Once the housewives of all households kept the secret recipe of this traditional Christmas cake: Zelten is Trentino’s festive sweet par excellence.
The whole family worked together on the preparation of this sweet and while gossiping merrily cleaned and chopped the dried fruits. Today, as in olden times, the tradition is repeated at Christmas time.
The decoration before baking is also a family event; walnuts, almonds and candied fruit make this sweet unique and special as well as beautiful for the eyes! This recipe, at least a century old, is a gift of an old woman from Cavalese to Paolo “Pasticcio”, owner of the pastry shop Cose Buone da Paolo, who was a young lad at the time; the recipe has remained the same, very special today as it was in the past.
Preparation
Marinate all the diced dried fruit and sugar in milk and rum overnight. Add the eggs, butter (softened or melted), little salt, flour, spices and baking powder. The batter must be soft, put in a greased pan, brush with beaten egg white and decorate as you please with light and dark almonds, walnuts, cherries and other candied fruits. Bake at 175°C for 25-30 minutes.
By Cose Buone da Paolo. You can find it at our artisan laboratories in Cavalese or order on our online shop.
