It has the (messy) appearance of a crumble with the surface covered with almonds, the cake Crumble Cake, specialty of the city of Mantua prepared since the sixteenth century. Its name derives from the dialectal term "Brisa", crumb: its dough, in fact, is anything but compact.

The peasant origin of the cake

Like many regional recipes, even that of the Sbrisolona cake has its origins in the farming world. In the sixteenth century yes kneaded cornmeal with lard and what ensued was breakfast for those who could not afford anything more elaborate. In the years to follow these ingredients were added 00 flour, hazelnuts, sugar, eggs or, for those who did not own hens, white wine. So the recipe reached the court of the Gonzagas, who enriched it with spices and the finest almonds.

Prohibited the knife

What has never changed over the years is the consistency of Sbrisolona, ​​which has always remained an agglomeration of crumbs, impossible to cut with a knife. Even today it is customary break the cake with your hands, once cooked, and serve it like this.

We prepare Sbrisolona

Mix 200 g of 00 flour with 200 g of corn flour (foil), add the seeds of a vanilla pod, the grated rind of an untreated lemon, 150 g of brown sugar, 200 g of peeled and chopped almonds some whole almonds, 200 g of butter at room temperature, a pinch of salt and two egg yolks. Form a fountain and start kneading everything with your fingertips until you have a crumbly mixture. Grease and flour a baking pan and pour the crumbled mixture into it, making it fall to rain. Press it lightly with your hands, decorate with whole almonds and then bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes, until you see the surface of Sbrisolona brown.

In the tutorial the tips for the perfect Sbrisolona