Parrozzo is a traditional Christmas cake from the Pescara region in the Abruzzo, central-east Italy. The today cake was once a bread made with corn flour and baked in the woodstove.
Traditionally the Parrozzo was called ‘pan rozzo’, which means something like ‘sturdy bread’. It was made with corn flour and goat milk flavoured with time and mint and was actually a bread and savory.
In 1919 Luigi D’Amico, who had a coffee shop in the center of Pescara, thought it would be an idea to take this old traditional bred of the farmers of the Abruzzo mountains to make it sweet. So he alternated the original recipe, used the same half round baking form and covered the cake with chocolate to ‘imitate’ the original bread crust. As he was a good friend of Gabriele D’Annunzio, a very famous Italian poet, he send the now called Parrozzo to his friend as a Christmas gift. The poet was very pleased with the new cake and was full of praise. I new cake was born!
A friend of mine told me about the cake and I had a look at the recipe. Very easy to make without gluten, very easy to prepare. She even gave me the baking form. I felt ‘obligated’ to prepare the cake for her, my version obviously. And I confess: it was easy to make and the result was GREAT! I would say, a perfect ‘last minute cake’.
Every region has its own traditional dishes and treats. I am happy to discover more and more, from different regions in Italy. Surprise your family with something very special that for sure none ever eaten before if he/she is not from Abruzzo.
Let’s prepare together!
- 4 eggs (medium size)
- 75 g corn flour
- 100 g almond flour
- 1 fresh ground lemon zest
- 2 tbsp Amaretto liquor
- 3-4 drops bitter almond extract
- 200 g dark chocolate (85%)
- 20 g coconut oil or ghee
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F.
- Divide the eggs in two bowls, the egg white in one, the egg yolks in another one.
- Start to beat the egg whites until stiff.
- Then beat the egg yolks together with the sugar and lemon zest until you get e nice white cream-like consistence. Add the the bitter almond extract, the Amaretto liquor, beat again, then add the almond and corn flour. You will get a semi dry batter. Now with a spatula fold in the egg whites. The batter will be again soft and nice.
- Grease the baking form (should be hemispherical), dust with some rice flour and transfer the cake batter in the baking form. Bake for 45 minutes (make the toothpick prove, should be clean).
- Take the cake out of the oven, let it sit for 10 minutes and then turn the cake out, let it cool on a cake rack with a wide dish under it.
- Meanwhile prepare the glaze. Put the coconut oil or ghee and the chocolate in chunks in a double boiler and slowly let it become liquid. When the cake is all cool dash the chocolate all in once over the cake. The chocolate can run down and drip off from the cooling rack onto the plate.
- Let the chocolate get hard at room temperature (overnight e. g.).
- Serve with some coffee, the or even better hot mulled wine or Glühwein..
