 cup (4 ounces) cake flour
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon shredded lemon zest
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk
Filling
¾ cup Homemade Tart Jam or high-quality store-bought plum, apricot, cherry, or strawberry preserves
Decoration
2 teaspoons pearl sugar (see Note, Desserts) or granulated sugar
Method Working Ahead: Although the jam cake is best eaten within several hours of baking, it keeps 2 days if tightly wrapped and stored in the refrigerator.
Blending the Dough: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet with the tablespoon butter, and set an oven rack in the center of the oven. Make the jam cake in the easiest and most traditional way—by hand. Put all the dry ingredients for the dough, including the lemon zest, in a shallow bowl. Blend them thoroughly with your hands or with a fork. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir the egg, vanilla, and milk together. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add the liquids. Gradually work in the dry ingredients, tossing them with a fork rather than stirring. The idea is to thoroughly moisten the dough but not beat it, as that makes it tough. Help with your hands. The dough should be lumpy, sticky, and moist.
Shaping and Filling the Dough: Generously flour a work surface, and turn the dough out onto it. Lightly flour your hands. Pat the dough out to form a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 13 inches long. Dab the jam down the center, in a ribbon about 2 inches wide. Fold the two flaps of pastry lengthwise over the filling, overlapping slightly. Pinch the seam together down the length of the cake. Pinch the ends together so the jam can’t ooze out during baking.
Baking and Serving: Transfer the pastry to the baking sheet, and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 250°F and bake another 25 minutes. Serve the Ciambelle warm or at room temperature. Cut it into slices about ½ inch thick, and arrange them on a platter.
Suggestions Wine: A cool white Moscato d’Asti or a dry Marsala Superiore or Ambra tastes fine with the Ciambelle. Many Emilians dip it in a local Lambrusco. “La Monella” from the Piedmontese vineyard of Braida di Giacomo Bologna is a fine stand-in for good Lambrusco.
Menu: Serve after Balsamic Roast Chicken, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, January Pork, Artusi’s Delight, Beef-Wrapped Sausage, or Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast.
Hawker selling ciambelle in Bologna’s marketplace. Engraving by Giovanni M. Tamburini, from a picture by Francesco Curti, circa 1640.
Casa di Risparmio, Bologna
Will the Real Ciambelle Please Stand?
Codifying Ciambelle defies all logic. It translates as “ring cake,” yet this traditional recipe is for a long loaf that looks like a flattened baguette. In pastry shops throughout the region, you can find long loaves (with or without a jam filling) sitting side by side with the same pastry baked into rings. Even more confounding, some are like pound cakes while others resemble sweet buttery biscuits. Each is called Ciambelle. Seventeenth-century Bolognese engravings show street vendors hawking Ciambelle rings—they carried them strung like doughnuts on long poles. Early recipes describe sweet Ciambelle like this recipe, as well as savory ones baked without sugar. Every part of the region has its favorite version, and the name changes according to where you happen to be. What is the true Ciambelle? It is the one you are eating at that particular moment.
Torta Duchessa
Created in 1985 by pastry chefs Ugo Falavigna and Dino Paini, this torte honored the winners of Parma’s Maria Luigia International Journalism Prize. If I die and go to heaven, I know I will be served this cake as my ultimate reward. Layers of hazelnut meringue separate two buttercreams, one a zabaione scented with Marsala, the other dark chocolate with rum and espresso.
[Serves 8 to 12]
Chocolate Buttercream
8 egg yolks
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
6 tablespoons very strong brewed espresso
¼ cup dark rum
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (11 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Method Working Ahead: The chocolate buttercream can be made 5 days ahead. Store it, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before spreading on the meringues.
Making the Chocolate Buttercream: In a metal electric mixer bowl or a medium metal bowl that works well with a hand-held electric mixer, combine the egg yolks, sugar, coffee, and rum. Whisk by hand over a pan of boiling water (not letting the bowl touch the water) 5 to 8 minutes, or until the custard is thick. It should read between 160° and 165°F on an instant-reading thermometer.
Once thickened, set the custard in its mixing bowl on the mixer, and beat it at medium speed 8 minutes, or until cool. If using a hand-held mixer, beat the same way. Then beat in the melted chocolates. Keeping the mixer at medium speed, beat in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating each addition until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time. The final buttercream should be silken and fluffy. If it is too soft, chill 20 minutes and then beat to fluff it up. Keep the buttercream at room temperature if you will be using it within a couple of hours. Otherwise, cover and refrigerate.
Meringues
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
2 cups (8 ounces) hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
7 large egg whites (1 cup)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Method Working Ahead: The nuts can be ground 1 day ahead. Once the whites are beaten, immediately fold in the nuts and bake. The baked and cooled meringues can be left on a rack at room temperature in a dry place 1 day before assembling the torte. If possible, avoid making meringues on humid days.
Making the Meringues: Butter and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Cut circles of parchment paper to fit the bottom of each pan, and set them in place. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grind the nuts with half the sugar, and all the flour in a food processor. The mixture should be very fine but not turned to nut butter. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar to form soft peaks. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar, and beat to stiff peaks. Using a large spatula, fold in the nut mixture, keeping the meringue light. Spread the mixture in the pans. Bake the meringues 22 minutes. They should be golden and almost hard, but still have a little spring when pressed. If the weather is humid or the meringues are still soft, they may need another 5 minutes of baking. Cool them in the pans on a rack 1 hour. Then run a knife around the inside of the pans to loosen the meringues. Gently turn the layers out of their pans. Carefully peel away the parchment paper. Trim any ragged edges so all the layers are the same size. Leave the meringues on a rack at room temperature until ready to use.
Zabaione Buttercream
5 egg yolks
7 tablespoons dry Marsala
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon dark rum
12 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Method Working Ahead: The flavors of this cream are more fragile than the chocolate cream. So store it for no more than 24 hours, covered and refrigerated, before assembling the torte. Bring it to room temperature before spreading it on the meringues.
Making the Zabaione Buttercream: Use a free-standing or a hand-held electric mixer for this buttercream. First, by hand whisk together the egg yolks, Marsala, sugar, and rum in the metal bowl of an electric mixer or a medium metal bowl that works well with a hand-held mixer. Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water, taking care that the water does not touch the bowl. Whisk 4 to 5 minutes, or until thickened. The custard should read about 160° to 165°F on an instant-reading thermometer.
Remove from the heat, and, with a mixer, whip at medium speed 8 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature. Keeping the mixer at medium speed, beat in 9 tablespoons of the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating each addition until smooth. The buttercream may seem too soft, but do not worry. Add the last 3 tablespoons all at once, and beat until smooth. The buttercream should fluff up. If not, chill about 20 minutes and then beat until fluffy. Keep the buttercream at room temperature if you will be using it within a couple of hours. Otherwise, cover and refrigerate.
Chocolate Glaze
2½ ounces bittersweet chocolate
2½ tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
Method Working Ahead: The glaze can be made several hours ahead and rewarmed over hot water. Since its sheen dims with refrigeration, it is best to leave the glazing for shortly before serving. Spread the glaze over the cold torte about 1 hour before presenting it at the table.
Making the Glaze: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl set over boiling water or a double boiler. Stir until it is a smooth cream. Set aside.
Assembling the Torte: Protect the borders of a flat round cake plate by covering them with 4 sheets of wax paper. Dab about 1 tablespoon of the chocolate buttercream in the center of the plate to hold the first layer of meringue in place. Place one meringue layer in the center of the plate. Spread chocolate buttercream ½ inch thick over the meringue layer, making it a little higher around the edges. (There will be enough left to frost the sides of the torte and decorate the top.)
Set the second meringue layer upside down on the buttercream. Press gently so it sits flat. Slather all the zabaione buttercream over the meringue, spreading it a little higher near the edges. Top with the last meringue, again upside down. Then, using your palms, press the center gently to make sure the layer is straight, not dipping down or bowing up. Firm the torte by chilling it in the refrigerator about 30 minutes. Using a long metal spatula, cover the sides of the torte with a thin coating of chocolate buttercream. Spoon the remaining chocolate buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a wide serated tip. Pipe an undulating border around the outer edge of the torte’s top layer. (There will be about ½ cup buttercream left over.) Refrigerate the torte at least 1 hour before topping it with the glaze.
Glazing and Serving: About 1 hour before serving, remove the torte from the refrigerator and carefully spoon the glaze on its top. Spread the glaze with the back of the spoon so it flows up to the buttercream border, completely covering the meringue. The glaze will harden to a bright sheen on the cold meringue. (If refrigerated, the sheen dims.) Using a wet knife, slice the torte while it is still cold. Then let it come to room temperature. To serve, slip the thin slices out of the cake and onto dessert plates.
Suggestions Wine: Usually chocolate is not accompanied by wine in Italy, but California’s Elysium dessert wine is a fine match to the torte.
Menu: Reserve the torte for special occasions. Serve it after simple but elegant dishes like Christmas Capon, Pan-Roasted Quail, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, Rabbit Dukes of Modena, Herbed Seafood Grill, or Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary.
Cook’s Notes Chocolate: My first choice is Tobler Tradition, with Lindt Excellence second.
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
The Duchess of Parma
There is only one. Although many women have held the title, in Parma when you say “Duchess of Parma,” everyone knows you are referring to Marie Louise of Austria. She was the city’s most beloved ruler, and her name is on everything suggesting refinement and excellence.
As princess of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and wife to Napoleon, she was forced to make a choice. She could either go into exile with Napoleon on Elba or rule Parma with the assistance of Austrian general Adam Albert Neipperg. A dashing military man, Neipperg was tall, intelligent, and strikingly handsome. The black patch over his eye only added excitement. Historical gossip claims they were lovers even before Marie Louise had to decide between Parma and Napoleon. She chose Parma, sharing her reign with Neipperg, and the next 30 years were some of the brightest in Parma’s history. The city’s elegant neoclassic opera house is one tangible legacy of Marie Louise’s era. Some music experts say its audiences are even more demanding of singers than La Scala.
Another legacy is the city’s identifying color, “Parma yellow.” This soft golden yellow tinged with orange is always matte and velvety, never hard and flat. The opera house is Parma yellow, as are many of the town’s buildings. The color is a melding of the Hapsburg yellow of Marie Louise’s family crest and the yellow of France’s Bourbon ruling family, who held Parma during the 18th century. (Modena has its yellow, similar to Parma’s, stemming from Modena’s own long relationship with Austria.) Pastry shops share another Marie Louise legacy: influences from France and Austria that make Parma pastries more refined and intricate than most.
Marie Louise (or Maria Luigia as she is known in Parma) is still a presence in the city. Her picture is found in shops, homes, and restaurants almost as often as portraits of native son Giuseppe Verdi. The portrait you see most often is the one I like the least. In it she is young, her long narrow head looks overbred, and the blue eyes are bland. In a later portrait, painted when she was in her fifties, she is far more compelling. Experience, intelligence, and passion speak out from the pale face. The jaw and cheekbones are strong, the eyes glow. This is a woman who could rule a duchy, a duchess worthy of Parma.
Crostata di Mandorle
This tart from both Emilia and Romagna is a big circle of shortbread covered with caramelized almonds and tasting of lemon and almonds.
[Makes 1 tart, serving 8 to 10]
Pastry
1 cup (4 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
1 cup (4 ounces) cake flour
6 tablespoons (2½ ounces) sugar
Shredded zest of 1 small lemon
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Filling
¼ cup water
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) sugar
Shredded zest of 1 small lemon
5 tablespoons (2½ ounces) unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons Anisette liqueur
1/3 cup water
3 cups (12 ounces) whole blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped by hand
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons Anisette liqueur
Method Working Ahead: The pastry shell can be baked 1 day ahead. The tart keeps well, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator 2 to 3 days. Serve it at room temperature.
Making the Pastry in a Food Processor: Combine the dry ingredients, including the lemon zest, in a processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend 10 seconds. Then add the butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the egg and process only until the dough is crumbly. Gather it into a ball, wrap, and chill 30 minutes or overnight.
Making the Pastry by Hand: Stir the dry ingredients, including the lemon zest, together in a shallow bowl. Rub in the butter, using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, until there are just a few shales of solid butter left. Using a fork, toss in the egg to barely moisten the dough. Gather it into a ball, wrap, and chill 30 minutes or overnight.
Preparing the Crust: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use the tablespoon of butter to grease an 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Generously flour a work surface. Roll out the pastry to form a 14-inch round about ¼ inch thick (the pastry and filling are of equal thickness in this tart). Fit it into the tart pan. The dough is fragile, so do not worry if it breaks, just press the pieces together in the pan. No one sees the bottom of a tart shell. Prick it with a fork and chill 30 minutes. Line the crust with foil and weight it with dried beans or rice. Bake 10 minutes. Then remove the liner and weights, turn the temperature down to 350°F, and bake another 5 to 8 minutes, or until pale gold. Cool on a rack.
