Ingredients
Batter
- 200 gfine maize flour
- 150 gbreadcrumbs
- 100 gplain flour
- 150 gsugar
- 500 mlmilk
- 100 mlhoney
- 3eggs
- 100 mlolive oil
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- ½ tspgrated nutmeg
- 1 tspfennel seeds
- ½ tspsalt
- zest of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 orange
Fruit
- 2apples, grated
- 100 gdried figs, chopped
- 100 graisins, soaked and drained
For the tin
- olive oil
- breadcrumbs
- icing sugar, to finish
Directions
- Soak the raisins in warm water for 20 minutes and drain them well.
- Warm the milk with the honey, stirring until the honey has dissolved completely, then let it cool a little.
- Mix the maize flour, breadcrumbs, plain flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel seeds and salt together in a large bowl.
- Beat in the warm milk, the eggs, the olive oil and both zests to make a loose, wet batter.
- It will look far too wet to be a cake, and that is correct. This is peasant baking built to use up stale bread and windfall fruit, and the breadcrumbs take up the excess liquid as it bakes.
- Fold in the grated apple, the figs and the drained raisins.
- Oil a shallow tin about 26 cm across and dust it heavily with breadcrumbs, which is what stops a batter this wet from welding itself to the base.
- Pour the batter in to a depth of about 4 cm and level the top.
- Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the top is dark and set and a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool completely in the tin. It is very moist and will break apart if you try to turn it out warm.
- Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares. It keeps for a week and is better after two days.
Technique
- Dense, wet and heavy is the intention. If yours has risen like a sponge, something has gone wrong.
- The fennel seeds sound out of place in a sweet cake and are not. They are the note that makes it Sammarinese.
- Every household version differs, because the whole point of it was to use whatever was left over.
Substitutions
- Instant polenta ground a little finer, in place of maize flour.
- Pears in place of some of the apple.
- Dried prunes or dates for the figs.
Variations
- With pine nuts and chopped walnuts scattered over the top.
- With a splash of mistrà, the local aniseed liqueur, in the batter.
- With a spoonful of cocoa, which some families add and others do not.
History
A dense Christmas cake of cornmeal, breadcrumbs and dried fruit, Sammarinese peasant baking that used up leftovers.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bustrengo?
Bustrengo is a dessert from San Marino: dense cornmeal cake with apples, figs, raisins. A dense Christmas cake of cornmeal, breadcrumbs and dried fruit, Sammarinese peasant baking that used up leftovers.
How long does Bustrengo take to make?
Bustrengo takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 tray, 12 squares. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Bustrengo?
Yes, within limits. Instant polenta ground a little finer, in place of maize flour. Pears in place of some of the apple. Dried prunes or dates for the figs.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bustrengo?
Every household version differs, because the whole point of it was to use whatever was left over.
