If you ask me, the best traditional Christmas cake from Abruzzo I will say “parrozzo from Pescara”! But I am biased: born and bred in the city, crazy about chocolate and almonds, I could eat parozzo all year round but, sticking with the tradition, in my family we make it only for Christmas following this parrozzo cake recipe. It is the perfect present to bring when you visit relatives and friends over the holidays.
This traditional Christmas cake was invented nearly 100 years ago, in a pastry shop in the heart of the old town of Pescara. A man called Luigi D’Amico had a “sweet intuition” and decided to create a cake inspired by the shape and the colours of a peasant corn bread called pane rozzo (rough bread). He made a heavenly, dome-shaped sponge covered with dark chocolate.
Egg yolks make the dough bright yellow, imitating the corn, and the dark chocolate coating recalls charred bread baked in a wood oven. D’Amico’s friend, Gabriele D’Annunzio, who lived a few blocks from him, came up with the perfect name, parrozzo.
It was an immediately success, so much so that the parrozzo trademark was registered in 1926. Even the family’s café was named after the cake — Il ritrovo del parrozzo (The Hangout of the Parrozzo) — and it was one of the busiest and most elegant meeting places in Pescara before World War II.
Below is the parrozzo cake recipe that we use in my family. It was given to me by our friend Signora Annarita from Spoltore, who is a walking encyclopaedia of traditional Abruzzese cuisine. The recipe is simple. The tricky part is to take the cake out of the oven at exactly the right moment: it has to be not too dry and not too moist. But that comes with practice, so perfecting the parrozzo could be your excuse for baking it all year around, not just for Christmas!
The classic parrozzo is dome shaped and is made with a special cake pan. Most kitchen supply shops in Pescara sell them in different sizes.
Ingredients
Makes a 22 cm diameter cake
6 eggs
120g semolina flour
160g almonds, chopped finely
7-8 bitter almonds, chopped finely
250g sugar
Juice and zest of half a lemon
200g dark chocolate
1 tsp olive oil (1 teaspoon)
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven in static mode to 180 °C
Separate egg whites and yolks. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt. In a separate bowl, whip the yolks with sugar, then add juice and lemon zest.
Combine the whipped parts, pouring the yolks into the whites and not the other way around (it’s important because the amount of air in the mixture cannot increase).
Add the semolina flour and the chopped almonds, gently mixing everything together. Bitter almonds are the special ingredient because they give an amazing flavour.
Grease the cake pan, sprinkling it with a little flour (shake the pan upside down to eliminate the excess flour). Pour the mix in the pan.
Bake for 45 minutes.
In the meantime, melt the dark chocolate, placing it on a plate over a saucepan with boiling water. Add a teaspoon of olive oil to the chocolate to give it brightness and mix with a fork.
When the parrozzo is baked, let it cool for five minutes before removing it from the pan by turning it over onto a plate.
Finally, pour the melted chocolate to top of the parrozzo and spread it adjust with a wide knife or a pastry brush.
Leave it to dry in a cool place for a couple of hours.
Our tip: to cut the parrozzo without breaking the chocolate crust use a serrated knife, preferably warm.
By Michela Portacci. Michela works in the regional government and is passionate about promoting Abruzzo and its traditions.
For more traditional dishes see Recipes from Abruzzo. The e-book is a collection of 39 recipes (with a special section dedicated to traditional Christmas dishes) to help you plan your Abruzzo-style festive feast.