Making the Filling: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the water and sugar in a 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes, or until clear, brushing down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water. Raise the heat to high and bubble fiercely 9 to 12 minutes, or until the syrup is honey colored. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the lemon zest and butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the cream, liqueur, 1/3 cup water, and almonds. Set the pan over high heat a few seconds to dissolve the caramel. Stir in the almond extract, and pour the filling into the pastry shell.
Baking and Serving: Bake 30 minutes (do not worry when the filling bubbles and seethes). Just before removing it from the oven, brush with the 2 tablespoons liqueur. Cool the tart on a rack. Slice it in wedges for serving.
Suggestions Wine: From the region, have a sweet red Cagnina of Romagna or the Veneto’s white Torcolato. Or have small glasses of the same anise liqueur flavoring the tart.
Menu: The tart makes a fine finale to a menu featuring Tagliatelle with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Herbs, Spaghetti with Anchovies and Melting Onions, Mardi Gras Chicken, Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast, Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, or Pan-Roasted Quail.
Ugo Falavigna’s Apple Cream Tart
Torta di Mele Ugo Falavigna
Ugo Falavigna, of Parma’s Pasticceria Torino, sautés lemon-scented apples, spreads them in sweet pastry, and naps the fruit in silky custard before baking. In this gentle adaptation of his recipe, I have encouraged the apples to absorb even more of the lemon, bringing out the fresh taste of the fruit and making the custard seem creamier. Include the tart in any menu made without lemon, but especially when pasta and ragù are offered as a main dish.
[Makes 1 tart, serving 6 to 8]
Pastry
¾ cup (3 ounces) cake flour
¾ cup (3 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
6 tablespoons (2½ ounces) sugar
Generous pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons cold water
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
Apples
5 medium Granny Smith apples
Juice of 1 large lemon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ tablespoons sugar
Custard
1 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
Garnish
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar (optional)
Method Working Ahead: The pastry and custard can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate them until you are ready to assemble the tart. The apples need to marinate in the lemon juice 3 to 4 hours. Serve the tart within 8 hours of baking.
Making the Pastry by Hand: Blend the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut in the butter until only a few shales of butter are visible. Using a fork, toss in the egg yolk, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water, moistening the pastry only enough for it to hold together when gathered into a ball. If it is too dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon of water and toss. Do not stir or knead.
Making the Pastry in a Food Processor: Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and process 30 seconds, or until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water. Process with the on/off pulse until the pastry begins to gather in small clumps. If it is dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon of water and process.
Chilling and Baking Pastry: Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes. Meanwhile, use the ½ tablespoon of butter to grease a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Sprinkle a work surface generously with flour. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick, and fit it into the tart pan. Chill at least 30 minutes. While the crust is chilling, preheat the oven to 400°F. Line the chilled pastry with aluminum foil, and weight it with dried beans or rice. Bake for about 10 minutes. Lift out the weights and liner. Continue baking another 5 minutes, or until it looks dry but not browned. Cool on a rack.
Sautéing the Apples: Peel and core the apples. Cut them into ½-inch-thick wedges, and toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice. Let the apples macerate with the lemon juice 3 or 4 hours at room temperature. Heat the 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Sauté pan over medium-high heat. Turn the heat up to high as you add the apples. You want to cook off the apples’ moisture without reducing them to mush. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes, or until they have given up their moisture and started to brown. Keep turning the pieces with a wooden spatula. Sprinkle with the sugar, and remove from the heat. Cool the apples by spreading them out on a large platter.
Making the Custard: Scald the milk in a 3-quart saucepan by heating it with the vanilla bean until bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. Remove it from the heat and cool for about 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, whip the sugar and the 2 whole eggs until the mixture sheets off the whisk. Then blend in the scalded milk and turn the mixture back into the saucepan. Have a sieve and a medium bowl handy for straining the custard once it has cooked. Using a wooden spatula, stir the custard continuously over medium-low heat 5 minutes, or until it reaches a temperature of 170°F and has thickened. Do not boil. Immediately pour it through a sieve into a bowl, removing the vanilla bean. (Rinse and dry the vanilla bean for use again.) Whisk in the remaining 2 egg yolks, and let the custard cool.
Assembling and Baking the Tart: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Fan out the apple slices on the pastry in a tight spiral pattern, forming a single layer. Pour the custard over the apples. Bake 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted midway between the center of the tart and the edge comes out clean. Cool the tart on a rack. Refrigerate if holding it more than 2 hours.
Serving: Serve the tart at room temperature, dusted lightly with confectioner’s sugar if desired.
Suggestions Wine: The tart’s assertive lemon flavor does not complement wine.
Menu: The tart is excellent after any menu where lemon and apples are not used. I like it particularly after Christmas Capon, Tagliatelle with Light Veal Ragù, Lamb with Black Olives, Porcini Veal Chops, January Pork, and Pan-Roasted Quail.
Torta della Nonna
A cross between filled shortbread and fruit tart, Nonna’s (Grandmother’s) dessert has a buttery crust and a homemade jam filling. It is a homey dessert, a favorite finish to Sunday dinners in Emilia-Romagna.
Jam tarts are found throughout Italy, but this particular one reminds me of Parma and Bologna. I first tasted the sweet/tart filling at the Atti bake shop, Bologna’s favorite source for home-style sweets. There it is described as brusca, meaning tart and fresh. The crust was inspired by a dessert made by Parma hostess Elsa Zannoni.
I have taken some liberties with the recipe. By creaming the butter and sugar, and eliminating some flour in the bottom crust, the tart is shorter, crisper, and even more like shortbread. Flour added to the top crust makes it less fragile, so it can be woven into the traditional lattice. Absolutely essential to the tart’s success is having the butter between 62° and 72°F so it can fluff to maximum volume and easily absorb all the flour.
[Makes 1 tart, serving 8 to 10]
Homemade Tart Jam (makes 2 cups)
1½ cups (12 ounces) dried apricots, peaches, or pitted prunes
6 tablespoons dry white wine
3 tablespoons sugar
Pastry
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (5.25 ounces) sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 cup (4 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
1 cup (4 ounces) cake flour
Glaze
1 large egg, beaten
Method Working Ahead: The jam holds in the refrigerator 2 weeks and freezes 3 months. The dough can be made 24 hours ahead; wrap and chill it in the refrigerator. The finished tart keeps well, wrapped and chilled, 1 week.
Making the Jam: In a saucepan, combine the dried fruit, wine, sugar, and enough water to cover the fruit. Let it stand 20 minutes to 1 hour. Then bring the liquid to a gentle bubble. Turn the heat to low, cover the pot securely, and cook 30 minutes, or until the fruit is very soft. Taste for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired. Set it aside to cool.
Making the Pastry: Use the 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest with an electric beater at medium speed. Take 8 to 10 minutes, fluffing the butter to three times its original volume.
Thoroughly mix the flours in another bowl. Measure out 1½ cups by spooning the flour into measuring cups and leveling it with a flat knife blade. Using a spatula, fold the 1½ cups into the creamed butter, and blend well. Take two thirds of the dough, roll it out quite thick (¼ to ½ inch), and then pat the dough into the tart pan, pressing it into the pan’s sides. Work the remaining flour into the remaining dough. Pat it into a flattened ball. Refrigerate both portions of pastry at least 45 minutes.
Baking the Crust: Preheat the oven to 375°F, and place a rack in the center of the oven. Prick the crust in the tart pan with a fork. Set on a baking sheet, bake 20 minutes, or until pale gold. Remove it from the oven and cool on a rack.
Finishing the Tart: Meanwhile, roll out the remaining dough on a floured surface to form a 10-inch circle. Cut it into long strips about ¾ inch wide. Spread the fruit filling evenly over the cooled crust. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Create a lattice top by laying five strips across the tart, parallel to each other and spaced about ½ inch apart. Use some of the beaten egg to seal them to the rim of the baked crust. Make a diagonal lattice with five more strips, spaced ½ inch apart. Press them into the rim of the baked crust. Brush all the pastry with beaten egg.
Baking and Serving: Bake the tart on the baking sheet 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown. Cool it on a rack, and cut in narrow wedges.
Suggestions Wine: On special occasions in Parma, the torta is served with the local sweet Malvasia wine. A Moscato from Sardegna or the Piedmont makes a fine stand-in. Usually the tart is eaten on its own after dinner, or in the afternoon with coffee.
Menu: Serve the tart after an elegant meal or an informal one, after Rabbit Dukes of Modena, Oven-Glazed Porcini, Seafood Stew Romagna, Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora, Beef-Wrapped Sausage, or Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast.
Torta La Greppia
Swirls of golden zabaione cream on top, tangy jam and crisp cookie crust underneath—from Parma’s Ristorante La Greppia.
[Makes 1 tart, serving 6 to 8]
Jam Filling
1½ cups Homemade Tart Jam, made with pitted prunes and ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
Pastry
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (2½ ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (2½ ounces) cake flour
6 tablespoons (22/3 ounces) sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
Zabaione Cream
6 large egg yolks
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons dry Marsala
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup heavy cream, chilled, whipped until stiff
Method Working Ahead: The jam keeps, covered, in the refrigerator 2 weeks and freezes 3 months. The pastry can be baked 24 hours before assembling the tart, and the zabaione can be cooked, chilled, and refrigerated 1 day ahead. The finished tart is best served within 8 hours after it is assembled. Store it in the refrigerator.
Making the Pastry in a Food Processor: Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Cut in the butter until reduced to a fine crumb. Add the egg and water, and process with the on/off pulse until the mixture begins to gather together in clumps. Turn the pastry out onto a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper. Gather it into a ball, wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes.
Making the Pastry by Hand: Combine the dry ingredients in a large shallow bowl. With a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work in the cold butter until only a few long shales of butter are visible. Sprinkle the pastry with the egg and water. Toss with a fork. Mix only long enough to barely moisten the flour. Gather the pastry into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Baking the Pastry: Use the ½ tablespoon butter to grease a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Generously flour a work surface, and roll out the pastry to less than 1/8 inch thick. (If the weather is humid, roll the pastry between pieces of wax paper.) Fit the pastry into the tart pan, prick it with a fork, and chill at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line the crust with aluminum foil, and weight it with dried beans or rice. Bake 10 minutes. Remove the weights and foil, and continue baking another 5 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.
Making the Zabaione: Bring a saucepan half full of water to a boil. In a large metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, Marsala, and sugar. Set the bowl over the boiling water and whisk 5 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and reads 165°F on an instant-reading thermometer. Turn the zabaione into a storage container, and cool it to room temperature. Cover and chill in the refrigerator several hours or overnight. (The zabaione must be cold when the cream is folded into it.) Fold in the stiffly beaten cream shortly before assembling the tart.
Assembling and Serving the Tart: Evenly spread the jam over the crust. With a long spatula, swirl on the zabaione cream, covering the jam completely. Chill the tart until about 20 minutes before serving. Cut it into wedges.
Suggestions Wine: Small glasses of lightly chilled sweet (semi-secco or dolce) Marsala Superiore Riserva are excellent with this. This is a fine sipping Marsala that can rival a port or Madeira.
Menu: Serve after Porcini Veal Chops, Pan-Roasted Quail, Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, or main-dish portions of Tagliatelle with Prosciutto di Parma or Tortelli of Ricotta and Fresh Greens, followed by a green salad.
Torta di Farro Messisbugo
This tart is edible time travel from the 16th century, when Ferrara bakers created the sweet in the palace kitchens of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este. Inside a sweet saffron crust plumped barley, cream cheese, orange zest, and spices bake into a subtle pudding. During the Cardinal’s time, sweets like this often appeared at the beginning of a meal with prosciutto, salads, and marzipan biscuits. Even though it is a dessert today, the tart’s grain and cheese make it nourishing enough to follow a simple main-dish salad.
[Makes 1 tart, serving 6 to 8]
Pastry
2/3 cup (2 2/3 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
½ cup (2 ounces) cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 1 tablespoon cold water
1 large egg yolk
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
Filling
1/3 cup (2 ounces) whole-grain spelt or pearl barley
Generous pinch of salt
3 cups water
8 ounces fresh Italian cheese (Casatella, Raviggiolo, or Robbiola) or American cream cheese (preferably without guar gum)
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (5 ounces) sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (5 ounces) raisins or coarsely chopped dried apricots, soaked in hot water to cover
Topping
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1¼ teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons candied melon seed, candied anise seed, or toasted pine nuts
Method Working Ahead: The crust and grain can be cooked 1 day in advance. Cover both and store in the refrigerator. The finished tart is best eaten at room temperature within 8 hours after baking, but it holds well in the refrigerator 1 or 2 days.
Making the Pastry by Hand: Combine the dry ingredients in a shallow bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until there are only a few crumbly shales visible. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and pour in the saffron water and the egg yolk. Use a fork to blend the liquids, and then gradually scrape in flour from the well’s walls. A pastry cutter helps blend in the last of the dry ingredients. Work the dough only long enough for it to gather into a ball. Wrap, and chill 30 minutes.
Making the Pastry in a Food Processor: Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend in the butter. Then add the egg yolk and saffron water. Use the on/off pulse to blend the dough only long enough for clumps to form. Turn the pastry out onto a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper. Gather it into a ball, wrap, and chill 30 minutes.
