Torta co' bischeri: the pilgrim cake
A soft cream made with white rice, dark chocolate, pinenuts, candied fruit, raisins and spices in a shortcrust pastry pie. These are the ingredients of the so called Torta co' bischeri, a traditional cake of the Pisa area.
The famous Via Francigena passes through Italy, with 400 kilometers in Tuscany. In the past, when the pilgrims stopped in a city or small town, the local people treated them with respect; as well as accommodation, locals looked out for them and fed them.
Torta co' bischeri is originally from Pontasserchio, near Pisa, and it was first made around the beginning of the sixteenth century as an offering to the pilgrims who visited the town every April 28, on the occasion of the feast of SS. Crucifix of Miracles.
This delicious cake is characterized by the folds of pastry dough made on the outer edge of it, which are called "bischeri" because they are similar in appearance to guitar tuning heads. Since 2007, it has had a quality brand with a rigorous specification, according to the area of production, the origin of raw materials and the requirement of specific pinenuts that must come from the Regional Park of Migliarino (Pisa).
You can also try to make it at home with local ingredients.
Here is the full recipe.
Ingredients
- 200 g of rice
- 200 g of dark chocolate
- 100 g of pinenuts
- 100 g of cocoa
- 150 grams of black raisins
- 100 g candied fruit
- 100 g vanilla sugar
- 200 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- Nutmeg
- A glass of Strega liqueur
- Rum to taste
- Cinnamon to taste
For the dough
- 4 eggs
- 250 g of sugar
- 100 g of butter
- 100 g of vanilla sugar
- 5 g baking powder
- Plain white flour
- Grated rind of one lemon untreated
Method
Preparing the filling
- Cook the rice in salted water flavored with a little cinnamon.
- Drain and immediately add the chocolate and cocoa powder; stir vigorously to melt everything well, then cool.
- Beat the eggs and add them to the rice mixture, then add pinenuts, raisins, candied fruit, sugar, some grated nutmeg and the liqueur.
Making the dough
- Whisk the egg with the sugar, whisk the yolks and mix with the melted butter in a bain marie, baking powder and lemon zest.
- Add flour until it becomes the consistency of dough and knead.
Assembling the cake
- Roll a thin sheet of dough and line the entire baking tin with it.
- Pour in the filling and level the surface.
- Shape the "bischeri" using the dough around the edges of the cake with a knife to carve the small pyramids.
- Bake at 180* C for about an hour and a half.
- Enjoy!
Recipe by Camera di Commercio di Pisa (Sapori e Tradizioni della Provincia di Pisa 2011)
