 Genoa cake (supermarket own-brand with few cherries) | |||||||
| Alternative names | Pandolce, (inItalian)pandolce genovese (in Italian) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Fruit cake | ||||||
| Place of origin | Italy | ||||||
| Region or state | Genoa,Liguria | ||||||
| Main ingredients | Sultanas/raisins orcurrants,glacé cherries,flour,eggs,butter,sugar | ||||||
| 340 kcal (1,400 kJ)[1] | |||||||
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Genoa cake,[2] known in Italian aspandolce[a] orpandolce genovese, is afruit cake consisting ofsultanas (golden-coloured raisins), currants or raisins, glacécherries,almonds, andcandied orange peel or essence, cooked in a batter of flour, eggs, butter, and sugar.[1][3]
Although the nameGenoa cake is mainly used in the United Kingdom, where recipes for it have been around since the 19th century,[4] it is a variant of thepandolce (Italian:[panˈdoltʃe];Ligurian:pandoçe,Ligurian:[paŋˈduːse];lit. 'sweet bread') cake which originated in 16th centuryGenoa as aChristmas cake. Unlike Genoa cake, traditionalpandolce includespine nuts as a major ingredient and usesyeast as itsraising agent, which requires several hours to rise, like bread.[5] This original form is today known aspandolce alto ('deeppandolce'), whilst a simpler variant which uses baking powder is known aspandolce basso ('flatpandolce') and is essentially the same as the Genoa cake sold in the UK, with a moist but crumbly texture.[6][7]
The termGenoa cake is also sometimes used to refer to two other Genoa-related cakes, neither of which are fruit cakes:Genoese cake, a light sponge cake,[8] andpain de Gênes ('Genoa bread'), a dense almond cake.[9]
Media related toPandolce at Wikimedia Commons