Baking the Crust: Generously flour a work surface. Butter a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom and fluted sides with the ½ tablespoon butter. Roll out the pastry very thin, and fit it into the pan. If the weather is humid, roll it out between sheets of wax paper. Trim the excess dough leaving a 1½-inch overhang. Fold that over to the inside of the pan so the crust stands at least ¼ inch above its rim. Chill 30 minutes to overnight. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the pastry with a fork. Line it with aluminum foil and weight with dried beans or rice. Bake 10 minutes. Remove the liner and weights, and bake another 5 minutes, or until pale gold. Cool on a rack.
Making the Filling: If you are using spelt, soak it overnight in cold water, then drain and turn it into a 2-quart saucepan. Cover with 2 inches of cold water. Cover the pan, and bubble gently 2 hours, or until the grain is tender. Drain well and cool. Barley needs no soaking. Simply cover it with the 3 cups water and cook, covered, at a gentle bubble 1¼ hours, or until very tender. Drain well and cool. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Have a baking sheet handy. Beat the cheese and sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs until smooth. Then blend in the 4 tablespoons melted butter and the salt, black pepper, orange zest, and cinnamon. (Eliminate the salt if the cheese is at all salty.) Stir in the drained raisins or apricots and the cooked and well-drained grain.
Baking and Serving: Set the pastry shell on the baking sheet. Pour in the filling. Spread the 2 tablespoons melted butter over the top. Slip the baking sheet into the oven, and bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon, pepper, and seeds or nuts over the top. Bake another 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack and serve at room temperature, sliced into small wedges.
Suggestions Wine: From Ferrara’s Bosco Eliceo wine area, drink a sweet red Fortana Amabile or from Romagna have a sweet red Cagnina or the sweet white Moscato wines of Sardinia.
Menu: For the simplest dining, have the Salad of Tart Greens with Prosciutto and Warm Balsamic Dressing as the main dish and serve the tart for dessert. The tart is excellent after any light menu not flavored with cinnamon. Ferrara’s Rabbit Roasted with Sweet Fennel, Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, and Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, are particularly good choices. For menus suggestive of the tart’s origins, have Rabbit Dukes of Modena, Artusi’s Delight, or Christmas Capon.
Cook’s Notes Fresh Italian Cheeses: A creamy full-fat cheese, sweet with freshness, is needed in this tart. The ones listed come from Emilia-Romagna and are in their prime during their first 10 days of life. Taste available imports (whether from the region or not) for sharpness, bitter undertones, or excess salt. Better to use a fine domestic cream cheese than an import past its prime.
Old engraving of Ferrara
Farro and Spelt
Although nothing can be exactly as it was, dishes like this give us a glimpse into the past. Pastry crusts with saffron were common in the 16th century, and cinnamon, pepper, and orange flavored sweet as well as savory dishes. Typical of the period, too, was the pound each of butter and sugar that I have eliminated in this modern version. The original recipe calls for either wheat kernels, farro, or rice—a choice that appears in many recipes of the era. Farro is spelt, or emmer, two very old strains of wheat used by the ancient Romans and still found in central Italian dishes today. Although there are slight differences between the two grains, in Italy farro refers to them both. After discovering that wheat grains bake into hard kernels, I turned to spelt. Surprisingly, it closely resembles barley in flavor. To find spelt in the United States. But the even more readily available barley makes a fine alternative. The homey-sounding tart turns exotic with its topping of either candied melon seeds or anise seeds, which suggest the Arab influences on the sweets of the Renaissance. Toasted pine nuts are the third choice offered in the original recipe.
Mandorlini del Ponte
These are meringues with a difference. The egg whites are cooked before baking, making the meringue crackly instead of chewy. Chunks of toasted almond add even more crunch. This is an heirloom recipe from the village of Pontelagoscuro (Bridge of the Dark Lake) in Ferrara province. Serve the meringues whenever a light sweet is needed to round out a menu.
[Makes 30 cookies]
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
4 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) sugar
2/3 cup (22/3 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
2 cups (8 ounces) blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Method Working Ahead: The meringues are at their best eaten within a day or two of baking, but they are still very good up to 1 week later. Store them at room temperature in an airtight container.
Making the Meringues: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use the ½ tablespoon butter to grease a cookie sheet. Sprinkle it with 3 tablespoons flour and discard the excess. Bring a saucepan half filled with water to a boil over medium heat. Using a hand-held electric mixer, whip the egg whites to soft peaks in a metal bowl. Slowly beat in the sugar. Put the bowl over the bubbling water, taking care that it does not touch the water. Beat 5 minutes at high speed, or until the whites become thick and shiny, coating the bottom of the bowl. Beat in the flour until just blended. Remove the bowl from the heat, and fold in the almonds. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until pale gold. Remove them immediately to a rack, and allow to cool.
Suggestions Menu: Serve the cookies with fruit or after-dinner coffee, or as dessert after a robust menu.
Gialetti di Romagna
Cornmeal and polenta have been part of Emilia-Romagna’s repertoire since corn first came from the Americas via Spain. These crunchy cookies are found throughout the southern part of Emilia-Romagna, as well as in the neighboring Veneto region. Homey looking and fragrant with cornmeal, they are superb with fresh fruit or just by themselves with espresso.
[Makes about 50 cookies]
1 cup (4 ounces) cornstarch
1 cup (5 ounces) coarse yellow cornmeal
2 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
Generous pinch of salt
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon water
1½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Generous ½ cup (2½ ounces) raisins, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained
½ cup (2 ounces) pine nuts, toasted
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
Method Working Ahead: The cookie dough can be mixed and refrigerated, tightly wrapped, overnight. The baked biscuits store well in a sealed tin about 1 week and freeze 3 months.
Making the Dough: Blend the cornstarch, cornmeal, flour, and salt in a bowl until well mixed. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at medium speed with the paddle attachment 8 minutes, or until pale and very fluffy. A hand-held electric mixer can also be used. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure the mixture is fluffy before adding the next egg. Then beat in the water, lemon zest, and vanilla. Keeping the speed at medium, beat in about 1½ cups of the dry ingredients until just blended. Then blend in another cup until barely mixed. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, along with the raisins and nuts. The dough will be thick, sticky, and soft. Cover the bowl and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Shaping and Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use the ½ tablespoon butter to lightly grease a 14 by 18-inch cookie sheet. The cookies will bake in three batches. Drop the chilled cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet, spacing them 1 to 1½ inches apart. Make a crosshatch pattern on top of each biscuit by dipping a dinner fork in a glass of water, then pressing the back of the fork gently into the cookie dough, flattening it slightly. Wet the fork again, and press it into the dough at right angles to the first impression. Chill the unused dough. Bake the biscuits 20 minutes, or until they are pale blond with golden brown edges. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven, and use a metal spatula to remove the biscuits to a rack to cool. Drop another batch of the chilled dough by teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet, and press and bake as before. Repeat with the third batch. Make sure the dough is cold when the cookies go into the oven.
Serving: Pile the Gialetti on a colorful plate, and serve.
Suggestions Wine: In Bologna, a local Lambrusco is a fine dipping medium for Gialetti. In the United States, serve them with lightly chilled dry Marsala or with espresso.
Menu: The Gialetti, served with or without fruit, are a fine finish to a rich meal. Also serve them after Romagna seafood dishes like Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, Herbed Seafood Grill, or “Priest Stranglers” with Fresh Clams and Squid; and after main dishes like Grilled Beef with Balsamic Glaze, Lamb with Black Olives, or Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast. They pair beautifully with Baked Pears with Fresh Grape Syrup.
Cook’s Notes Using Cornstarch: I have found that adding cornstarch to the traditional blend of cornmeal and flour gives the cookies a pleasing tenderness.
Ravioli Dolci di Paola Bini
Tender pastry turnovers filled with winter fruits, sweet squash, and chestnuts are a specialty of Villa Gaidello, near Modena. They originated in Medieval convent kitchens. There, fresh grape syrup and fruits were cooked into a conserve called savor. Often chestnuts were blended in, just as Villa Gaidello does today. And now, as then, the ravioli are excellent with sweet wine.
Throughout Emilia-Romagna variations on this theme crop up at Christmas, just before Lent, and on local saints’ days. Each area gives the pastries its own name; tortelli, tortellini, cappelletti, or ravioli, even though their shapes seldom change. Some cooks bake the turnovers, as in this recipe, while others fry them.
Whatever the name, their sugarless fillings always recall the days when sugar was dearly priced. Then, spiced fruits and cooked-down grape syrup satisfied most sweet tooths. Today, present the ravioli at the end of special dinners, especially at Christmas time.
Pastry
1 cup (4 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
1 cup (4 ounces) cake flour
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water
Filling
2 cups Fresh Grape Syrup, or 1¼ pounds seedless red grapes, stemmed
½ large quince or Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
½ medium Bosc pear, cored and chopped
½ medium Winesap or Rome Beauty apple, cored and chopped
½ cup diced peeled butternut squash
½ cup water
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
½ cup peeled roasted or canned chestnuts, crumbled
1/3 cup golden raisins
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1 tablespoon Strega liqueur
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Glaze
1 large egg, beaten
Method Working Ahead: The pastry and filling can be made up to 3 days before assembling the ravioli. Once baked, the ravioli freeze well 1 month and hold in the refrigerator, well wrapped, 4 days. Reheat 5 minutes at 350°F before serving.
Making the Pastry by Hand: Combine the dry ingredients, including the lemon zest, in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Using a fork, toss in the egg/water mixture until the dough can be gathered into a ball. If it is too dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon of water, toss, and then gather into a ball. Wrap, and chill at least 2 hours.
Making the Pastry in a Food Processor: Combine the dry ingredients, including the lemon zest, in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process 10 seconds. Add the butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Sprinkle with the egg mixture, and use the on/off pulse until the dough gathers in clumps. Turn it out onto a board, gather into a ball, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours.
Making the Filling: In a saucepan combine the grape syrup or fresh grapes, quince, pear, apple, squash, water, and citrus zests. Bring to a lively bubble and partially cover. Reduce the heat so the fruit is bubbling slowly, and cook 2 hours, stirring frequently, until the pieces are breaking down and very soft. Check for sticking, adding a little water if necessary. Pass the fruit through a food mill fitted with the coarse blade. Turn it back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, uncovered, 45 minutes. Stir frequently and check for scorching. The fruit should thicken and reduce but not burn. It is ready when it thickly coats a wooden spoon. Cool, and set aside ½ cup for another use. Stir in the chestnuts, raisins, pine nuts, and Strega.
Assembling and Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use the tablespoon of butter to grease two cookie sheets. Roll out the dough on a floured board to less than 1/8 inch thick. Use a scalloped biscuit cutter to cut out 3-inch rounds. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each round and fold it in half, sealing the edges with a little of the beaten egg. Reroll and fill the scraps of dough. Arrange the ravioli on baking sheets, and brush them with the egg glaze. Bake the ravioli, a sheet at a time, 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.
Serving: Serve the ravioli piled on a colorful platter. At Christmas we arrange them on a bed of fresh pine. Some cooks moisten the ravioli with Fresh Grape Syrup.
Suggestions Wine: A sweet white Albana Amabile or Passito from Romagna is heavenly with the ravioli. Try also Malvasia delle Lipari from Sicily, or Torcolato of the Veneto.
Menu: The ravioli pair well with old-style dishes like Christmas Capon, Artusi’s Delight, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, and Rabbit Dukes of Modena, or after a main course of tagliatelle with Piacenza’s Porcini Tomato Sauce.
Torte Maria Luigia
Few ever guess the secret ingredient of these pastries from Parma. Enveloped in the sweet crust are tastes of vanilla, citron, and almond. The mystery lies in their filling. Cooking fresh spinach in sugar may come as a surprise to many, but sweet spinach tarts are found in Reggio, in France, and even in 18th-century England. I suspect if we could stroll through the markets of ancient Persia and India, we would find them there too. Ugo Falavigna, of Parma’s Pasticerria Torino, believes the original of this recipe came from Austria to Parma in the early 19th century. He claims it came from the court cook to Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma. Whatever their origins, the turnovers are absolutely delicious and elegant enough to end the most important of dinners. I often serve them after a frozen or fruit-based dessert with coffee in the living room.
[Makes 50 pastries]
Pastry
2½ cups (10 ounces) cake flour
2¼ cups (9 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons (10 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 to 5 tablespoons dry white wine
1 large egg, beaten
Filling
12 ounces fresh spinach, trimmed
11/3 cups (9½ ounces) sugar
1 teaspoon dark rum
1½ cups (6 ounces) blanched almonds, toasted and finely chopped
Generous ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup (1½ ounces) candied citron, finely minced
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
Glaze
1 large egg, beaten
¼ cup sugar
Method Working Ahead: The filling and pastry can be made 1 day ahead. Cover both and refrigerate. The pastries are best eaten within a few days of baking. Store them in a sealed tin. They also freeze well. Rid them of any sogginess after defrosting by crisping them in a 400°F oven about 10 minutes before serving.
