A Midwinter’s Cake
Monday, January 16, 2012
My aversion to sweet wine has probably meant that I neglect Italian desserts more than I should. After all, this aversion to sweetness may conflict with Vin Santo, but it should mean an affinity for the cakes, tarts, and pies that Italians create to accompany those wines. The affinity explains why I chose to make this bustrengo; the aversion why I neglected it in the past.
In Jamie’s Italy, from which this recipe was adapted, Jamie Oliver compares this to a French clafoutis. The resemblance is undeniable, but I prefer the grit and heft (not to mention taste) of the polenta to the flour-only clafoutis. Naturally, I’ve made some changes to the recipe in order to use local ingredients. The dried figs were from my freezer, dehydrated and packed away last August. The cranberries and maple sugar were from the Fair Food Farmstand. The breadcrumbs were leftover bits from my own bread, and although widely available in local form, I chose white spelt flour over white all-purpose flour simply because that’s what I had. Likewise, rather than use whole milk and the zest of oranges and lemons, I used buttermilk because, again, this was what I had, but I also realized the acidity of the buttermilk made the zest superfluous (i.e., less work). Having previously made the bustrengo with zest, I can honestly say I didn’t notice the difference.
If this seems like a lot of work or ingredients, keep in mind that most of the preparation can be done while the oven pre-heats - especially if you’ve prepared the breadcrumbs in advance. In fact, you’re likely to spend more time waiting for it to cook than you are making it.
Serve as breakfast on a midwinter morning alongside a steaming cappucino.
Bustrengo
Butter
1 cup (4 ounces) polenta
1 3/4 cup (7 ounces) white spelt flour
2 cups breadcrumbs
1/3 cups maple sugar
2 1/4 cups (10 ounces) buttermilk
3 large eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) honey
1/4 cups (2 ounces) olive oil
3 1/2 ounces dried figs, roughly chopped
3 1/2 ounces dried, sweetened cranberries
1 pound and 2 ounces apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an eleven-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. In a large bowl, mix the polenta, flour, breadcrumbs and maple sugar. In a second bowl, mix the buttermilk, eggs, honey and olive oil. In a third bowl, combine the figs, cranberries, and apples.
Add the ingredients from the second bowl to the first and stir until evenly mixed. Add the ingredients from the third bowl, cinnamon and salt, and stir until evenly mixed. Pour the batter into the tart pan and place on the oven’s center rack. Bake for 50 minutes.
Posted by Kevin on 01/16 at 10:15 AM
