Parrozzo

I am from L’Aquila, a true mountain girl, but my mother is from the coast and, despite the old rivalry between the two sides of the region, I have to admit they cook very well there too. And when I feel the Christmas spirit I immediately think of the holiday cake par excellence: parrozzo.

I always took it for granted that everyone knew it, because it was a family favourite. Yet even in Rome nobody has heard of it! It is a dome-shaped cake (there are special moulds) made of eggs, sugar, almonds and semolina, coated in dark chocolate.

For the cake

• 8 eggs
• 320 g sugar
• 200 g almonds
• 8 bitter almonds
• 200 g semolina
• 1 small glass of amaretto liqueur
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• Butter and flour for the mould

For the coating

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1. Separate the yolks from the whites. In a bowl beat the yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy.
2. Add the amaretto liqueur and the grated lemon zest.
3. Finely grind the sweet and bitter almonds and mix them with the semolina.
4. Add this «flour» to the eggs a little at a time, stirring until fully combined.
5. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them gently into the mixture.
6. Pour into the buttered, floured mould and bake at 180 °C for about 40 minutes (test with a skewer).
7. As soon as it comes out of the oven, turn it out onto a plate and let it cool.
8. Melt the chocolate with the oil in a bain-marie and cover the whole cake with the glaze.
9. Wait until the next day: parrozzo is at its best once it has rested.

• Bitter almonds give the typical aroma: a few are enough, do not overdo it.
• If you have no dome mould, use an ovenproof bowl, well buttered and floured.
• It is perfect to end a meal, dunked in milk at breakfast, as a snack or before bed: any time!
• Keep it under a glass dome or wrapped in cling film: it stays soft for several days.

Parrozzo was created in Pescara in 1920 by pastry chef Luigi D’Amico, who wanted to turn the peasants’ «pane rozzo» – the dome-shaped corn bread – into a cake: the yellow of the eggs recalls the corn crumb, the chocolate the crust scorched in the wood oven.

According to tradition the first to taste it was Gabriele d’Annunzio, who dedicated playful verses to it, the «Song of the Parrozzo». Ever since, it has been the symbol of Christmas in Pescara.