Making the Pastry in a Food Processor: In smaller food processors, this recipe is best done in two batches. Combine the flours, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process a few seconds. Add the butter, processing until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Blend together 2 tablespoons of the wine and the egg. Add this to the pastry, processing with the on/off pulse only until the dough begins to gather into small crumbs. If it is too dry to be gathered into a small ball, sprinkle with another tablespoon or two of wine and process a few seconds. Wrap, and chill 30 minutes or as long as 24 hours.
Making the Pastry by Hand: Combine the flours, sugar, and salt in a large shallow bowl. With your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work in the butter until there are just a few large shales visible. Beat together 2 tablespoons of the wine and the egg. Using a fork, toss the pastry with the egg mixture. Do not overmix. Just blend until the pastry barely holds together when gathered into a ball. If it is too dry, sprinkle with another 1 or 2 tablespoons of wine and toss. Wrap, and chill 30 minutes or as long as 24 hours.
Cooking the Spinach: Fill a sink with cold water, and rinse the spinach well. Measure the sugar into a 4- to 6-quart pot. Lift the spinach out of the water and transfer it right to the pot. Set the pot, uncovered, over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. The spinach should be wilted but still bright green. Set a colander in a bowl and drain the spinach, reserving its cooking liquid. Set the spinach aside to cool. Once it is cool, squeeze out the excess moisture and finely chop.
Making the Filling: Turn the spinach cooking liquid back into the spinach cooking pot and set it over high heat. Boil, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes, or until the bubbles are big and shiny. This means all the water has evaporated and now the sugar is totally liquified and boiling on its own. This liquid will be pale celery green and will thicken. Turn off the heat. Put the chopped spinach in the bowl that held the cooking liquid. Pour in the hot syrup from the pot, taking care that it does not spatter. Let the mixture cool. Then stir in the rum, almonds, spices, citron, and vanilla.
Shaping and Baking: Have a small bowl of water handy. Use the ½ tablespoon butter to grease a large baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously flour a work surface, and roll out half the dough to a little less than 1/8 inch thick. (In humid weather roll the dough out between sheets of wax paper.) Cut it into rounds with a 3½-inch fluted biscuit cutter or a glass. If time allows, chill the rounds 30 minutes before filling them. Dip your finger in the water and moisten the edges of the rounds. Place a generous teaspoonful of filling in the center of each round. Fold the dough over so it forms a half moon, and seal the edges. Set the crescents on the baking sheet. Brush the pastries with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake in the center of the oven 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Cool the pastries on a rack, and repeat with the remaining dough.
Suggestions Wine: Serve the pastries with a sweet Malvasia or a Moscato d’Asti.
Menu: In keeping with their heritage, offer the pastries after a period meal of Almond Spice Broth, Christmas Capon, and chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with fresh fennel. They are also excellent after His Eminence’s Baked Penne or Lasagne Dukes of Ferrara.
Espresso and Mascarpone Semi-Freddo
Semi-Freddo di Espresso e Mascarpone
Semi-freddo (partially frozen) always suggests to me a cross between soft ice cream and the richest of frozen mousses. In this one, Italian meringue helps aerate the espresso cream. But mascarpone intensifies the taste and gives the espresso depth.
This style of dessert is a contemporary addition to Emilia-Romagna’s home repertoire. There, egg whites are beaten with a little sugar and folded into the mousse. But now that raw eggs are a concern in the United States, I have cooked the whites with a hot sugar syrup, creating Italian meringue. The result is even more elegant than the original. Serve partially frozen in wine glasses, or unfrozen over wedges of rum-soaked Spanish Sponge Cake.
This recipe is particularly generous. Making a smaller amount can be tricky, as electric mixers often have difficulty beating only a few egg whites. If you need only half this amount, make the entire recipe and divide it in half, freezing the other half for another time.
[Serves 10 to 12]
Espresso Custard
6 tablespoons very strong brewed espresso, or 3 tablespoons instant espresso granules and boiling water
4 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons (11/3 ounces) sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pound mascarpone cheese
¼ cup heavy cream
Italian Meringue
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) sugar
¼ cup water
Garnish
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, shaved
Method Working Ahead: The semi-freddo freezes well 1 month. Serve it partially defrosted. It is also excellent served merely chilled within an hour or so of making. After that, the meringue begins to break down and the mousse becomes too soft.
Making the Custard: If you are using coffee granules, pour them into a glass measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to make 1/3 cup. Stir and let cool. In a large metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, coffee, rum, and vanilla. Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water, taking care that the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk 3 minutes, or until thick. The custard should reach 160°F on an instant-reading thermometer. Scrape it into a small bowl, cool, cover, and chill in the refrigerator. Soften the mascarpone with the cream. Fold it into the chilled custard, blending completely but keeping the mixture light.
Making the Italian Meringue: In an Italian meringue hot sugar syrup is poured into egg whites as they are beaten, cooking and stabilizing them so they will not break down when folded into desserts. The key to success is in not overbeating the whites before the sugar reaches its proper temperature of 248° to 250°F. Starting to beat the whites as the sugar syrup comes close to its final temperature guards against overbeating.
Have a candy thermometer handy. Put the whites in the bowl of an electric mixer. Pour the ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup water into a tiny saucepan, and set over medium heat. Cook at a lively bubble 3 minutes, or until the syrup is clear. Wash down the sides of the pan frequently with a brush dipped in water. Once the syrup is clear, turn the heat to high and put the thermometer in the pan. When the syrup reaches 245°F, turn on the mixer at medium speed. Wait a few seconds and then turn the machine to high speed. By the time the syrup is at 248° to 250°F, the whites should be beaten to stiff but moist peaks and should look smooth (if they are gathering together into clumps, they are overbeaten). Continue beating the whites as you immediately pour the hot syrup into the bowl. Keep beating on high speed about 3 minutes. Then turn the mixer down to medium, and beat until the whites cool to room temperature.
Finishing and Serving: Fold the whites into the custard, keeping it light. Spoon the mixture into a container and freeze. Three hours before serving, transfer it to the refrigerator. Serve the semi-freddo in wine glasses, or scoop ovals of the mousse onto dessert dishes. Sprinkle with the chocolate shavings. To serve without freezing, spoon the mixture into an attractive serving-dish or wine glasses, and refrigerate. Serve within an hour, garnished with the chocolate shavings.
Suggestions Wine: A dry Marsala with the semi-freddo.
Menu: Serve after Pan-Roasted Quail, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, or other dishes made with lemon or balsamic vinegar.
Cook’s Notes Mascarpone: Mascarpone comes in two consistencies: a thick cream and a solid cheese. For this recipe, seek out the thick cream.
Zuppa Inglese di Vincenzo Agnoletti
Here frozen layers of almond mousse and chocolate cream are sealed between slivers of light sponge cake. This sumptuous dessert is easily prepared ahead (and can be doubled) and is impressive enough for the most important of dinners. Covered in swirls of whipped cream, the cake’s finishing touch is a gilding of green and red from crushed pistachios and slivers of candied cherry. Parma’s Duchess Marie Louise dined on a dessert very similar to this one in the early part of the last century. Today there is a sense of timelessness to the dish. Serve it when a menu needs a classical, polished finish.
[Serves 8]
Filling
¼ cup water
6 tablespoons (22/3 ounces) sugar
8 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons almond syrup (see Note)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1/3 cup shelled green pistachio nuts, crushed
1 cup heavy cream, whipped and chilled
Cake
1/3 cup dark rum
3 tablespoons sugar
One 9-inch square Spanish Sponge Cake
Frosting
1½ cups chilled heavy cream, whipped until stiff
2 candied red cherries, each cut into 8 slivers
¼ cup shelled green pistachio nuts
Method Working Ahead: The sugar syrup holds, covered, in the refrigerator at least 1 month. The fillings can be made 1 day ahead; store them, covered, in the refrigerator. Freeze the finished dessert up to 1 month. Unmold it, frost, and serve.
Making the Filling: Combine the water and the 6 tablespoons sugar in a tiny saucepan. Bring to a gentle bubble over medium heat. Once the liquid is clear and the sugar is melted (about 3 minutes), cook over medium heat another 2 minutes. Allow to cool. Strain the cooled syrup into a large stainless steel bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of the almond syrup. Set the bowl over a pot of boiling water, making sure it does not touch the water. Whisk until the custard is very thick, 2 to 5 minutes. It will reach about 165°F on an instant-reading thermometer. Whisk in the last 3 tablespoons almond syrup and the vanilla. Immediately turn the custard into the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat at medium-low speed 5 minutes. Then beat at low speed 10 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature. Scoop half the mixture into another bowl. Thoroughly blend the melted chocolate into that custard. Stir the crushed pistachios into the remaining custard. Fold half the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Fold the remaining cream into the almond custard. Chill the custards 3 hours or as long as 24.
Preparing the Rum Syrup: Combine the rum and 3 tablespoons sugar in a tiny saucepan. Boil 10 seconds, and allow to cool.
Assembling the Zuppa Inglese: Although Agnoletti suggests lining a mold with Spanish Sponge Cake, filling it, and then burying it in the snow, there is another method that makes unmolding a little easier. Line an 8¼ by 4¼-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving a generous overhang. Slice the cake in half vertically. Using a long serrated knife, divide each half horizontally into three very thin sheets of cake. Trim two pieces to fit the long sides of the loaf pan, and another two smaller pieces to slip into the short ends. Before fitting them into the loaf pan, barely moisten the cake with rum syrup by lightly brushing each slice. Do not cover the bottom of the loaf pan with cake.
Fill the mold half full with the almond custard, smoothing with a spatula. Any extra custard can be frozen for later use. Trim a slice of cake to fit over the custard, completely covering it. Set it in place, pressing gently with the palm of your hand. Sprinkle it with a little liqueur. Spread all the chocolate custard over the cake, and completely cover it with another trimmed slice of cake. Do not sprinkle this slice with liqueur. Use scissors to trim and even out the side slices of cake. Pull up the overhanging plastic wrap to cover, and seal the mold. Freeze from 12 hours to 1 month.
Decorating and Serving: About 30 minutes before serving, remove the mold from the freezer. Use four pieces of wax paper to cover the sides of an oval or rectangular serving dish. Turn the mold out onto the dish. First lift off the pan, then gently pull away the plastic wrap. Thickly frost the top and sides with the whipped cream, using a long narrow spatula and circular motions to create lavish swirls. Lightly crush the pistachios with the side of a large knife. Arrange them in a row about ¾ inch wide down the center of the cake, then down the two narrow ends to the platter. Stud the slivers of red cherry here and there among the green nuts. Refrigerate the cake up to 30 minutes, then cut into ½-inch-thick slices.
Suggestions Wine: A festive wine with this elegant dessert—a sweet sparkling Asti Spumante from the Piedmont, or a Recioto di Soave of the Veneto.
Menu: Serve after Pan-Roasted Quail, at the end of a Christmas menu including Christmas Capon, or after Rabbit Dukes of Modena (page 286), Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, or Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary.
Cook’s Notes Almond Syrup: This sweet syrup is white to pale gold and made of sweet and bitter almonds. Imported from Italy as latte di mandorle and from France as orgeat, you can find it in specialty food stores and liquor shops. Once opened, the syrup keeps for up to a year in the refrigerator. Use it as sweet almond flavoring in coffee and milk drinks, and in desserts.
An English Soup
The provenance of this unusual zuppa inglese may seem more French than Italian, even though the name means “English Soup.” But according to its 19th-century creator, Vincenzo Agnoletti, cook to the Duchess of Parma, zuppa inglese did originate in Italy. Writing sometime shortly before 1834, he claims the zuppa came full circle from Italy through France and England, then back into contemporary fashion in Italy. The custard in this dish is made with a sugar syrup rather than the more usual milk or cream. The French use this same technique today for frozen parfaits. Agnoletti offered it as one of his many variations on making custard. He suggested varying flavorings with vanilla, coffee, or fruit purées. Change the custards to your own taste as desired. Modern zuppe inglese in Emilia-Romagna and throughout Italy differ slightly from this one. They are not frozen. Rather, most are a custard trifle molded in a loaf or dome shape. Layers of liqueur-soaked cake enclose dense pastry creams in assorted flavors. Rum syrup often moistens the cake. But Emilia-Romagna shares Tuscany’s taste for Alchermes, the liqueur of spices, flowers, and red cochineal brought to Italy by Arab invaders many centuries ago. Alchermes is often used to soak the cake of the region’s zuppe inglese, turning the dessert a startling crimson. There are few restaurant dessert tables in Emilia-Romagna without a zuppa inglese, and most of them are Alchermes red.
Riccardo Rimondi’s Spanish
Sponge Cake
Pan di Spagna
A feathery light, butterless sponge cake with a fine crumb. Translating literally as “Spanish bread,” throughout Italy this cake is filled with creams, custards, or jams, layered into trifle-like zuppe inglese, or simply moistened with liqueur and topped with fresh berries.
