Happy 2773 bday, Rome! Lightest cake recipe, inspired by Ancient Rome flavours.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROME!
Last week, on april 21st 2020 you turned 2773! Cheers!
If it was the normal ordinary life, I would probably have been in the city that day to celebrate with my fellow citizens; for this year, oh well, I had to celebrate her bday from afar, with the same admiration, with the same love for it… the most beautiful city in the world (sorry, as a Roman, I take sides, forgive me!)
Rome, you know, is a beautiful woman, and that’s how it should be treated, it cannot be considered a proper celebration without an honourable birthday cake!
The compromise between authenticity, abundance and history.
It took me a few days to research and prepare the perfect cake for her birthday; she turns 2773, one day more, one day less, it doesn't matter! Thinking about Rome, three words came to me, clear and concrete: authenticity, abundance and history. I imagined what kind of cake the ancient Romans would eat on the other side of their triclinium; I tried to savor the same tastes, the same flavors, I tried to see their colors.
It is known that Augustus was parsimonious, especially in food, he himself loved to feed at times only with bread and grapes, abounding in fruit of all kinds during his banquets.
And this delicious mix of beauty and abundance has translated into a recipe with genuine, pristine, distinct flavors of the most loved and popular fruits in ancient Rome:
-apples (malum)
- dates (palmulae)
- figs (ficus)
- pomegranate (malum granatum)
- walnuts (juglans regia)
- grapes
- blackberries (rubus)
- blueberries
.. all with the scent of mint and rosemary, sweetened with the most genuine chestnut honey.
A light cake, 100% vegan, delicious, rich, which I hope will inspire your creativity and your desire to know more about the infinite wonders of the eternal city!
Magic Ingredients.
250g Integral Flour
60g Potato Starch (Or any other starch!)
170g Brown Sugar
200ml Natural Water
70ml Olive or Seeds Oil
1 Big Bio Lemon
3 small apples
3 dry figs
2 dates
Pomegranate seeds
20/25 blackberries
Dry grapes
1 Packet of Baking Powder
Vanilla (Raw Minced is healthier!)
Salt
Use a 20cm Ø springform pan (Tortiera a cerniera!)
FOR TOP GARNISHING
Honey
Fresh figs and berries
Mint leaves or rosemary
Making of.
Make sure you follow this exact order for the perfect magic!
Combine in a bowl the flour, starch, abundant lemon skin and sugar (leave some sugar aside for the final garnish! PLEASE DO!)
Mix the powders and add a pinch of salt.
Add the water, the juice of a lemon and the oil (leaving some aside for the final garnish!)
Warm up the fan oven to 160° (Fan = ventilato)
Cut the apples* into cubes and mix it with all the berries, grapes, minced dates, pomegranate seeds and dry figs
Add the baking powder* and the raw vanilla
Incorporate, incorporate…..keep incorporating!
Alternate batter and mixed fruits in two layers.
Add the remaining oil and sugar on top.
Bake for a minimum of 45min. After 45min check if cooked every ten minutes with a toothpick*!
Once it’s ready, let it rest for at least one hour before garnishing with fresh fruits and herbs, and serve it!
Notes and tricks.
*You shall cut the apples after preparing the main batter to avoid early oxidation.
*You shall add the baking powder as last passage before assemble the cake, to avoid the batter to rise out of the oven!
*Not all ovens are the same! Once 45 minutes have passed, check the internal cooking with a wooden toothpick. Put it in the cake, if it comes out wet and with the dough attached, the cake is not cooked, try again every 10 minutes. The cake is cooked when the toothpick comes out dry. (Pay special attention to the center of the cake!)
Feel free to use the apples and fruits that you love the most, just make sure they’re not excessively juicy!
Don't make the mistake of ignoring a different pan size! If you use a pan with the largest diameter, make sure you decrease the cooking time and lower the temperature of the oven.
As final touch, once cold, sprinkle the cake with icing sugar and a magical drizzle of honey.
