Blackberries add local flair to Italian crumble cake

  • By Mario Batali McClatchy Tribune Service
  • Tuesday, October 2, 2012 9:54am
  • Life

La torta sbrisolona is a classic crumbly cake from Lombardy, the northern Italian region best known for its capital city, Milan. Sbrisolona is compact and coarse, unlike the layer cakes common in the United States.

The cake gets its name from the verb “sbriciolare,” meaning “to crumble,” for the cake’s most distinctive feature.

I pair the cake with blackberries for an American flair. When I was growing up in the Pacific Northwest, we’d fill the trunk of the family Oldsmobile with buckets of blackberries. This simple sauce brings a moistness and seasonality that perfectly complements this traditional dish.

Save a few pieces for the next day — this is one of those cakes that tastes even better the day after you make it.

Walnut sbrisolona with blackberries

Cake:

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

8 ounces chopped walnuts

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup finely ground cornmeal

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 lemon

3 egg yolks

Blackberry sauce:

3 pints fresh blackberries

Juice of 1 lemon

1 cup sugar

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

1 pint heavy cream

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter the sides and bottom of an 11-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Cut two strips of parchment paper about 20 inches long and 4 inches wide. Arrange the strips in an X over the bottom of the pan, with the ends hanging over the edges. (These will help to unmold the cake later.)

Combine the walnut pieces, flour, cornmeal and sugar in a food processor, and pulse until the texture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Turn the machine off and add the vanilla, lemon zest, egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup melted butter. Pulse six times for 3 seconds at a time. It will form a dough that looks like sticky wet sand.

Spoon the “wet sand” into the prepared cake pan as evenly as possible. (It will not look like cake batter, but it will come together as it cooks.) Place the pan in the oven and bake the cake for 1 hour. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the blackberry sauce: Combine the blackberries, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan, and cook over medium heat until the blackberries break down and form a sauce. Let the sauce cool to room temperature.

Lift the cooled cake out of the pan with the help of the parchment strips, and place it on a serving plate. Dust it with powdered sugar, if using.

Whip the cream in a cold bowl until it forms frosted peaks, and put into a nice serving bowl.

Serve the cake in wedges, with the blackberry sauce and the cream on the side. Serves 8 to 10.

Recipe courtesy of “Molto Batali.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.