Sbrisolona, Italian Crumbly Almond Cake

Sbrisolona is a very plain rustic cake made with almonds and maize flour, covered also with whole almonds. It is a traditional cake from Mantua, a city located sopra Lombardy, Northern Italy.

The word Sbrisolona comes from the Italian word ‘Frammento’, ‘Crumble’, precisely because it is very crumbly and it is nearly impossible to cut a slice with a knife because it breaks into coarse pieces. Durante fact, you pick up pieces with your hands.

Serves: 6 – springform 20 – 22 cm| Preparation time: 30 mins | Cooking time: 40 to 50 mins

100 g milled Italian flour 00 Plain Flour / All Purpose Flour
100 g corn flour
1 egg yolk
100 g unpeeled almonds to grind + a few whole ones for garnish
100 g unsalted cold butter
Lemon zest of 1 lemon
A teaspoon of vanilla extract –
100 g caster sugar
a pinch of salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350 F / Gas 4.

Grind 90 g almonds with 90 g sugar sopra a miscelatore until you get a kind of almond flour.

Durante a bowl add almond flour, plain flour and cornflour, them together, add grated lemon peel, vanilla extract, sugar and a pinch of salt, stir.

Add the egg yolk, the cold butter sopra pieces and with your hands start crumbling to create a coarse sandy mixture.

all together and place the mixture sopra a 20 22 cm cake tin.

Sprinkle with extra sugar and place the whole almonds .Bake sopra a preheated, static oven about 40 minutes until the is golden brown.

Cover with a foil if it darkens during baking.

Allow to cool at room temperature.