The typical sweet Bensone from Modena reminds me a lot of another regional traditional dessert, which is “my” Romagna brazadela” that contains the same genuine and simple ingredients but does not have the jam or savor filling inside.
The classic Bensone from Modena is also called balsone or bassolano and it is, I believe, the most well-known dessert of this Emilian province, which I must say is rich in characteristic and delicious foods such as, for example, the Torta Barozzi!
The homemade recipe for Bensone with its classic oval shape is surely passed down from family to family and is made with ingredients we always have in the pantry. It has been the same for years with flour, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and honey or sugar.
The filling for the sweet Modenese Bensone recipe is optional, but since I had some amazing forest fruit jam in the fridge, I couldn’t resist and added a lot, maybe too much!
It’s the classic dessert of Modenese tradition that is perfect at any time of the day, from breakfast in the morning, at lunch perhaps dipped in Lambrusco, and at snack time accompanied by a glass of fruit juice for the little ones!
The name of the sweet Bensone perhaps derives from the French pain de son, meaning bran bread, because in the past a coarser, unsifted flour was used to prepare this Modenese “ring cake.”
But for others, it has a more romantic etymology: the word bensone comes from “pain de bendson,” meaning bread for blessing, because on Holy Saturday and other religious occasions, it was customary to have desserts blessed in church!
As I mentioned above and as I did, the sweet Modenese Bensone with dough similar to a ring cake can be filled with your choice of jam or marmalade and also with savor, which is a similar jam or sweet preserve made with grape must and mixed fruit, with an intense flavor and very dark color.
Savor, like sapa, are typical Romagna preparations that my mother Maria, now deceased, always made in September during the grape harvest, and the scent spread throughout the house!
The Modenese sweet Bensone is a P.A.T., a traditional agro-food product, and thus is part of a specific and special list drawn up by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies that records and classifies Italian food specialties.
To fill the Modenese Bensone you need to make a square with the dough, fill it leaving the edges free, fold it into a book, place the closure underneath so it seals itself in the oven, brush it with milk, sprinkle it with sugar granules, and bake!
I won’t even mention the aroma around the house….
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I also have a free WhatsApp channel with a sweet and a savory recipe every day: click and subscribe → https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F
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Here are more delicious and very tasty recipes from my Emilia-Romagna region…
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup butter (softened)
- 1 lemon (only grated zest)
- 1 packet baking powder
- as needed milk
- 1 3/4 cups jam (for me forest fruits)
- as needed milk
- as needed sugar granules
Tools
#ADV
- Pastry Boards
- Food Scales
- Forks
- Graters
- Spoons
- Parchment Paper
- Non-stick Baking Trays
Steps
1) Preparing the typical Modenese sweet Bensone is very simple, as you just need to put the sifted flour with baking powder in a fountain on a pastry board or in a bowl, and add the eggs and softened butter in the center.
2) Also add the grated lemon zest and sugar and use a fork to start incorporating the ingredients with each other.
3) The dough now needs a liquid to better bind, so I added a little milk and made a soft and homogeneous dough.
4) With a dusting of flour and placing a sheet of parchment paper on the surface, I now roll out the dough of the Modenese Bensone with a rolling pin into a fairly regular square.
5) Then, leaving the edges free, I spread the pastry with jam or preserve of my choice… For me, a generous amount of forest fruit preserve!
6) Now I fold it like a book (hypothetically divide the square into 3 parts, bring one part towards the center, and overlap it with the third part), leaving the jam hidden in the center.
7) Now I brush it with a little milk, sprinkle with sugar granules, and then make an incision in the center of the typical sweet Bensone from Modena (I made too many incisions eh eh)
8) Now I bake it in a static oven at 356°F (180°C) for about 40/45 minutes or depending on the characteristics of your home appliance (I kept the parchment paper sheet even during baking).
9) Delicious the sweet Bensone of Modenese tradition, truly a delight!
Enjoy your meal!
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Annalisa says …
I recommend, therefore, following the indicated doses and not making half as I did, because the Bensone is so, so good and will be gone in no time!!!!!!!!!
If like me, you are curious about the gastronomic tradition of the Italian regions, I invite you to read here more curiosities and information about the typical sweet from Modena, the Bensone.
Recipe of the Modenese Bensone by Natalia Cattelani and always in her signature on the blog you will find #noadv
