If you are looking for a refined dessert, then this Italian coffee cake recipe is the one for you, as it combines delightful Italian flavours and the intense taste of coffee. This cake has been called a “fake sbrisolona” with reference to the traditional cake from the city of Mantua, a jewel located in Southern Lombardy whose charm retains the splendour of the Renaissance.
The recipe we are proposing can be considered as a halfway between a sbrisolona itself and a filled pie and will totally surprise you. Its crust is prepared with all-purpose flour and a small amount of finely ground cornmeal flour giving some flavour and baking powder, which makes it softer. The lard can easily be replaced by butter, as it undoubtedly has a milder flavour, while we are using almonds in the filling – and not in the crust – instead of hazelnuts. Apart from them, the filling contains a delicious blend of ricotta, amaretti biscuits and Amaretto di Saronno, a fragrant and delightful, sweet-tasting liqueur whose taste is truly inimitable.
