BENEVENTAN TART with ladyfingers
If you see ladyfingers in the ingredients, you might immediately think of the quintessential dessert made with these biscuits, but no! This time I want to offer you a truly original tart that will surprise you with its texture and taste: the Beneventan Tart.
A dessert I have been planning to make for a long time, maybe because my father-in-law is originally from Benevento, and finally, the time has come.
It is a Tart with a soft cream and ladyfingers filling, consisting of a classic shortcrust shell filled with a milk cream (not a custard) flavored with Liquore Strega, a typical product of the city of Benevento since 1860.
A crumbly outer crust, a soft and creamy filling, a delicate and delicious dessert that will win you over with the first bite. Preparing the Beneventan Tart is very easy, and for those with little time, there is also a way to take a ‘shortcut’: buy the ready-made shortcrust base!
Essentially, you will need to make two (or one) preparations: the classic shortcrust for those who want to also try their hand at the dough, and the milk cream flavored with milk, sugar, eggs, Liquore Strega, lemon zest.
A Tart different from the usual, original and ready to amaze your guests with a crunchy base and a soft cream and ladyfingers filling. Easy, without the need for special kitchen tools other than a bowl and a hand whisk. The only difficulty, I confess, was arranging the ladyfingers in a fishbone pattern for a perfect fit.
But don’t worry, mine was far from perfect, but the Beneventan Tart was still absolutely delicious. So don’t worry, at most I can advise you to first simulate on a sheet of parchment paper how you will then position the cookies.
Even though one of the main features of this dessert is its flavoring with Liquore Strega, originating from the city of Benevento, if you really do not like liqueur desserts, you can replace it with orange blossom aroma or vanilla, and the result will still be excellent.
Below are some other proposals for simple cakes to make, even without baking
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 268.80 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 40.21 (g) of which sugars 30.75 (g)
- Proteins 8.07 (g)
- Fat 8.37 (g) of which saturated 3.59 (g)of which unsaturated 4.47 (g)
- Fibers 0.35 (g)
- Sodium 130.61 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 roll shortcrust pastry
- 14 ladyfingers
- 2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 eggs (whole)
- 1 1/3 tbsp Liquore Strega (or vanilla extract)
- 1 lemon zest
Tools
- Bowl
- Hand whisk
- Baking pan
Steps
If you want to try making the Shortcrust at home, look HERE
Pour the milk into a saucepan, heat it without bringing it to a boil, then pour it into a bowl, add the sugar, and mix with a hand whisk until it is completely dissolved. Then add the eggs, vanilla extract (or the liqueur), and the grated zest of one lemon. Mix with the hand whisk trying to incorporate as little air as possible. Set the mixture aside until it has cooled down.
Place the shortcrust roll in the baking pan, prick the bottom with a fork without going all the way through the pastry, arrange the ladyfingers in a fishbone pattern, cutting them to the necessary size to fill the entire mold. Use the scraps to fill in the gaps. Finally, pour the cream over the cookies and wait about ten minutes for it to absorb into the ladyfingers before baking.
Bake the Beneventan Tart in a static oven at 338°F (170°C) for about 45 minutes. The shortcrust should be golden. Remove from the oven, let it cool, sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, and serve.
NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
MILK CREAM: Don’t worry if the milk cream appears liquid when you pour it over the ladyfingers, that’s the right consistency, it’s not a custard.
LIQUORE STREGA: If you don’t like the taste of the liqueur, you can easily omit it and flavor the cream with a little vanilla extract or vanilla.
LADYFINGERS: I recommend cutting them as you arrange them in the pan to get an idea of the different lengths you need as you ‘build’ the fishbone pattern.
BAKING: Baking time and the thickness of the cake after cooking depend on the diameter of the pan you use. I used a 9-inch (22 cm) diameter mold.
STORAGE
You can keep your Beneventan tart for 2-3 days in a cool, dry place, inside an airtight container or under a cake dome.
CURIOSITY
The BENEVENTAN TART is also known as ‘Portuguese cake’ although its origins are absolutely Italian, specifically from the city of Benevento. In addition to ladyfingers, it features in its ingredients a typical Campanian product: Liquore Strega, an herbal liqueur used to flavor the typical cream of this dessert.
