Historical recipes

Parrozzo (Pescara typical Christmas cake)

D’Annunzio did not enjoy long, over-indulgent meals, which may seem strange for a man who exaggerated with so many other things. Actually, he showed great restraint at the table. However, he appreciated good food and regional cooking, especially sweets. When an enterprising pastry chef from Abruzzo began to produce parrozzi in large quantities, D’Annunzio would recieved packages of the them from the baker. In return, D’Annunzio commemorated the pastry chef in his poems.

  • Time

    1 hour and 20 minutes

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Course

    Desserts and Fruit

  • Italian Region

    Abruzzo

Ingredients

Servings 4

  • 5 oz chocolate
  • 4 ½ oz sugar
  • 3 oz butter
  • 2 oz almonds, sweet
  • ⅜ oz bitter almonds
  • 1 ¾ oz starch
  • 2 oz all-purpose flour
  • 5 eggs

Preparation

35 minutes preparation + 45 minutes cooking

Peel the almonds, after blanching in boiling water: pound the almonds in a mortar with two tablespoons of sugar. Melt the butter. In bowl, whisk the five egg yolks with the remaining sugar; then fold in the pounded almonds, flour, starch and melted butter. Finally, fold in the egg whites whisked to stiff peaks. Pour the mixture into a buttered baking tin and bake at 425° F for 45 minutes or so. Make a chocolate frosting and coat the cake, once cooled.