L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano F ood-wise, North- eastern Italy's Veneto region might conjure up images of mouth- watering delicacies like sarde in saor (sweet and sour sar- dines), bigoli in salsa (a thick spaghetti-like pasta with a sauce of onions and sardines), or baccalà mantecato, (creamed, dried cod spread on toast). However, less-discussed but just as drool-worthy are the sweet cakes of Veneto, rooted in the buttery baking tradition of the North. Everywhere from Treviso to Verona, Venice to Padova, and even small towns in-between offer up a special cake or two that is worthy of discovering to better savor and understand the region. Compared to Southern Italy, which relies heavily on lard and olive oil as its main source of baking fat, Northern Italy has used butter for this purpose since the late Medieval period. (The Romans used butter, but mainly for its role in cosmetics or in medicine). Animal prod- ucts were not to be consumed during Lent, and it wasn't until this idea dissipated that butter was introduced into the kitchen and eventually became the gold standard for baking. By the late 19th century, industrialization made it easier to manufacture, thereby making butter more ac- cessible to home bakers. As a result, many of these Veneto- based cake traditions were so- lidified around that time. Northeastern Italy is home to several crumbly cakes that rely heavily on butter, sugar, and eggs with slight, but signif- icant variation among them. La fregolotta is a shortcrust, crumbly pastry cake made with flour, almond flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, its name a de- rivation of the Venetian word "fregola," meaning crumb. While this type of crumb cake is common throughout the North, it is unique in that it uses wheat and almond flour. The story has it that la fregolotta was developed in the early 20th century in Castelfranco Veneto (Treviso) where the Zizzola family owned and operated a bakery. The baker's sister, Evelina, made this at their com- panion restaurant, where the cake turned out to be a hit, and as such continues to be made today. It's similar to la sbrisolona, a crumb cake JESSICA S. LEVY Less than 60 kilometers from Asolo come two cakes from the Vicenza province, also butter-rich and with evoca- tive—or provocative—names. La torta sabbiosa, or sandy cake, is a simple cake made with the usual suspects—butter, sugar, eggs, leavening, and vanilla—but using potato starch instead of wheat flour. This gives it a unique, slightly crumbly texture as its name im- plies. Its simplicity allows it to pair nicely with a zabaione or mascarpone cream, or with a digestive. Vicenza's other famous cake, la torta putana, may sound scandalous, but it couldn't be more efficacious in its use of stale bread resuscitated in milk and combined with cornmeal, sugar, pine nuts, raisins, and a touch of rum, to serve up an appealing afternoon treat. A de- rivation of the local macafame cake, theories abound about its name. One possibility is that it comes from the Venetian word "putei"— meaning children—who love to eat this in the afternoon. An- other story tells of a Vicenza restaurant client who uttered "la puttana" when the cake sur- prised him after accidentally flying out of the server's hands and through the air, landing on his table. We may never know for sure, but la torta putana is now baked into the vicentina tradition. The pinza veneta is a sim- ilarly dried fruit-enhanced cake that is commonly made around Christmas in Venice. The torta pinza and the torta putana are often confused, but the former relies more heavily on cornmeal and contains no egg, turning it into a dense polenta cake. Both cakes speak to the humble "use what you have" mentality of the communities that created them. The pinza can also last for several days without refrig- eration. Nearby in the land of Romeo and Juliet, Verona is home to two famous cakes. The star- shaped pandoro is perhaps the best-known of the lot, the yeasted Christmas butter cake that is the Milanese panettone's main holiday competitor. The simple ingredients of the pan- doro—butter, milk, flour, and sugar—are yet again indicative of the region's baking style. The Melegatti family trademarked the pandoro at the end of the 19th century (Fun fact: a stop by the Melegatti residence in Verona reveals two golden pan- dori sitting atop spikes outside the front entrance). Verona's lesser-known cake, la torta russa, is recognizable for its shape and possible name- sake, the ushanka, or Russian fur hat. A sturdy puff pastry shell wraps around a sponge cake infused with a touch of something special—almonds and amaretti that are ground to a fine flour and mixed in with butter, eggs, flour, cornflour, sugar, and some rum. This cake first appeared in the 1950s, and one legend has it that the name comes not from the most obvi- ous interpretation, but instead from a Veronese baker who fell in love with a Russian woman while working on a cruise ship and named it for her. Circling back to the eastern corner of the Veneto, Padova is no less of a home to signature cakes. The Dolce Sant'Anto- nio was created in the 1970s as an offering to those visiting the Basilica di Sant'Antonio in Padova's city center. Long ago, basilica monks would offer bread rolls to the poor. Today, this has morphed into a much more decadent offering. This famous sweet features a rich puff pastry shell containing a sweet sponge cake made with butter, eggs, flour, sugar, al- mond flour, raisins, and even a layer of apricot jam. Padova's torta pazientina is a fancier affair—a layered dish consisting of a pastry shortcrust, a sweet polenta-like sponge cake, and a marsala- laced eggy cream. The "pa- tience" called for in the dessert's name likely comes from the nuns who created it with per- severance and dedication, or for the fact that it was used to feed the very-ill; only a small slice was needed to resuscitate the weakest of patients, as it is so calorie-dense. From butter and cornmeal, to grappa and raisins, the cakes of the Veneto showcase how one region's command of the same ingredients can offer up many interpretations of a sweet bite of afternoon delight. When in the area, it's a good idea to leave room between all of the cicchetti to enjoy a bite of the simple, yet rich dolce vita, Veneto cake-style. LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES originally from Mantova (Lom- bardy region)—though now produced in Verona as well— that differs by its use of corn- meal in the batter. On the outskirts of Treviso sits the picturesque village of Asolo, where famed Italian pas- try chef Leonardo Di Carlo created a contemporary varia- tion of this coffee cake for a 2016 cooking competition, call- ing it la ghisola. Similar in appearance and texture to la fregolotta and la sbrisolona, Di Carlo's creation combines in- gredients including local Bian- coperla cornmeal, almond flour, butter, and brown sugar into a dough that is then pressed flat into a round pan, and layered with homemade apple jam before baking. Who fancies a slice of fregolotta? (Photo: Davide Bonaldo/Dreamstime) OPEN 8AM - 5PM MONDAY TO SATURDAY. SUNDAY CLOSED Veneto cake-style: a sweet taste of Northeastern Italy

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