CookEat Recipe
Torta Mantovana
A low buttery cake with chopped almonds and pine nuts on top, cooled before a light icing-sugar finish.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 170 g plain flour, plus 5 g for the tin; 170 g caster sugar; 155 g butter: 150 g for the cake and 5 g for the tin; 30 g blanched sweet almonds; 20 g pine nuts; 1 whole egg and 4 egg yolks; Finely grated zest of ½ lemon; 20 g icing sugar: 5 g for the tin and 15 g for finishing.
Step 2
Split each blanched almond lengthwise, then cut each half across into four or five small pieces. Cut the pine nuts in half across their length. Grease a shallow round tin about 22 cm across with 5 g butter and dust with the extra 5 g flour mixed with 5 g icing sugar. Heat the oven to 170°C.
Step 3
Beat the whole egg and four yolks with the caster sugar until very pale and thick, about 8–10 minutes with an electric whisk or longer with a wooden spoon. Mix in the lemon zest, then add the measured flour gradually while continuing to work the mixture.
Step 4
Melt the remaining 150 g butter gently in a bowl over hot water and let it cool to lukewarm. Work it into the batter last. Spread in the prepared tin and scatter the chopped almonds and halved pine nuts over the surface. Keep the cake low, about 3–4 cm high at most when baked, so its centre can dry properly.
Step 5
Bake for about 30–40 minutes, until golden, set and a wooden skewer comes out without wet batter. If the nuts colour before the centre is cooked, cover loosely with foil and finish baking. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then turn out carefully and cool completely on a rack.
Step 6
Dust the cold cake with the remaining 15 g icing sugar and serve in wedges. The original gives 50 g almonds and pine nuts together; the 30 g and 20 g split here is a working proportion.
Step 7
Instead of flour and icing sugar for the tin, omit the extra 5 g flour and the 5 g tin-dusting icing sugar and coat the greased tin with about 10 g fine dry breadcrumbs. Keep the same batter, nut topping, baking and final 15 g icing-sugar finish.
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