The “Torta di Pasqua dolce” is the traditional umbrian sweet cake tipically made and eaten during the Easter time. This cake is also kneaded on the occasion of the Epiphany which is considered the first Easter of the year.
Ingredients for a cake:
- 1 kg of flour
- 250 gr of sugar
- 10 eggs
- 50 gr of butter
- 50 gr of oil
- 50 gr of candied fruit
- 50 gr of dried grapes
- 60 gr of brewer’s yeast
- 1 pinch of salt
Preparation:
Pour the flour on the pastry board, pour inside the fountain the yeast dissolved in warm water, kneaded with warm water until you get a mixture of the consistency of the bread and place in a rather large bowl. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place away from drafts until it has doubled in volume. Add the butter, the oil, the candied fruit and the dried grapes to the dough and pour it into a 15 cm high oven pan, well greased, filling it only a half. Let rise so that the cake can reache a certain edge, and cook for a hour at 180 °B
This was the Easter cake throughout the region. In Città di Castello they call it “ciaccia dolce”; in southern Umbria, where they usually do not used candied fruit – and where, a variant, is known as Orvieto’s cake, enriched with aromas and a special liquor- is called “pizza”. In Norcia, where it is not used the Easter cake with cheese, they usually have breakfast, at Easter, with this sweet version, but together with slices of salami.
Courtesy of Calzetti & Mariucci Editore
Rita Boini
Latest posts by Rita Boini (see all)
- Easter Cheese Bread - June 25, 2020
- Pork cheek with sage and vinegar - June 17, 2020
- White flatbread with sage and onion - February 28, 2019
