The Beak Cake with amaretti is a typical cake from my hometown Lucca, a true delight, traditionally prepared for ‘Santa Zita’, celebrated on April 27th. However, it is mainly consumed during holidays, but can be found in bakeries all year round. The real beak cake is the herb cake, but over the years many variations have been added, such as chocolate, amaretti, etc. Today I propose my version with amaretti, very delicious with the bitter aftertaste of amaretti, a treat.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Amaretto Beak Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 5/8 cup sugar
- 9 tbsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1 packet vanilline
- 1 pinch salt
- 14 oz amaretti
- 3 oz peeled almonds
- 3 egg whites
- Half small glass rum
- zest of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp sugar (optional, the recipe does not require it)
Tools
- 1 Chopper
- 3 Bowls
- 1 Non-stick pan
- 1 Pastry wheel
Preparation of Amaretto Beak Cake
Let’s see how to prepare the amaretto cake.
First, prepare the shortcrust pastry. In a bowl, pour the flour, butter at room temperature cut into pieces, sugar, a pinch of salt, sifted baking powder, vanilline, and eggs. Work all the ingredients well with your hands until they start to blend, then transfer to a floured board and finish kneading until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. I prepare the dough by hand, but if you have a stand mixer, that’s fine too; just put all the ingredients in the bowl and start at speed 2 until a dough forms, stopping every 2 minutes to avoid overheating the eggs and butter.
Let the shortcrust pastry rest in the fridge wrapped in cling film for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Put the amaretti in a chopper and chop them, place them in a large bowl, add the liqueur and mix. Chop the almonds as well and add them to the amaretti. Separately, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then combine them with the chopped amaretti and almonds. Add the pinch of salt and grated lemon zest, and mix everything well; it will be a bit sticky. After the resting time, work the pastry a little, setting aside a piece, and roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured board to a thickness of at least a quarter inch, place it in the greased and floured pan, prick the bottom with a fork, and remove the excess pastry, making sure to cover the entire edge. Pour in the filling and spread it well. Begin cutting the pastry edge and fold it over itself to form beaks. Once all beaks are made, roll out the remaining pastry and cut strips to decorate the cake. Bake in a preheated oven and cook at 350°F for about 40 minutes.
notes
The original recipe does not include sugar, but as I wrote in the ingredients, if you think it is too bitter for you, add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the filling. If any beak cake is leftover, it keeps for up to 5 days in a closed container or inside the turned-off oven.
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