Recipe: Spongata, the Christmas cake from the hamlets of Parma

spongata - aratimoira flickr

Ph. aratimoira/flickr

La Spongata is a chest of rich shortcrust pastry, inside, with a filling of pine nuts, honey, raisins, almonds, breadcrumbs and spices. The origins of this cake are fourteenth century and the story, intertwined with legend, tells that in 1454 a general from Parma sent the Spongata as a gift to Francesco Sforza, duke of Milan. The name seems to derive from “sponga”, which translated from Italian to Italian dialect means “sponge”, probably by virtue of its appearance: the shell of pasta, in fact, was once “pinched” in the upper part making it take, in fact, a spongy appearance. An ancient specialty, the Spongata, to be tasted in the present-day Parma villages to experience the magical atmosphere of the past.

Ingredients

250 grams of 00 flour
80 grams of butter
120 grams of sugar
300 grams of honey
150 grams of walnuts
80 grams of raisins
60 grams of candied citron
60 grams pine nuts
cloves
nutmeg
cinnamon
1 glass of dry white wine
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 egg
powdered sugar
salt

Method

Soften the raisins in a container with warm water and then put it in a dish, well drained. Cut the candied citron into cubes, peel and chop the walnuts and pine nuts, then toast the breadcrumbs until golden brown. Heat the honey in a bain-marie, then add the toasted breadcrumbs, the walnuts and the pine nuts, taking care to flavor everything with the nutmeg, the cinnamon and the cloves. Mix well and add the raisins and candied citron little by little. Remove from heat and pour the mixture into a bowl, cover and let it rest in a cool place. It’s time to prepare the short pastry: pour the “fountain” flour on the table, put the butter in small pieces in the center together with egg, sugar, wine and a pinch of salt. Mix well and knead the dough, then let it rest for half an hour. At this point divide the short pastry into two parts – one slightly larger than the other – and roll it out making two discs. In a buttered baking pan roll out the largest pastry dough, add the filling and cover with the remaining disc. To cook the spongata well – about thirty minutes in an oven already hot and two hundred degrees – you have to prick the surface after brushing it with a little oil. The cake is very cold, taking care to sprinkle with powdered sugar.

…good appetite

Scopri il borgo
Recipe: Spongata, the Christmas cake from the hamlets of Parma
Eventi nel borgo
Recipe: Spongata, the Christmas cake from the hamlets of Parma
Cosa vedere nel borgo
Recipe: Spongata, the Christmas cake from the hamlets of Parma

Categorie del blog

Traditional cooking

Notizie più lette

The mystery of the Zanetti train that disappeared in 1911 that still travels in space and time
Bocelli family chooses Castel Savoia and the mountains of the Aosta Valley for Christmas
Garfagnana Spelt Cake: An authentic flavor of Tuscan tradition
7 Things to do and see absolutely in Gubbio
Recipe: Pizz' e ffuje from the village of Orsogna
5 must-see villages of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines
Amsterdam's best seasonal events
Varese's treasures: museums, art galleries and Christmas markets
The 10 most beautiful villages set in the rock

Notizie correlate

Garfagnana Spelt Cake: An authentic flavor of Tuscan tradition
Piana Rotaliana Königsberg: a journey through the authentic products and flavors of Trentino
Between tradition, food and wine: Torggelen in Racines, South Tyrol