Sbrisolona cake or “three cup cake”: it is probably the most famous dessert of the city of Mantua, in Lombardy. So called for its crumbly consistency and for the numerous crumbs that form when it is cut or bitten into, the sbrisolona cake is prepared with 00 flour, almond flour and corn flour, an ingredient very traditional of Northern Italy pastry. Butter is added to the flours (in the past replaced by lard), sugar, an egg, almonds and lemon. To dessert yeast should not be added, as per the Mantuan tradition. The sbrisolona cake is very delicious and fragrant and can be served alone or accompanied with a generous dose of custard, or chocolate butter ganache or with a light orange cream, which further enhances the taste of the sbrisolona base .

Preparation

1

If you have not found ready-made almond flour, you can make it at home with 100 grams of almonds. Using a rather powerful mixer, grind the almonds to obtain the flour. Run the mixer for 10-12 seconds at a time, so as not to overheat.

2

On a cutting board, put another 50 grams of almonds and chop them coarsely with a knife or crescent. Keep aside.

3

In a bowl, pour the butter at room temperature with the sugar and start working them with a spatula.

4

When you have obtained a soft cream, with the consistency of an ointment, you can add the grated zest of an untreated lemon, previously washed and dried.

5

Also add the whole egg and mix well until it is completely incorporated into the dough.

6

At this point add the three flours: the 00 flour, the corn flour (preferably the foil corn flour) and the almond flour obtained by grinding.

7

After pouring in all the flours, start mixing well with the spatula to make them combine with the liquids. At that point add the coarsely sliced ​​almonds and mix them with the mixture, until you get a homogeneous dough.

8

When the dough is ready, transfer it to a sheet of parchment paper and flatten it lightly with your hands. Wrap it in parchment paper and place it in the freezer for 1 hour.

9

Place a cake rack over a large bowl. Remove a first piece of dough and crush it on the gratella to obtain large crumbs. (

10

Continue with all the pieces of the dough, which must be very cold, until the bowl is filled. At that point, transfer the crumbs obtained into a 22 cm diameter pan lined with oven paper.

11

Bake in a preheated static oven at 170°C for 50 minutes. When the Torta Sbrisolona is cooked, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely. Decorate with some almonds.

Advice and tips

We advise you to use a springform pan to make your Torta Sbrisolona. This is because it will be easier for you to unmold it without risking breaking it, even using baking paper. Also, always wait for it to cool completely before unmolding it. If you want to get a thinner cake use a 24 cm mold.

Each oven has a different power and the temperatures may not be exactly the same. If your oven is more powerful than expected, lower the temperature by 10°C. Check the baking cake several timesto make sure it doesn’t get too dark.

If you don’t have a grate to make the Sbrisolona crumbs, you can use a large-mesh strainer or the grate normally supplied with the microwave.

You can add to the dough too 1 coffee cup of maraschino liqueuror kirsh or, if you prefer, sweet rum.

For this preparation, the ingredients must be at room temperature, because they bind better. We therefore advise you to keep the egg and butter out of the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

You can also flavor the dough with the seeds of a vanilla bean.

storage

The Sbrisolona Cake can be kept for 10-14 days, covered by a candy bell. You can also freeze both the cooked cake and the raw dough, for up to 2 months.

History

According to the Mantuan tradition, Torta Sbrisolona was invented between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the peasant villages near the city, starting out as a poor and humble recipe. However, somehow, it arrived at the Gonzaga courtthe Lords of Mantua, who fell in love with it and ennobled the recipe by adding almonds, sugar and spices.