My recipe departs slightly from the traditional method, making it easier to mix and guaranteeing fine results. Usually only egg yolks are beaten with the sugar. Adding one whole egg to the mixture eases the crucial folding together of ingredients and creates a more velvety cake. I substitute cake flour for the potato starch or cornstarch used by many bakers. The cake is the lighter for it. This recipe doubles easily.
[Makes one 8- or 9-inch round or square sponge cake, serves 6 to 8]
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
7 tablespoons (1¾ ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
7 tablespoons (1¾ ounces) cake flour
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (4½ ounces) sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest or vanilla extract
4 large egg whites
Method Working Ahead: The cake can be baked 2 days ahead. Cool it completely, wrap airtight, and refrigerate. Or freeze up to 3 months.
Making the Batter: Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Butter and flour an 8- or 9-inch round or square cake pan. Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Sift the measured flours into a bowl, and then stir them to blend thoroughly. Pour the flour back into the sifter. Use a medium-size mixing bowl and a hand-held electric mixer to beat the whole egg, yolks, sugar, and lemon zest or vanilla at medium speed about 8 minutes. The mixture will be pale, fluffed to about five times its original volume, and very creamy. Set it aside.
Whip the egg whites until they form stiff, but not dry, peaks. With a large spatula, gently fold a quarter of the whites into the egg mixture, using big round scooping motions down to the bottom of the bowl, then up and around over the top of the batter. Fold in the rest of the whites, leaving a few streaks of white. Sift a quarter of the flour mixture over the eggs, and gently fold it in. Repeat the sifting and folding until all the flour is completely incorporated. Work quickly in order to keep the batter as airy as possible.
Baking: Immediately turn the batter into the cake pan, slip it into the oven, and turn the heat down to 325°F. Bake about 40 minutes (check a square cake pan after 35 minutes). The cake should be golden brown. Its center should spring back when pressed with a finger, and a knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Let it cool about 5 minutes in the pan, and then turn it out on a rack to cool.
Suggestions Menu: Top Spanish Sponge with fresh strawberries or raspberries after a main course of Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, Balsamic Roast Chicken, Herbed Seafood Grill, Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast, “Priest Stranglers” with Fresh Clams and Squid, Seafood Stew Romagna, or Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna. Use it in Frozen Zuppa Inglese and with Espresso and Mascarpone Semi-Freddo.
For a fast and light dessert, split the cake into two layers and fill it with a high-quality fruit jam (raspberry, apricot, wild blueberry, and peach are several personal favorites). Dust the top with a little confectioner’s sugar. Serve it after any of the dishes mentioned above, or others of your own choosing.
A nun of the Abbey of Saints Nabbore and Felice slices Spanish sponge or bread, 18th century. Caption reads: “They come from Lombardia and Romagna to buy this Spanish bread.”
Il Collectionista, Milan
A Little History
What the basic butter cake is to America, Spanish Sponge is to Italy. For centuries Emilia-Romagna’s court and convent kitchens turned out the cake. A Bolognese recipe from the early 1600s instructs the cook to beat the eggs and sugar for an hour and a half before adding flour! The cake appears again in the 18th century as a specialty of the Bolognese Abbey of Saints Naborre and Felice. There it was cut into long slices and eaten plain. Although many believe Spanish Sponge entered Italy through Naples, where the Spanish ruled, I would not discount Emilia-Romagna’s strong Spanish connections. During the Medieval and Renaissance periods, Ferrara’s court and Bologna’s university were international centers. Parma had a long relationship with Spain, culminating in the early 18th century when Duchess Elisabetta Farnese married King Philip V of Spain. No doubt Parma gained recipes as well as intrigues, politics, and fashions through that alliance.
Frozen Hazelnut Zabaione with Chocolate Marsala Sauce
Biscotto allo Zabaione con Cioccolato
If Paradise could be mounded on a spoon, it would be this posh cream—a melding of ice cream and mousse, warmed with the toasty flavors of Marsala and hazelnuts. Bittersweet chocolate sauce, spiked with Marsala and coffee, offers a perfect contrast. During the 19th century, creams similar to this, frozen in fancy molds, were chic dining for the upper classes of Emilia-Romagna. This recipe doubles easily.
[Serves 6 to 8]
Zabaione
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
1¼ cups (4½ ounces) hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
2 tablespoons sugar
6 large egg yolks
¼ cup dry Marsala
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Marsala Sauce
1½ tablespoons instant espresso coffee granules
½ cup boiling water
1/3 cup dry Marsala
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
5 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Garnish
1/3 cup (1 ounce) hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and coarsely crushed
Method Working Ahead: The sugar syrup can be prepared up to 3 weeks ahead; cover and refrigerate. The zabaione can be made up to 1 month ahead and frozen. The chocolate sauce holds nicely in the refrigerator up to 24 hours. Stir in the butter as you heat the sauce for serving.
Making the Zabaione: Combine the cream and the 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium bowl, and whip to soft peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use. Combine the water and 3 tablespoons sugar in a tiny saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear, simmer another 2 minutes. Set the sugar syrup aside and allow it to cool. Then refrigerate until needed. Combine the hazelnuts and the 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor or blender, and grind to a paste. Set aside.
Turn the cooled sugar syrup into a large metal bowl, and whisk in the egg yolks and Marsala. Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk 3 minutes, or until the custard is thick, leaving a clear trail at the bottom of the bowl when stirred with a spoon. It will be between 160° and 165°F on an instant-reading thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil, or the yolks will curdle. Immediately turn the custard into a mixing bowl, and beat with a hand-held or freestanding electric mixer at medium speed until cool, 8 to 10 minutes. Beat in the ground hazelnuts and the vanilla until well incorporated. Using a large spoon, fold in about a quarter of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture. Then add the remaining whipped cream, folding until it is thoroughly blended. Spoon into six to eight small ramekins that have been rinsed with cold water (but not dried). Set them on a small tray, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze. (The mousse can also be frozen in a 1½-quart shallow dish or deep soufflé dish, and then scooped into individual servings at the table.)
Making the Sauce: Combine the coffee granules with the boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Turn into a small bowl, and add the Marsala, chocolate, and sugar. Set over a pan of hot water, and stir until the chocolate has melted. If necessary, rewarm over hot water before serving. Stir in the butter just before serving.
Serving: If you used individual ramekins, spread a pool of the warm chocolate sauce on each dessert plate. Dip the molds in a bowl of hot water, loosening the edges with a small knife. Turn each mousse out onto the sauce or next to it. Sprinkle with the crushed hazelnuts, and serve. If you used one large dish, you can serve the mousse partially defrosted and creamy. Transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator about 4 hours before serving. At serving time, use two large spoons to scoop out ovals of the mousse and place them on dessert plates. Spoon a band of warm chocolate sauce across each oval, and sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts.
Suggestions Wine: A still Malvasia from Emilia or a Torcolato from the Veneto.
Menu: Serve after Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, Herbed Seafood Grill, or Balsamic Roast Chicken.
Cook’s Notes Chocolate: My first choice is Tobler Tradition, with Lindt Excellence as a second.
Frozen Chocolate Pistachio Cream with Hot Chocolate Marsala Sauce
Crema di Cioccolata da Eletta
This may be my favorite frozen chocolate mousse. It is intensely fudgy, with the unexpected touches of pistachio and Marsala. I also like the hint of coffee in the chocolate sauce, and the ease of making everything ahead. Eletta Violi shared this recipe from her trattoria in the Parma hills. A blooming rose of a woman, Eletta is as generous as her food. Present the chocolate cream as the finale of a menu of simple but elegant dishes. It is especially good after anything flavored with lemon or balsamic vinegar.
[Serves 8 generously]
5½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
5 tablespoons dry Marsala
2 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
¼ cup water
1 cup cold heavy cream, whipped with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup shelled pistachios, chopped
1 recipe Chocolate Marsala Sauce
Method Working Ahead: The chocolate cream holds well in the freezer 1 month. The chocolate sauce can be made up to 24 hours before serving, but do not add the butter. Rewarm the sauce over boiling water, whisking in the butter just before serving.
Making the Chocolate Cream: Set aside the melted chocolates to cool. Combine the butter and Marsala in a medium bowl, and set it over boiling water. Once the mixture is bubbling, remove the bowl from the heat and allow it to cool for a few moments. Then beat in the egg yolks. Set the bowl over boiling water again, and stir with a whisk 2 minutes, or until thickened. Remove it from the heat and stir in the melted chocolates. Set aside to cool. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, beginning at low speed, until soft peaks form. Have the sugar and water bubbling in a tiny saucepan. Using a candy thermometer, quickly bring the syrup to 248° to 250°F. Make sure the whites are to the soft-peak stage. Then beat at high speed as you pour in the boiling sugar syrup. Beat at high 3 minutes, then at medium speed until the mixture reaches room temperature. Keep the mixture light as you fold the whites, whipped cream, and all but 3 tablespoons of the chopped pistachios into the chocolate mixture. Turn the mixture into a storage container and freeze at least 4 hours. Slightly soften the cream by transferring it from the freezer to the refrigerator several hours before serving.
Preparing the Sauce: Warm the sauce, whisking to combine, in a stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. (If you prepared the sauce ahead, whisk in the butter now.)
Serving: Using a small ice cream scoop, place several balls of the mousse in each of eight wine glasses. Drizzle with the hot sauce. Top with the remaining pistachios, and serve.
Suggestions Wine: Chocolate and wine usually do not mix, but a sweet Marsala Superiore Riserva is fine here.
Menu: Serve after light dishes like Linguine with Braised Garlic and Balsamic Vinegar, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Herbed Seafood Grill, Braised Eel with Peas, Balsamic Roast Chicken, or Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast.
Cook’s Notes Chocolate: My first choice is Tobler Tradition, with Lindt Excellence as a second.
Reducing the Recipe: If you are serving fewer than eight people, do not make half a recipe. I find it easier to make the full amount, divide it in half, and freeze it in two separate containers. The second quantity will hold 1 month in the freezer, ready whenever you need a dessert on short notice.
The glass seller, 17th century, by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli
Casa di Risparmio, Bologna
Budino all’Emiliana
What a surprise this custard is. Creamy on the tongue, it tastes of cinnamon, vanilla, and clove. Yet this old recipe from Emilia’s farmland has no added fats. The secret to its richness is in boiling down and concentrating the milk before adding the eggs and sugar.
Farm women used to pour the custard into a covered pan and bury it in the hot coals of the kitchen hearth, where it baked while they went to work in the fields. At dinner the custard was often eaten as a main dish, napped with the farm’s own concentrated grape syrup. Today the custard bakes in home ovens and is usually taken as a dessert. But it still tastes especially fine with grape syrup. This sweet has such a polished, almost urbane quality that it is equally at home on a rustic menu of country-style foods or with more sophisticated dishes. The recipe doubles easily.
[Serves 4 to 6]
2¼ cups milk
4-inch strip lemon zest
6 whole cloves
5-inch stick cinnamon, broken
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2½ cups Fresh Grape Syrup, warmed (optional)
Method Working Ahead: The milk can be concentrated early in the day. Keep it covered and refrigerated until about 1 hour before baking the custard. The finished custard is best served lightly chilled, and holds well overnight.
Concentrating the Milk: In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the milk, lemon zest, cloves, cinnamon stick, and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil, and cook at a lively bubble 10 minutes, taking care that the milk does not boil over. The milk should be reduced by about one fifth. Remove the pan from the heat, add the sugar, and stir until it melts. Let the milk cool to room temperature.
Blending and Baking the Custard: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use the 2 teaspoons butter to grease a 2¼-cup baking dish with a diameter of about 7 inches and sides about 1½ inches high. Set out a slightly larger baking pan to use for a water bath. Baking in a water bath shields the custard from the toughening effects of direct heat. Shield it further by folding a kitchen towel in half and laying it over the bottom of the larger pan. The custard dish will be set on the towel and then the boiling water poured in. (The custard could also be divided among five ½-cup buttered ramekins. Use a baking pan large enough to hold them without touching, and set them on a towel in the pan as described above.)
Bring about 2 quarts water to a boil in a kettle. Give the cooled milk a stir, and then pour it through a strainer into a mixing bowl. Thoroughly whisk in the eggs and yolk. Pour into the custard dish, and cover the dish (or each ramekin) with foil. Set the custard dish (or ramekins) in the towel-lined baking pan, and set the pan on the center rack of the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the water pan, to within ½ inch of the top of the custard dish (or ramekins). Bake 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted halfway between the center of the custard and its edge comes out clean. The center will still be creamy. (If baking in ramekins, test them after 25 minutes.) Turn off the oven, open the door, and let the custard sit in the water bath about 15 minutes. Then remove it from the bath and cool it on a rack.
Serving: Turn the custard out onto a round dinner plate (or on individual dessert dishes). Cover and chill. Serve cool, not cold, cut in wedges. If desired, accompany it with spoonfuls of warm Fresh Grape Syrup or fresh berries.
