This magnificent village between Verona and Mantua leaves visitors astonished for its beauty, its history and its many legends full of mysteries. Lying on the banks of the Mincio river, with a castle in Verona to garrison, between a lush nature and magnificent glimpses here, time seems to have stopped.
The recipe that I propose is an emblem of this village – which still includes many other specialties and all that are linked to legends – is the Rose Cake. Created in 1490 to celebrate the wedding between Francesco II Gonzaga and the very young Isabella d’Este, this dessert, soft, buttery and fragrant, recalls a bouquet of rosebuds. The cake was much appreciated by the spouses and became part of the Gonzaga cuisine and soon spread in the nearby lands. Valeggio sul Mincio includes among its specialties this delicious cake that is prepared both in confectioners and in domestic kitchens, especially on special occasions and on holidays.
Each family has its own recipe, but one ingredient is the same and special for all: the slow processing!
Ingredients
- 500 gr of flour
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 50 gr of sugar
- 1 packet of dehydrated beer yeast
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 glass of milk
- the rind of a grated lemon
- 1 sachet of vanillin
- 50 grams of butter
- Grain of sugar
For the Cream: - 100g of soft butter
- 100g of powdered sugar
Method
Dissolve the yeast in a little milk. Sift the flour, add the vanillin, the sugar, the melted yeast, the eggs and the yolk, the grated lemon and mix with the milk. Finally incorporate the butter. Form a ball and leave it to rise in a covered bowl for 2 hours and in any case until doubled.
Once leavened, roll out the dough into a rectangle. Whip the butter with icing sugar and spread the cream on the rectangle of dough. Now cut the dough into seven strips in the long side of the rectangle. Wrap the strips on themselves forming a bud taking care to seal the base well.
Arrange the roses in a 24 cm diameter cake tin previously greased and floured, keeping the buds separated from each other. Let it rise for about an hour more covered.
Once the leavening has been completed, sprinkle the surface with the granulated sugar and bake at 180° for about 25-30 minutes.
