Stroscia Cake of Pietrabruna

In the kitchen, simplicity can amaze if you use excellent raw materials, even a few, treated with care and combined with experience. Stroscia cake of Pietrabruna (a small village in the Western side of the Italian Riviera) is the perfect example of this: just flour, oil and sugar, mixed together and put in the oven to complete the magic.

This ancient recipe was born in the land of extra-virgin olive oil. Its name comes from the verb "stosciare" which means “to break, to tear”. This cake in fact must be broken with the hands because it’s too crumbly for the knife.

All your senses participate when eating this extra-virgin olive oil cake. The fingers meet the sugar on the surface; then, hears catch the light scratch of the dough breaking and the nose perceive the light scent of hot oil and caramel. Eventually the mouth appreciates the sweet fritter flavor of this cake whilst sugar grains crunch under the teeth.

You can eat this cake alone, one piece at a time, or you can crumble it on an ice-cream, or combine it with a custard or even soak it in a glass of sweet wine. It’s a multi-purpose treat!

• Preheat the oven at 180°C (350°F)



• Sift the flour with baking powder and sugar. Form a fountain on a working surface, put a little oil in the center and start kneading.



• Add oil and liqueur, alternating, a little at a time and continue to knead vigorously. Add the grated lemon zest if you want.



• Continue to work the dough until you get the same consistency as a short crust pastry.
  Roll out the dough in a baking pan with a thickness of 1 cm and sprinkle with two tablespoons of granulated sugar.



• Put in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the cake surface is golden.



• Wait for it to cool before serving.