Grandma’s brick cake, also known as tile cake, is a humble dessert, easy to make, and requires no baking. Being an old-fashioned dessert, the buttercream was made very simply by whipping butter with sugar and adding yolks with a little liquor, creating a fluffy and soft base that alternated with coffee-soaked cookies dusted with cocoa powder.
Grandma Amelia prepared it her way, by whipping the yolks in a bain-marie with sugar and a bit of Marsala to make a zabaglione to which she added the whipped butter and sugar; I assure you, it was a real treat; my brother and I always fought over the last piece!
One of the most beautiful memories related to this dessert was making the zabaglione; I perfectly remember that my grandmother didn’t weigh the sugar and Marsala but used the eggshell, for each yolk she added half a shell of sugar and half a shell of liquor, creating a delicious foam.
Since my blog is also a sort of diary where I write all the family recipes, I thought of gifting you our version of the Bolognese brick cake, a spoon dessert rich in memories typical of the Emilia tradition.
Try also the other spoon desserts:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 396.26 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 42.66 (g) of which sugars 20.30 (g)
- Proteins 4.75 (g)
- Fat 22.78 (g) of which saturated 11.74 (g)of which unsaturated 6.88 (g)
- Fibers 7.45 (g)
- Sodium 113.82 (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
- 14 oz dry cookies (like Oro Saiwa)
- 1 1/3 cups butter (at room temperature)
- 1 1/8 cups powdered sugar
- 4 egg yolks (about 75 g)
- 1/3 cup Marsala wine
- 3/4 cup coffee (you can also use decaffeinated)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Tools
- 1 Bowl in pyrex or heat-resistant steel
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Baking pan 8 x 6/6.5 inches and 2.5 inches high
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Cup
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Bowl
Procedure
Pour some water into the saucepan and bring it to a boil, it will be used for the bain-marie.
In a pyrex or steel bowl, pour the yolks, add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and the Marsala, mix the ingredients well and place the bowl over the saucepan on low heat (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl, otherwise you will cook the mixture).
Whip the mixture with a whisk until it is fluffy and soft.
The zabaglione is ready.
In another bowl, whip the butter with the powdered sugar until you get a soft, fluffy, and well-whipped mixture, add the zabaglione in two batches, mixing the mixture from bottom to top, and place it in the fridge.
Prepare the espresso coffee, put it in a cup, and let it cool, I don’t add sugar, but sweeten it to your taste if you prefer.
Sift the unsweetened cocoa with a sieve and set it aside.
Dip the cookies in coffee and place them in the baking pan, spread a thin layer of buttercream on the cookies, using a spoon or a piping bag. Dust with unsweetened cocoa and repeat the layers until all the ingredients are used, finishing with the cookies.
Let the grandma’s brick cake rest in the fridge for 2 hours, if you have time you can also make it in advance. Before serving, dust the surface with unsweetened cocoa and serve.
Tips
Storage
The grandma’s brick cake can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4/5 days.
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