Typical Christmas cake from Bologna. Here is the recipe solemnly declared by the Bologna Delegation of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina and deposited with notarial deed at the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna on the 21st of November, 2001.
INGREDIENTS (12 sevings)
- 350 g flour
- 300 g honey
- 125 g whole candied fruits (orange and citron peels, red and green cherries, red pears, figs, apricots)
- 250 g cooked fruit, as fruit jam or fruit mustard
- 200 g almonds with and without peel
- 50 g peeled pine nuts
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 500 g plain chocolate in pieces
- 1 g cinnamon
- 15 g ammonium carbonate
- 75 g wine syrup or Marsala
- 15 g butter
PREPARATION
Cut in dices half of the candied fruit, put on the honey in a saucepan, when it is hot add the chopped fruit. Pour the flour in a mound on the table and pour in the center the almonds, the pine nuts, the cocoa, the cooked fruit (as fruit jam or fruit mustard), the cinnamon, the ammonium carbonate, the wine syrup or the Marsala, the honey with the candied fruits and work the mixture. Shape the dough into a ring-shaped cake, then put it into a baking pin greased with butter and leave it at a lukewarm temperature for 3-4 hours. Just before baking, garnish the surface with the remaining candied fruit and the almonds, previously candied, and bake for 40 minutes at a medium temperature. When the Certosino cake is cooked and cold, brush it with honey that you previously melted on fire. It is better to eat it after about 10 days. Wrap it in tin-foil or in vellum paper in order to preserve it for a longer time.
Recipe taken from The Old Market - A travel through tortellini, tagliatelle and much more...
