Sbrisolona (Mantua’s Crumbly Cake)
Easy
Torta Russa di Verona
Looking for an easy to make cake for the holidays? Torta Russa di Verona, (Russian Cake) is a cake that I discovered on a trip to Verona.
This famous cake is a must in the best pastry shops in the city, and is made with ready prepared puff pastry filled with almonds and amaretti biscuits. Said to be invented in the early 1960’s, the final baked shape of this cake is reminiscent of Russian hats from where it gets its name. It makes a nice statement on a holiday table
| Serves |
|---|
| 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 sheet prepared puff pastry
- 8 tbsp melted butter, cooled to room temp.
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup almonds, finely ground
- 1 1/14 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup amaretti cookies, crushed
- dusting confectioners' sugar
- 1 9x2-inch springform pan
Directions
- Heat oven to 350F.
- Roll the puff pastry out on a floured surface into an 18-inch diameter and line the pan, letting the excess pastry overhang the sides. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
- In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the butter with all but 2 tablespoons of the sugar until combined and lemon colored.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time until the batter is smooth. Stir in the almond extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the almonds with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the amaretti cookies. Stir into the batter.
- Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together and combine with the batter. Fill the pastry-lined pan with the batter and evenly smooth it out.
- Fold the overhanging sides of the pastry in towards the center. The pastry does not need to completely cover the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until nicely browned and firm to the touch.
- When cool, dust the top with confectioners’ sugar and serve cut into wedges.
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