Suggestions Wine: In Emilia, homemade wine—simple, slightly sweet, and quaffable—is taken with the custard. Do not gentrify this dessert with fancy wines. Have a simple Moscato d’Asti, or serve the custard on its own, followed by coffee.
Menu: Serve after country dishes like Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast, Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora, Grilled Beef with Balsamic Glaze, Pappardelle with Lentils and Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Tagliatelle with Ragù Bolognese. On the elegant side, offer after Christmas Capon, Pan-Roasted Quail, Artusi’s Delight, or Rabbit Dukes of Modena.
Baked Pears with Fresh Grape Syrup
Pere al Forno con Sapa
Baked pears caramelized in rich grape syrup have been enjoyed in Italy’s wine areas for centuries. This dish evokes harvesttime and autumn winemaking, when the air is filled with the sweet, spicy scents of crushed grapes. The syrup brings depth to the fruit and eliminates any need for sugar. Serve the pears warm, cool, or at room temperature. Pouring a little fresh cream over the fruit is traditional.
[Serves 6 to 8]
Pears
6 large Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and halved
Juice of 2 large lemons
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 recipe Fresh Grape Syrup
Garnish
1 large bunch red grapes (optional)
Method Working Ahead: Fresh Grape Syrup is made 2 days before the dessert is made, and can be made 5 days ahead and refrigerated. The syrup freezes well 2 to 3 months. The pears are best served on the same day they are baked. Offer them warm, cool, or at room temperature.
Baking the Pears: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Protect the peeled pears from darkening by moistening them with the lemon juice. Use the butter to grease a 10- or 11-inch round baking dish or a shallow 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Arrange the pears in a starburst pattern in the round dish or side by side, spoon fashion, in the rectangular dish. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and cinnamon. Bake the pears about 1 hour, basting every 20 minutes with 1/3 cup of the grape syrup, using a total of 1 cup (reserve the rest for spooning over the pears at the table). When the pears are easily pierced with a knife, remove them from the oven. If the pan juices are runny, tip the baking dish and spoon the juices into a saucepan. Cook at a fierce bubble 5 minutes, or until thick and caramelized. Pour the juices over the pears.
Serving: Serve the pears warm, cool, or at room temperature. Arrange them on a platter in a sunburst pattern, or serve directly from the baking dish. Use a tablespoon to drizzle a little Fresh Grape Syrup in a zigzag pattern over the pears. Pass the remaining syrup in a bowl for those who wish more on their pears. Garnish by tucking small clusters of red grapes around the pears.
Suggestions Wine: A simple sweet red like Aleatico from Elba or a Lambrusco Amabile.
Menu: Serve the pears with country-style dishes or in any menu where a light dessert is needed. They are excellent after Braised Pork Ribs with Polenta, Baked Maccheroni with Winter Tomato Sauce, Maria Bertuzzi’s Lemon Chicken, Lasagne of Wild and Fresh Mushrooms, or January Pork.
Bologna fruit seller, 17th century, by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli
Casa di Risparmio, Bologna
Iced Melon with Mint and Balsamic Vinegar
Melone con Aceto Balsamico
Perfect hot-weather food from Reggio and Modena. Save this recipe for high summer, when melons are at their best. The sweetest of melons are made even more delicious with a few drops of rich balsamic vinegar.
[Serves 6 to 8]
1 medium Crenshaw, honeydew, cantaloupe, or casaba melon
About 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
2 tablespoons artisan-made balsamic vinegar or high-quality commercial balsamic vinegar
8 to 9 sprigs fresh mint
Method Working Ahead: The dish can be prepared 1 hour or so before serving.
Serving: Cut the melon into eight wedges, peeling and seeding each wedge. Arrange in a sunburst pattern on a large round platter. Sprinkle with the sugar (if desired), vinegar, and mint. Serve lightly chilled.
Suggestions Wine: If you are using a rich, sweet balsamic vinegar, drink a delicate white Moscato d’Asti. More acidic vinegars will overwhelm wines.
Menu: The melon is light and refreshing enough to end any menu not using balsamic vinegar. Have the melon after Herbed Seafood Grill, Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora, Tagliatelle with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Herbs, Piadina bread with accompaniments, Spaghetti with Shrimps and Black Olives, or bowls of Seafood Stew Romagna.
Cook’s Notes Balsamic Vinegar: See A guide to Ingredients for information on commercial and artisan-made balsamic vinegars.
Variations: For the melon, substitute strawberries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, or pears.
Fragole al Vino Rosso
When strawberries are in their prime, make this simple dessert from Ferrara. The berries and a good red wine exchange fragrances with fine results. Take the dish along on picnics, and serve it with a summer buffet as an alternative to richer sweets (the recipe doubles easily).
Marinate the berries in the same red wine you will sip with them later. The wine need not be grand or expensive, but must have lots of fruity flavor.
[Serves 6 to 8]
2 cups fruity red wine (Merlot, Santa Maddalena, Valpolicella, or Zinfandel)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup sugar, or to taste
2 pints ripe strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1½ cups heavy cream, whipped, or 6 to 8 sprigs fresh mint (optional)
Method Working Ahead: Steep the berries in wine 1 hour before briefly chilling. Keeping them much longer than 2 hours softens the fruit too much.
Marinating the Berries: Combine the wine, lemon juice, and sugar to taste in a deep bowl. Add the strawberries, cutting larger ones in half. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature. Then refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
Serving: Spoon the berries, with some of their juices, into small bowls. Pass the whipped cream separately. (In Ferrara, cream is not usually taken with the berries. They can also be garnished with sprigs of fresh mint.)
Suggestions Wine: The same wine used to marinate the berries.
Menu: The berries are a fine finish to full-bodied menus as well as lighter ones. For example, serve them after Artusi’s Delight, Domed Maccheroni Pie, Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora, Tagliatelle with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Herbs, or Lasagne Dukes of Ferrara, all from the Ferrara/Modena plain.
A Passion for Watermelon
Peaches, apples, strawberries, and kiwi may flourish in Ferrara’s countryside, but watermelon provokes mischief and mayhem. On a May afternoon, Nicola Gigli, of Ferrara’s tourist board, joined me for a drive through the province’s farmland. Gigli pointed to a field of green corn and asked, “What do you think that is?”
“A field of corn,” I replied.
He grinned. “Yes and no.” He went on: “Here in Ferrara, country people leave their houses unlocked, keys in their cars. We trust each other and usually have no reason not to. Except about watermelon. We have a passion for it, and stealing melons is a favorite pastime. When I was a kid we would roam the farms, hunting melons. When we found them, we sat right there in the field and feasted. The farmers were furious. Hiding watermelon patches is a fine art here. All kinds of tricks are used. For instance, that cornfield is just a cover. In its center, hidden from sight, is a big watermelon patch.”
Raising his eyes to the sky, he murmured, “Ah, to be young again!”
Chestnut Desserts
Chestnuts used to be the wheat of Italy’s mountain people. Land for growing wheat is scarce in the hills, but there is room enough for chestnut trees to flourish. Flour ground from the dried nuts made pastas, breads, cakes, and fritters. Even the aromatic dried leaves were saved. Moistened with water, they became flavorful wrappings for cushioning flatbreads baked on stone griddles, and for protecting vegetable patties cooking between clay tiles or under heated clay domes. But the biggest treats of chestnut season were the newly harvested nuts of October and November. Everyone reveled in their sweetness.
Even today, hot roasted chestnuts are sold on street corners in towns and cities, and autumn chestnut festivals thrive in mountain villages throughout Emilia-Romagna. At Castel del Rio, in the mountains of Bologna province, crowds gather on October weekends for the town’s annual chestnut festival. In front of the village’s medieval castle, local men roast chestnuts over blazing fires.
The nuts are traditionally cooked in giant-size black pans that are suspended over the flames by chains hooked up to iron tripods. The pans’ long handles are the levers used to flip the chestnuts into the air. The nuts hover for a moment over the sparks and flames. There is an intake of breath. Will they fall back into the pan or disappear into the fire? Invariably the nuts land safely and continue roasting until their shells are brittle and almost charred.
The festival-goers buy little bags of the hot nuts and plastic cups of the season’s new red wine. Sloughing off the black shells with one hand, they sip from the cup in the other. Sweet and meaty, the chestnuts taste the way their burning leaves smell—of forests, honey, and sweet hay.
In the marketplace, freshly gathered chestnuts glow like polished mahogany nuggets in large baskets. Marring their beauty with cooking seems a sin, until you reach into the bag of still-warm roasted nuts, rub off more shell, and eat. The sin is venial rather than mortal.
Chestnut desserts are loved today, but in the old days they were special indeed. Years before prosperity and transportation brought sugar and sweets to the mountains, dried chestnuts made most of the desserts. Dried and left whole, or ground into flour, the nuts became the cakes, breads, fritters, and winter puddings. Whole nuts are still reconstituted into soups, stews, pastas, and fillings. One mountain valley in Parma celebrates the New Year by stuffing turkey with nothing but fragrant chestnuts.
Fresh chestnuts always mean Christmas in Emilia-Romagna. No matter how many elaborate desserts crowd the table, hot chestnuts roasted over an open fire are still treasured. Rushed from the hearth, they are shelled hot and dropped into glasses of sweet red wine. The wine changes from place to place, but the tradition is always the same.
Fortunately, some of these desserts can be made in our kitchens. Each of the recipes shared here emphasizes a different dimension of the chestnut and another facet of its traditions. Sweet chestnut flour becomes fritters like the ones sold in Castel del Rio’s town square. An old dish from Parma’s mountains emphasizes the goodness of freshly roasted chestnuts with a flamboyant flambé. The special quality chestnuts bring to cakes and baked puddings is illustrated in Chestnut Ricotta Cheesecake, adapted from traditional recipes found throughout Emilia and Romagna.
If you are lucky enough to live in an area with Italian markets, you will find fresh chestnuts in good supply during November and December. The freshest ones are plump, fragrant, and shiny, looking like polished wood. Taste them in all their natural sweetness, just as they are eaten in Emilia-Romagna after special winter meals. Simply roast the chestnuts as described in Desserts, and serve them with sweet red wine for dunking. Of course these are excellent, too, in the recipes that follow.
Since most of the United States’ chestnut trees were destroyed by blight in the early part of this century, imported chestnuts stock our stores. Sometimes it takes a long while for them to reach their final destination. If the chestnuts you can find are starting to dry out, turning dark and matte in appearance, don’t worry—once roasted they can still be quite flavorful. But if the nuts are really withered and exhausted, use the respectable substitutes found in jars and cans.
Whether made with fresh or good-quality preserved chestnuts, these recipes are edible souvenirs of those mountain festivals and of the centuries of heritage that keep them alive and well.
Sweet Chestnut Fritters Castel del Rio
Gnocchi di Castagne Castel del Rio
A taste of mountain tradition from the Apennine hills of Bologna province. I first ate these fritters in the mountain village of Castel del Rio, above Imola, where the ripening of the local chestnuts in October launches a month of fairs and markets. Today they are sweet treats, but years ago these fritters were often the main meal of the day. They are not light, or delicate, but they are satisfying on a cold day. The recipe doubles easily.
Fresh sweet chestnut flour makes the fritters utterly delicious, but stale flour produces only disappointment. When buying chestnut flour, check that it is from the new crop. The nuts are dried in autumn, and the flour is usually ground from December through February. Keep chestnut flour fresh by storing it in the freezer.
[Makes about 14 fritters, serves 6 to 10]
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup water
1 cup (3½ ounces) chestnut flour (see Note)
¼ cup sugar
1 to 2 quarts vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 large egg whites
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
Method Working Ahead: The fritters are best fried and eaten immediately. However the batter, minus the egg whites, is prepared 3 hours ahead. Blend in the whites shortly before frying.
Making the Batter: In a bowl, blend together the egg yolk, olive oil, water, chestnut flour, and sugar, making a smooth batter. Cover and let the batter rest at room temperature about 3 hours.
Frying and Serving: Pour 2 inches of oil into a frying pan or work, and heat to 375°F (use a deep-frying thermometer). Cover a baking sheet with a triple thickness of paper towels. Preheat the oven to 175° to 200°F. Just before frying, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Lighten the chestnut batter by stirring in a quarter of the whites. Then, using big round strokes, fold the remaining whites into the batter, keeping the mixture light. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the oil, trailing the spoon over the oil so the batter spreads out into a thin sheet. (This keeps the fritters from being too dense and heavy.) Fry no more than two or three at a time, turning them after about 90 seconds. They will brown and crisp on both sides in about 3 minutes. Lift the fritters out of the fat with a slotted spoon, drain well on the towels, and slip onto a platter and into the warm oven.
Serving: Eat the fritters as soon as possible after frying. Use a sifter to dust them with the confectioner’s sugar just before serving.
Suggestions Wine: A sweet red from Romagna, the delicious Cagnina, a sweet Lambrusco, or a fresh young red like a new Chianti.
Menu: Have the fritters on their own as snacks, or as dessert after bowls of Mountain Soup with Garlic Croutons, Ferrara’s Soup of the Monastery, or Fresh Garlic Soup Brisighella.
