Do you remember when we were little, and studied the smallest states of the world in Geography? I had a map of the world hanging over my desk, and we tried in vain to find them there 🙂 They were so tiny, that instead of the country we found a footnote that it should be somewhere here. The Republic of San Marino is one of them, but despite its size, it has its own San Marino cuisine and the famous polenta cake Bustrengo. Traditionally it is baked for Christmas. I have simplified the classic recipe a little bit for you and propose to cook it all-year-round – after all, good things come to those who bake 😉
Do you remember when we were little, and studied the smallest states of the world in Geography? I had a map of the world hanging over my desk, and we tried in vain to find them there 🙂 They were so tiny, that instead of the country we found a footnote that it should be somewhere here. The Republic of San Marino is one of them, but despite its size, it has its own San Marino cuisine and the famous polenta cake Bustrengo. Traditionally it is baked for Christmas. I have simplified the classic recipe a little bit for you and propose to cook it all-year-round – after all, good things come to those who bake 😉- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 40 minutes
- Serves: 6
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: pastry
- Cookware: baking dish
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 kg firm apples
- 150 g polenta
- 60 g wheat flour
- 200 g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 150 g sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs
- zest juice of 1 lemon
Cooking method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 180°C. Cream together the butter and sugar until white. Add 1 egg to the mixture, without stopping stirring. Add lemon juice and zest, and mix well.
Step 2
In a bowl, combine flour, polenta, and baking powder. Add to egg mixture. Whisk until the dough is smooth.
Step 3
Peel the apples and thinly slice them. Add apples to the dough.
Step 4
Butter the baking dish. Transfer the cake mixture to the baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes. If the cake starts to burn on top, you can cover it with foil and remove it a few minutes before the end.
My tips and tricks:
It’s easy to fall in love with this cake: it’s simple and delicious! So that you don’t get bored of doing the same thing, try different versions of it: replace half of the apples with raisins; or instead of the zest and juice of a whole lemon, take half and mix with the zest and juice of half an orange; for the winter version, take quince sprinkled with cinnamon and dried cranberries; and in summer add hard peaches and rosemary. And when you want to be reminded of our Italian trip, make a cake without apples and while it is still warm, open a bottle of Disaronno Amaretto and pour it over the cake (about 50 ml is needed for one cake).
- 1 kg firm apples
- 150 g polenta
- 60 g wheat flour
- 200 g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 150 g sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs
- zest juice of 1 lemon
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Cream together the butter and sugar until white. Add 1 egg to the mixture, without stopping stirring. Add lemon juice and zest, and mix well.
- In a bowl, combine flour, polenta, and baking powder. Add to egg mixture. Whisk until the dough is smooth.
- Peel the apples and thinly slice them. Add apples to the dough
- Butter the baking dish. Transfer the cake mixture to the baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes. If the cake starts to burn on top, you can cover it with foil and remove it a few minutes before the end.