Cake

Young Sarah's Cake

9/17/2006 10:32:00 AM


La torta della giovane Sara

This is the first recipe that I've made from Jamie Oliver's latest book, Jamie's Italy. I've been reminiscing about my time in Italy whilst doing my recent blogs, and really wanted to make something that I felt was authentically Italian. I was drawn to this particular recipe - not just for the name! - because it comes from an Italian girl, named Sara, obviously, whose mother taught her how to cook. I don't think it can get more authentic than that!

From the picture in the book, it looks like a good, plain and honest cake - golden brown and plain, topped with pine nuts. The batter is very simple, but quite unusual. To make it, you simply beat eggs, add sugar, flour, lemon juice and zest, and a sachet of yeast. It becomes a stiff, smooth and shiny batter.


Batter

Following this, you spread it into a springform tin - the recipe stipulates a 30cm tin, but I only had a 25cm one - sprinkle pine nuts over, and bake for 40 minutes.


Unbaked cake

The finished product (photo above) is quite lovely - especially with a strong espresso or two. The edges were crispy and fragrant, and the pinenuts were wonderfully toasted. I did find the centre a little dense, but perhaps that's because I baked it in a smaller tin than stipulated. As you can see from the photo, it turned out very flat, despite the small tin, but perhaps it's meant to be that way. Perhaps a bit of time proving the mixture would help?

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3 comments

  1. Hi Sarah!

    I have J's Italy and I've always thought this cake looked interesting, but I was wondering about the yeast inside with no proving time for the batter...How did it turn out? It looks great, but the taste???

    Jx

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  2. Anonymous12:23 PM

    I did mine tonite too..came out like coffee cake.......

    Y'wanna know what I really think?

    I think Jamie let Sara put her Mammy's cake in the book hoping to get some favors on teh flip side......if you get my drift.......

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Sarah !

    It's weird ! My first cake from "Jamie's Italy" was "LA TORTA DELLA GIOVANE SARA" as you did !!!. Delicious and easy cake !. Jamie is a brilliant cook !
    Regards from Southern France

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