This is drawn from 2 recipes, 1 in Bugialli's Fine Art of Italian Cooking and the other from Patricia Well's Trattoria. The intent was a crustless and relatively small torte. It's firm but moist and simple to make.
This was made in a straight-sided 9" cake pan and came up almost to the rim. Takes maybe 15-20m to prepare and 1hr baking time.
| 3 | eggs |
| ¼ C | flour - unbleached GP, or 1-1 gluten free |
| 1 ½ C | white sugar, or equivalent |
| 1 ½ C | ground almonds, or almond flour |
| 1 15 oz container | Ricotta |
| 1 ¼ C | prunes or other dried fruit, quartered |
| 1 ½ tsp ea | cinnamon and nutmeg |
| to taste | almond or orange or lemon extract (optional) |
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Prepare a 9" cake pan by buttering the sides and bottom and then coating with either flour or cookie crumbs.
In a bowl, mix the eggs and sugar to a uniform consistency. Add the flour and almonds and mix well. Finally, add the spices, optional extract, and dried fruit.
Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 1hr. Check for doneness with a toothpick. It should be lightly browned on top. Continue baking if necessary.
Let cool in the cake pan. It should pull away from the sides and unmolding onto a plate should be relatively easy. Can be served warm or cold. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.