The San Biagio cake is a recipe I discovered thanks to a friend who is a food blogger, and I recommend visiting her blog La cucina di Zia Sa, a traditional dessert from an area in Mantua, Cavriana.
A very old recipe, from the 1600s when almonds were harvested in that area because they were considered aphrodisiacs, and those harvested in Cavriana were said to have a special taste.
Later, it is said that during the time of the French King Louis XIII, a delegation of pastry chefs arrived at the Mantua duchy to learn new recipes to use at the palace.
They immediately got to know these particular almonds with a unique taste, so the locals decided to welcome these foreigners by preparing a unique recipe to present to Queen Anne, wife of King Louis XIII.
Thus was born this cake dedicated to Saint Blaise with a mix of dark chocolate and almonds that you will fall in love with once you try it.
This story, of course, was gathered from what can be found on the web because, despite always searching for traditional recipes, I didn’t know this one, if it weren’t for my friend Sara.
You have to try making it, and if you take photos, feel free to send them to me, and I’ll post them on my Facebook page under your name.
About 663 Kcal per person
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter, St. Blaise
Ingredients to Make San Biagio Cake
- 5.3 oz butter
- 5.6 oz sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup white wine (measures a glass of water)
- 1 packet vanillin (or 1/2 teaspoon of liquid vanilla)
- 1/2 packet baking powder
- 3.5 oz 75% dark chocolate
- 3.5 oz almonds
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 4.4 oz sugar
- 0.35 oz powdered sugar
- 1 Baking Pan pan
Preparation of San Biagio Cake
First, we prepare the dough by combining all the indicated ingredients and mixing them, perhaps with a mixer, to receive a crumbly dough, but then we will pour it onto a work surface and work it to obtain a homogeneous ball.
The amount of flour may vary depending on how you measure the wine.
If you do not use a mixer, then combine the ingredients a little at a time, working them well.
Once the dough is obtained, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to rest for about an hour.
Meanwhile, chop the dark chocolate and blend the almonds, keeping everything aside.
Take the now-rested dough, roll it out into a fairly thin sheet, and lay it on a greased and floured pan, or covered with parchment paper, or a mold like mine, 10.25 inches in diameter.
Cut off the excess dough, which we will use to decorate the top of the cake.
Prepare the filling by placing 2 eggs in a bowl, beating them with a fork, then adding the sugar and mixing well, adding the previously chopped chocolate and almonds, and mixing everything well.
Pour the filling into the dough, leveling everything well.
Now, with the remaining dough, we create thin strips of dough and place them on the cake as in the photo.
With the strips, stay well on the edges of the cake; I did this, but during cooking, the strips tend to detach a lot from the edges because the filling will swell during cooking.
Once ready, bake in a pre-heated oven at 338°F (170°C) for 45 minutes, checking the cooking.
Once cooked, let it cool well and then sprinkle it with powdered sugar before serving.
