Fruit and nut spiral cake (presnitz)

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By

Paola Bacchia

Abstract

Is it a gubana, presnitz or putizza? These three typical cakes of Friuli-Venezia Giulia have a lot of similarities: essentially their fillings (nuts, dried fruit and a good splash of alcohol) and their shape (more or less a spiral). The differences relate to their town of origin and the type of pastry used, and getting them mixed up is a dead giveaway that you’re not a local. 

Presnitz is said to have been a variation on a putizza and was first made in honour of the visit of Sissi (beloved Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary) to Trieste in 1856. Buttery puff pastry surrounds a filling of boozy sultanas, ground nuts, chocolate, honey and orange zest. It is the only cake of the three that doesn’t have yeast so it looks smaller than the others.  The filling tastes very good on its own and I have been known to eat a good many spoonfuls while preparing it (just to check the flavours are balanced, obviously). My spiral is a bit more tightly wound up than you usually find in Trieste, which is just the way I like it. 

If you are making your own pastry you will need to start this recipe at least four hours ahead so it has sufficient time to rest. If you’re not making the pastry yourself (and this is fine – it is quite labour intensive), use a 375 g (13 oz)  packet of good-quality store-bought puff pastry to make the cakes.

from Recipes https://ift.tt/3xMZie2