Cook’s Notes Chestnut Flour: You can find chestnut flour in specialty food stores, Italian groceries, and shops specializing in Mediterranean food products. If at all possible, check its aroma before buying. The flour should smell sweet and woodsy, with no sense of staleness or any smoky aromas that suggest bacon. If there is even a hint of an off odor, do not buy the flour.
Le Castagne alla Vampa di Capacchi
In this old-time dessert from the Parma mountains, roasted chestnuts are soaked in sweet lemon syrup. Flaming them with homemade grappa or pear brandy gives them their name (vampa means blaze). According to Guglielmo Capacchi, who shared this recipe from his book on Parma’s home cooking, La Cucina Popolare Parmigiana, when ricotta was available, people topped the chestnuts with it. Today whipped cream is often used.
Seek out the shiniest, plumpest chestnuts available. If you can roast them over an open fire, they will pick up appealing smokiness, giving the dish greater authenticity. Either of the following techniques produces roasted chestnuts delicious eaten on their own, still hot from cooking.
[Serves 6 to 8]
2 pounds fresh chestnuts
2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
1 cup water
Zest of 2 large lemons, in strips
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup grappa or pear eau-de-vie (such as Pear William)
1 pound high-quality or Homemade Ricotta Cheese, or 1¼ cups heavy cream, whipped
Method Working Ahead: The sugar syrup keeps, covered, in the refrigerator 1 week or more. Roast the chestnuts several hours before dining. Let them soak up the lemon syrup before heating them in the oven and flaming.
Roasting Chestnuts over a Fire: Have a good bed of coals built up in a fireplace or a large grill. Cut a slit two thirds of the way around each nut. Spread the chestnuts in a special chestnut roasting pan (which has a perforated bottom and a long handle) or a shallow heavy roasting pan. Holding the pan over the hot coals, roast the nuts 40 minutes, or until the shells loosen. Turn them often, and occasionally rest the pan directly on the coals. (If you are using a heavy roasting pan, set it directly on the coals and use a long-handled spoon to turn the nuts as they cook.) Take care not to burn the chestnuts. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, slip off the shells and all the inner skin under the shell.
Roasting Chestnuts in the Oven: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut a slit two thirds of the way around each nut, and spread them out in a roasting pan. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the shells loosen and the nuts are tender. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, slip off the shells and all the inner skin under the shell.
Soaking the Chestnuts: Spread the chestnuts in a shallow baking dish. Combine the sugar, water, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Bring to a lively bubble over medium heat. Cook at a fast bubble, 2 minutes, or until the syrup is clear. Add the lemon juice to the hot syrup, and immediately pour it over the chestnuts. Let them stand at room temperature several hours.
Flaming and Serving: Slip the chestnuts into a 350°F oven and bake about 10 minutes. Have the ricotta or whipped cream at the table. Pour the liquor over the hot chestnuts. Immediately take the dish to the table. Stand back as you light the liquor and it blazes up.
Suggestions Wine: A little of the grappa or pear eau-de-vie with the chestnuts.
Menu: In keeping with the Parma theme, serve Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Porcini Veal Chops, or Pan-Roasted Quail as a prelude to the chestnuts.
Cook’s Notes Keeping Chestnuts: Store fresh uncooked chestnuts in the refrigerator.
Budino di Castagne e Ricotta
This rich crustless cheesecake studded with chestnut chunks is scented with the unbeatable combination of vanilla and dark rum. That flavoring brings unexpected elegance to the cake, which originated as a simple country pudding. Creamy, smooth ricotta is crucial here. You can find it in cheese shops, specialty food stores, and Italian markets, or you can make your own. The grainy ricotta sold in most supermarkets won’t give you a melting texture. Do use fresh chestnuts if they are available. If not, use the best-quality prepared ones you can find. Present the cake at the end of a celebration dinner, or take it along to a party. It can be baked well in advance and travels well.
[Makes 1 cake, serving 8 to 12]
Chestnuts
1 pound fresh chestnuts, or 1 pound bottled chestnuts (see Note)
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
½ cup dark rum
1 to 2 tablespoons water if needed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Pudding
2 pounds high-quality whole-milk or Homemade Ricotta Cheese
4 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) candied citron, minced
Method Working Ahead: The chestnuts can be roasted and flavored 1 day in advance. Store them, covered, in the refrigerator. The cake is best still a little warm from the oven, or cooled and eaten within 24 to 36 hours of baking. Wrap it well and store it in the refrigerator.
Roasting the Chestnuts: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut a slit two thirds of the way around each nut. Spread the nuts out in a roasting pan, and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are tender. Cool about 10 minutes. Then slip off the shells and the inner skin just under the shell.
Flavoring the Chestnuts: Combine the peeled chestnuts, sugar, vanilla bean, and rum in a 4-quart saucepan over high heat. Cook at a lively bubble 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spatula, until very thick. Add a little water if the chestnuts threaten to scorch. The chestnuts should be almost whole. Cool the mixture and remove the vanilla bean. Crush the chestnuts against the side of the pan until broken into bite-size pieces.
Finishing and Baking: Use the tablespoon of butter to grease the bottom and sides of a 10½-inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, stir the ricotta with the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and citron until well blended. Lace the chestnuts through the ricotta mixture, creating streaks like a marble cake. Do not overmix. Turn the batter into the springform pan, smoothing the top. Bake in the center of the oven 1 hour. Then reduce the heat to 325°F and bake another 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted about 2 inches from the edge comes out clean. The center of the cake will still be a little creamy. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool.
Serving: Unmold the cake by releasing the sides of the springform pan. Serve warm or cool, but not cold. To serve it cool, let it come down to room temperature, then wrap and refrigerate. Let the slices sit at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.
Suggestions Wine: Typically wine is not taken with the cake, but a fresh fruity white Malvasia or Moscato is lovely with it.
Menu: Serve the cheesecake after second courses like Herbed Seafood Grill, Balsamic Roast Chicken, Pan-Roasted Quail, Mardi Gras Chicken, Christmas Capon, or Rabbit Roasted with Sweet Fennel.
Cook’s Notes Chestnuts: If fresh chestnuts are unavailable, the best prepared chestnuts I have found are roasted and packed without liquid in glass jars. They are imported from France under the brand name Minerve.
Ricotta
Emilia-Romagna’s ricotta is particularly creamy and sweet. Those qualities make all the difference in the region’s pasta filling and desserts—not to mention how satisfying good ricotta is, just eaten on its own or with fruit. The ricottas available to most of us in supermarkets are grainy on the tongue and spare in flavor. Although Italian groceries, cheese shops, and specialty food stores carry sweet, creamy ricotta, making your own is worth the time.
There is a knack to cheesemaking. It takes some care and patience. But follow this recipe closely, and I think you will be pleased with the results. All you need is a 6-quart saucepan with a stainless steel, tin, nickel, or enamel interior, an instant-reading thermometer, a wooden spatula, a colander, and a large piece of cheesecloth. The finished cheese keeps 4 days in the refrigerator. You can double the recipe; use two saucepans if you do so.
[Makes about 1 pound]
2½ quarts whole milk
¾ cup less 1 tablespoon heavy cream, pasteurized but not ultrapasteurized or sterilized
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
Method Working Ahead: The cheese must be made in one session from start to finish; count on about 1½ hours. Much of this time is semi-unattended cooking. You should be in the kitchen, but you don’t need to be hovering over the stove.
Cooking the Milk into Curd: This recipe may seem daunting in its detail, but it is really quite easy. Because cheesemaking is unfamiliar to many, the instructions lead you through the process step by step. Keep in mind that slowly heating the milk mixture develops a soft ricotta curd. Fast heating hardens the curd, producing a very different cheese.
Stir together all the ingredients except the salt in a heavy 6-quart saucepan with a nonreactive interior. Set the pan over medium-low heat. Cook 40 minutes, or until the milk reaches 170°F on an instant-reading thermometer. Keep the heat at medium-low. To keep the curd large, do not stir more than three or four times. If you lift it with the spatula, you will see sandlike particles of milk forming as the clear whey begins separating from the curd. As the milk comes close to 170°F, the curds will be slightly larger, about the size of an uncooked lentil. When the temperature reaches 170°F, turn the heat up to medium. Do not stir. Take 6 to 8 minutes to bring the mixture to 205° to 208°F when measured at the center of the pot. The liquid whey will be almost clear. By the time the cheese comes to 205°F, the curd should mound on the spatula like a soft white custard. At 205°F to 208°F, the liquid will be on the verge of boiling, with the surface looking like mounds about to erupt. Turn off the heat and let the cheese stand 10 minutes.
Draining the Cheese: Line a colander with a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth. Turn the mixture into it, and let it drain 15 minutes, or until the drained cheese is thick. Turn the cheese into a covered storage container, add salt if desired, and refrigerate the ricotta until needed.
Cook’s Notes Using Ricotta: For snacks and lunches, mound cool ricotta on wedges of warm Piadina bread. Use ricotta in pasta fillings: Piacenza’s Tortelli with Tails, Tortelli of Ricotta and Fresh Greens, “Little Hats” Faenza Style, and Christmas Cappelletti. For desserts, in addition to Chestnut Ricotta Cheesecake, see Capacchi’s Blazing Chestnuts and Cardinal d’Este’s Tart.
The “Keeping Cakes” of Winter
“Keeping cakes”—dense cakes full of spices and fruit—were first created in Medieval convents and monasteries, where they were baked in the autumn and stored away to mellow until Christmas.
In Emilia-Romagna, as in all of Italy, each area has its own traditional keeping cake. The three shared in this chapter stand out for their popularity in their respective provinces. They also illustrate the sometimes subtle and often intriguing differences in keeping cakes. Shadings of taste are dictated by tradition and built flavor by flavor, with nuances coming from unexpected ingredients like red wine, chocolate, or black pepper. For those of us who know only the American/British fruitcake, these could be fine additions to a holiday repertoire.
Parma’s and Reggio’s Spongata honey cake seems more like a pastry than a cake. Its disc of golden crust encloses a filling of nuts, fruits, and bread crumbs, held together with honey. The round dark loaves of Pampepato from Ferrara taste of spices, chocolate, citron, and orange. Bologna’s spice and honey cake, the Certosino, is distinguished by candied fruits not only in the cake but decorating its top as well.
Although each of these cakes seems quite different, they are all variations on a theme shared with keeping cakes found throughout Italy and much of Europe. Baked into the cakes are the preserved treasures of the autumn harvest; fruits, nuts, and sweeteners. Everything precious was employed in celebrating Christmas, the most important moment of the Christian year.
Each cook used the best ingredients he or she could afford. Candied fruits expressed the ultimate wealth of processed sugar, an expensive commodity until the 19th century. In the Middle Ages, topping Bologna’s Certosino cake with its big chunks of candied fruits was like displaying emeralds and rubies.
Honey was more easily had and much less expensive than sugar. Honey still sweetness Certosino and Spongata. Poorer convents and monasteries substituted honey for sugar. In wine-growing areas, cooked-down grape syrup was the least expensive sweetener of all. Even today, grape syrup and dried fruits (rather than candied ones) separate Modena’s Christmas cake from the honey-and-candied-fruit-sweetened Certosino of neighboring Bologna.
Spices traveled long distances from exotic places. Stored under lock and key, they were used with great care. They were thought to cure ills and to preserve food against spoilage, as well as giving incomparable flavor to all sorts of dishes. What a treat it must have been to eat a cake flavored with precious cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and pepper. It was the spices, not the sugar or the fruit, that gave these cakes their names. A common name for a keeping cake is pan speziale, meaning spiced bread; the speziale was the spice seller or pharmacist. Peppered bread, pamp or pan pepato, evolved into Ferrara’s Pampepato.
As time passed, spices and sugar became more affordable. But a new treasure entered the Christmas cakes: chocolate. A 17th-century Bolognese recipe describes making chocolate from the cocoa bean. Bologna’s aristocrats of the early 1600s sipped hot chocolate scented with cinnamon, jasmine, and ambergris. But most likely, chocolate was not baked into Christmas cakes until the 19th century. Today chocolate sets apart Ferrara’s Pampepato—not only is it a flavoring, but a full cloak of chocolate seals the cake. Even Bologna’s Certosino, created by the Medieval Carthusian monks, received its measure of chocolate during the 1800s.
Flavorings may shift slightly with evolving tastes, but the cakes’ role never changes. They still mean Christmas for all of Emilia-Romagna, welcoming unexpected guests through the holidays and always appearing as the finale of Christmas dinner.
Chocolate Christmas Spice Cake
Pampepato
Crumbly but wonderfully moist, this cake has enough surprises of fruity chocolate, nuts, and spice to set it far apart from ordinary Christmas fruitcakes. Taste it at its best by baking the Pampepato several days before serving. One loaf could become a holiday house gift while the other is kept for celebrating Christmas with the family.
Pampepato was created at the monastery of Corpus Domini during the 15th century. A century later the monastery achieved further distinction by becoming the burial place of one of Ferrara’s most illustrious duchesses, Lucrezia Borgia d’Este. Some believe the cake’s original name was pan del pape, or bread of the pope, while others say it was pan pepato, or peppered bread.
