Prinjolata

Ingredients

Sponge

• 4eggs
• 120 gcaster sugar
• 120 gplain flour
• 1 tspbaking powder
• 1 tspvanilla extract

Soaking

• 100 mlwater
• 50 gsugar
• 3 tbsprum or almond liqueur

Buttercream

• 300 gunsalted butter, softened
• 400 gicing sugar, sifted
• 2 tbspmilk
• 1 tspalmond extract
• 1 tspvanilla extract

To fold in

• 150 gpine nuts, toasted
• 100 gglacé cherries, chopped
• 100 gcrushed plain biscuits
• 80 gchopped almonds

To finish

• 150 gdark chocolate, melted
• 50 gwhite chocolate, melted
• 3 tbspwhole pine nuts
• glacé cherries, halved

Equipment

• a large bowl for shaping the dome
• cling film

Directions

1. Taste one before you start, since a rancid nut ruins the whole dome. Toast them in a dry pan over a medium heat. Shake the pan constantly for three or four minutes.
2. Tip them onto a cold plate the moment they turn golden. Let the pine nuts cool completely. Whisk the eggs and sugar together for a full eight minutes. They should triple in volume and turn very pale. Lift the whisk and the mixture should sit on the surface as a ribbon. Whisk the vanilla extract in as well. Folding the flour in needs a light hand.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture. Fold it in with a large spatula. Use a cutting and lifting motion, turning the bowl. Stop the moment no dry flour is visible. Pour it into a lined tin and level it gently.
4. Bake at 180C for twenty to twenty-five minutes. It should spring back when pressed in the centre. Let the sponge cool completely. Cut it into cubes of about two centimetres. Heat the water and sugar until dissolved. Let the syrup cool completely.
5. Stir in the rum once it is cold. Adding spirit to hot syrup boils the alcohol off. Beat the softened butter until pale and light. This takes five minutes and matters more than people think.
6. Add the sifted icing sugar in three additions. Beat it well after each addition. Add the milk and both extracts. Beat it until smooth, light and spreadable. Combining everything is done in a large bowl. Put the sponge cubes in a very large bowl. Sprinkle the cooled syrup over them and toss gently.
7. Add most of the buttercream, keeping some back for coating. Add the toasted pine nuts, cherries, biscuits and almonds. Fold everything together with a spatula. The mixture should be sticky and should hold together when pressed.
8. Line a large bowl with cling film, leaving plenty overhanging. Pack the mixture into the bowl. Press it down very firmly as you go. Firm packing is what stops it collapsing when turned out. Fold the cling film over the top. Refrigerate the bowl for at least four hours. Lift the bowl away and peel off the cling film.
9. Spread the reserved buttercream thinly over the whole dome. Smooth it with a palette knife dipped in hot water. Chill it for twenty minutes to set that coating. Melt the dark chocolate and let it cool slightly.
10. Pour it over the dome so it runs down in irregular streaks. Do not cover the whole surface, since the streaks are the point. Press whole pine nuts and halved cherries into the chocolate. Setting it takes about an hour. Cut it in wedges with a warm knife. It keeps for four days in the fridge. Take it out twenty minutes before serving, since fridge-cold butter is hard.

Technique

• Taste a pine nut before starting, since a rancid one ruins the whole dome.
• Pack the mixture into the lined bowl very firmly, or it collapses when turned out.
• Leave the chocolate as streaks rather than covering the whole dome.

Substitutions

• Chopped almonds in place of some of the pine nuts, which are expensive.
• Shop-bought sponge, which many households use.

Variations

• Made as individual small domes.
• With more chocolate through the filling.
• Made with a ricotta filling, which some bakers do.

History

Made only for Maltese Carnival in February, sold from Valletta confectioners in the run-up to Lent.

Frequently asked questions

What is Prinjolata?

Prinjolata is a dessert from Malta: dome of sponge, buttercream and pine nuts, streaked with chocolate. Made only for Maltese Carnival in February, sold from Valletta confectioners in the run-up to Lent.

How long does Prinjolata take to make?

Prinjolata takes 1 hour plus 4 hours chilling of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large dome, serving 10. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Prinjolata?

Yes, within limits. Chopped almonds in place of some of the pine nuts, which are expensive. Shop-bought sponge, which many households use.

What is the most important thing to get right in Prinjolata?

Taste one before you start, since a rancid nut ruins the whole dome. Toast them in a dry pan over a medium heat. Shake the pan constantly for three or four minutes.