Pampepato was first cloaked in chocolate during the late 19th century. The crisp coating not only singles out Pampepato from the Christmas cakes of Emilia and Romagna but also seals the cake, keeping it moist through the entire holiday season.
Ferrarese Riccardo Rimondi shared this recipe with me. He tells of Christmas in Ferrara, when every pasticceria makes its own Pampepato, packing it in golden cellophane or gilded boxes. On Christmas Eve every shop displays platters of sliced Pampepato. Shoppers are invited to share the Christmas tradition as they collect the last-minute supplies for the next two days of feasting.
[Makes 2 cakes, serves 6 to 8 each]
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
1½ cups (6 ounces) cake flour
1½ cups (6 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
6 tablespoons (2½ ounces) candied citron, cut into very fine dice
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) candied orange rind, cut into very fine dice
2 small dried figs, finely minced
1¾ cups (7 ounces) whole blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water
1½ cups (10½ ounces) sugar
¼ cup (1¾ ounces) ground sweet chocolate (see Note)
1 cup (2½ ounces) cocoa (not Dutch process)
Generous ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Icing
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Method Working Ahead: Pampepato must be made at least 12 hours in advance. Ideally it should ripen 3 to 4 days. Keep it tightly wrapped at room temperature.
Making the Cakes: Butter and flour a cookie sheet using the ½ tablespoon butter and 3 tablespoons of flour. Preheat the oven to 300°F. In a large shallow bowl, thoroughly mix the flours, candied fruits, figs, almonds, baking powder, and baking soda. In a small saucepan over medium heat, blend the water, sugar, ground chocolate, and cocoa to a cream like consistency. Do not let it boil. Cool about 15 minutes, and then stir in the spices. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and fill it with the chocolate mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine everything, taking care not to overmix. It will be a very sticky dough. Use a rubber spatula to make two round mounds of the dough on the cookie sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Each should be no more than 6 to 7 inches in diameter. Smooth the mounds.
Baking, Mellowing, and Icing: Bake the cakes 1 hour and 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Cool them to room temperature on the baking sheet. Then wrap the two cakes airtight in plastic wrap and let them ripen at room temperature 12 hours to 4 days.
Set the cakes upside down on a rack, and spread an almost transparent film of melted chocolate over the bottom of each. Once it has hardened (after an hour or so), flip the cakes over and spread a slightly thicker film over the top and sides of the cakes. When the chocolate hardens, rewrap the cakes and store them at room temperature.
Serving: Slice Pampepato not in wedges but like bread, across the width of the loaf, into long, thin slices. Arrange on a platter. Serve Pampepato with a sweet wine or with after-dinner coffee.
Suggestions Wine: Drink Malvasia delle Lipari from Sicily, or sip a Vin Santo of Tuscany.
Menu: Of course this is Christmas food and so is fine after Christmas Capon, but Pampepato is also excellent after any special dinner, especially menus featuring fine balsamic vinegar, so prized by the Este Dukes of Ferrara. Do serve it after Balsamic Roast Chicken, Rabbit Dukes of Modena, and Artusi’s Delight.
Cook’s Notes Ground Chocolate: Sold in boxes like cocoa, ground chocolate is sweetened and contains more cocoa butter than cocoa does.
Spiced Christmas Cake of Bologna
Certosino
Eaten right after baking and cooling, this cake is packed with surprise pockets of melted chocolate and the flavor is spicy with clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Age the cake as they do in Bologna, tightly wrapped for 1 week or even a month, and it becomes dense and chewy as the honey glaze sinks deep into its interior.
Certosino takes its name from the Bolognese Abbey of Certosa, where it was first made by monks—no one knows exactly when, but most agree that chocolate was not used in the cake until the 19th century.
[Makes 1 cake, serving 10 to 12]
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoon all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
1¼ cups honey
3 tablespoons red wine
1½ cups (8 ounces) mixed candied fruits (orange rind, citron, lemon rind, pineapple), cut into small dice
1½ cups (6 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
11/3 cups (5½ ounces) cake flour
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
2½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (4 ounces) blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup (1 ounce) pine nuts, toasted
¼ teaspoon baking soda
6½ tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest of ½ large lemon
Decoration
5 long wide strips candied citron
5 long narrow strips candied orange peel
10 candied cherries
5 tablespoons honey, melted
Method Working Ahead: Certosino can be baked and served immediately. But to experience it as they do in Bologna, bake it 1 to 3 weeks before Christmas. Store, tightly wrapped, in a cool place or in the refrigerator.
Making the Batter: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan. Melt the 1¼ cups honey in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the wine. Set aside to cool about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, thoroughly blend the candied fruits, the flours, and the sugar, chopped chocolate, nuts, baking soda, cocoa, spices, and lemon zest. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the honey. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the honey, taking care not to overmix the dough. The dough will be sticky. Turn it into the cake pan, patting it to form a domed round loaf. Only the bottom edge of the cake should be resting against the sides of the cake pan.
Decorating: Decorate the top with a sunburst pattern of citron, tucking the orange peel between the larger citron pieces. Top each strip of orange peel with a candied cherry. Cluster the remaining cherries in the center of the cake.
Baking: Bake 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out with only a few traces of melted chocolate. Let the cake cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a rack. Pour the hot honey over the top. Cool, then wrap tightly and store at cool room temperature 1 to 3 weeks before cutting.
Serving: Use a long sharp knife to cut the Certosino into thin wedges, or slice it like bread into thin slices.
Suggestions Wine: A rich dessert wine like Sicily’s white Malvasia delle Lipari or Vin Santo of Tuscany.
Menu: Certosino is synonymous with Christmas. Serve it after Christmas Capon or roasted turkey at holiday time. Make it part of a Christmas sweet tray, along with Paolo Bini’s Sweet Ravioli, Marie Louise’s Crescents, and Home-Style Jam Cake.
Cook’s Notes Candied Fruits: The best candied fruits are candied in large, recognizable pieces. They look like fruits, not cubes. Their flavors are a revelation. Find them at holiday time in Mediterranean and Italian markets, and at specialty food stores.
Spongata di Berceto
Throughout Parma, Reggio, and parts of Piacenza, Spongata means Christmas. Born in the mountains, this unusual cake with its honey, nut, and fruit filling is baked between sweet crusts of butter pastry.
Parma food historian Guglielmo Capacchi remember his grandmother making Spongata at her mountain farm in November. She always wrapped it and set it to mellow for Christmas in mounds of freshly gathered chestnuts. How delicious the cake must have been, having absorbed all the woodsy perfume of the chestnuts. Even without that fragrance, this recipe creates a fine Spongata for holiday meals and winter entertaining.
Spongata and composer Giuseppe Verdi are inseparable. The cake is strongly identified with Verdi’s birthplace and home of many years, the village of Busseto, out on the Parma/Piacenza plain. Verdi is more than the local boy who made good; he is truly beloved. And people in Busseto say he doted on Spongata. To ensure that no one forgets the connection, Verdi’s picture appears on the wrapped Spongate sold in nearly every pastry shop in the area.
[Makes 1 cake, serving 8 to 10]
Pastry
1¼ cups (5 ounces) cake flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4½ ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour (organic stone-ground preferred)
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
Pinch of salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1 to 3 tablespoons dry white wine
1 large egg, beaten
Filling
1 tablespoon dried bread crumbs, toasted
Generous ½ cup (2 ounces) walnuts, toasted
Generous ¾ cup (3 ounces) blanched almonds, toasted
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup raisins
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup candied citron, cut into fine dice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 large egg, beaten
Method Working Ahead: The pastry can be made 1 day ahead. The finished cake must mellow at least 3 days at room temperature. It will keep, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator 3 weeks.
Making the Pastry in a Food Processor: Blend the flours, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir 1 tablespoon of the wine into the beaten egg, and sprinkle over the dough. Process with the on/off pulse until the mixture begins to form small crumbs. If it is still dry and will not gather into a small ball, sprinkle it with another tablespoon or two of wine, and process another few seconds. It will form small crumbs, but should hold together when you try to form a small ball. Gather it into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.
Making the Pastry by Hand: Mix the dry ingredients together in a large shallow bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work in the butter until it looks like coarse meal. Stir 1 tablespoon of the wine into the beaten egg, and sprinkle the mixture over the dough. Toss it with a fork, mixing only long enough to barely moisten the flour. The pastry is ready if you can gather it into a ball. If the dough is too dry, sprinkle it with another tablespoon or two of wine, and toss. It will look like small crumbs and should hold together when you make a small ball. Gather the pastry into two balls, one a little larger than the other. Wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Making the Filling: Combine the bread crumbs, walnuts, and almonds in a food processor and mince to a coarse powder, using the on/off pulse. Set the honey in a medium-size metal bowl over boiling water, and let it melt. Remove the bowl from the heat and blend in the nuts, raisins, pine nuts, citron, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Assembling and Baking: Butter and flour an 8-inch pie pan. (If the weather is humid, roll out the pastry between two pieces of wax paper.) Roll out the larger ball of dough to form a round 3/16 inch thick. Line the pie pan with it, leaving a 1½ to 2-inch overhang. Roll out the smaller ball to the same thickness, and cut out an 8-inch round. Place it on a sheet of foil spread over the back of a cake pan or on a flat dish. Refrigerate the two pieces 30 minutes to 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 400°F. If the pastry is very stiff from chilling, let it become pliable at room temperature. Then spread the filling over the bottom of the pastry-lined pie pan, forming it into an 8-inch disc that is about an inch thick. Gather the edges of the overhanging pastry over the filling.
Brush the folded-over dough with beaten egg and top it with the round piece. Set the round of pastry in place atop the cake, gently pressing it down to seal it to the egg-washed and folded over pastry. The Spongata should look like a large thick disc. Bake 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and crisp. Let the Spongata cool in the pie pan. Then turn it out onto a plate, wrap it securely in plastic wrap, and set it aside at room temperature to mellow 3 days.
Serving: Slice the Spongata into thin wedges and serve at room temperature.
Suggestions Wine: From the region, drink a sweet Malvasia, or have Sicily’s Malvasia delle Lipari.
Menu: Serve the cake with traditional Christmas dishes like Christmas Capon. It is also excellent after Pan-Roasted Quail, Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Beef-Wrapped Sausage, January Pork, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, and Rabbit Dukes of Modena.
The Spongata cake of Reggio from a 17th-century board game, by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli
Il Collectionista, Milan
In the Land of Giuseppe Verdi
Along the Po River on Emilia-Romagna’s plain, you can still find towns where life is little changed. In his book The Po of Mysteries (Un Po di Misteri), Enzo Sermasi writes about the country at the Parma/Piacenza border, where composer Giuseppi Verdi was born, lived, and died, and where he remains a living entity. There village men gather in wine taverns where “plastic and Coca-Cola have not passed through the door.” They drink wine in the old way—from small white bowls, not as a beverage but as a food. The men dance together, and they sing Verdi as easily as they make conversation. Shaking his head, one old man says, “Young people don’t like Verdi. No, no, I know it sounds impossible, but they do not.” Then he adds with a grin, “But when they grow up it changes. It is inevitable.”
In shops and homes throughout Parma province, pictures of Verdi replace the usual portraits of political leaders. There are the local specialties that have become Verdi foods—Christmas Spongata cake and the cured pork shoulder of San Secondo. So famous for creating exquisite eating from every part of the pig, Parma has a saying: “The pig is like the music of Verdi—there is nothing left to throw away.”
The Parma plain feels timeless, its green pastures and small farms unchanged in centuries. Verdi country is addictive. Does anyone here not eat well? At Trattoria Vernizzi in Frescarolo di Busseto, there is a collection of Verdi memorabilia and wonderful culatello. This small local ham, cured solely on this tiny stretch of plain, rarely leaves Parma province and is prized even above Parma ham. Dinner at Vernizzi is filled with laughter, as we win the owner’s approval by nearly swooning over the quality of his culatello. Even the butter is extraordinary in its sweetness. La Buca, in Zibello, is another jewel on the Verdi plain, where mothers and daughters have cooked for three generations. It is a small house with two rooms opening off a wide entry hall. On the left is the room for diners, on the right, the bar. Neither has changed much in 80 years.
Smart diners from Mantua, Parma, and Piacenza come to eat handmade tagliatelle and pastas filled with sweet squash, the local cured pork shank with piquant apple conserve, and vegetables grown within shouting distance. In the bar village life continues, seemingly untouched by anything known to the diners across the hall. Men play cards around the one big table. Only dialect is spoken, and although we are noted with amiable nods, we know not to intrude; this is not of our life. But we do touch in a subtle way. Verdi’s Aida plays on a radio in the background. As I unconsciously sway to the music, some of the agreeable nods become warm smiles. For a moment Verdi is our link. Then the men turn back to their cards. I turn to follow my hostess, who wants to show me how to make culatello.
Emilia-Romagna countryside of vineyards, pastures and farmland