Carnival Cake - Florentine Schiacciata

Schiacciata cake is a traditional Italian cake coming from Tuscany prepared in occasion of Carnival. This Italian recipe is so traditional that the amount of ingredients is known in tablespoons and not in gram. Schiacciata cake has traditionally a rectangular shape and on the surface sprinkled with icing sugar it has a lilium made with cacao powder because lilium is the symbol of Florence.

INGREDIENTS:
12 Tablespoons of Flour
8 Tablespoons of Sugar
8 Tablespoons of Milk
2 eggs
6 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil
1 Orange juice
1 vanilla-flavored baking powder
Vanillin
Icing sugar
Cacao powder

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 45 minutes

WINE: Vin Santo (traditional Tuscany Wine)

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven at 170°C degree. Mix in a bowl the sugar with the eggs until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.

Add the flour, the milk, the orange juice, the extra virgin olive oil, the vanilla-flavored baking powder and the vanillin, mix all together.

Stir until you will have soft dough.

Butter and floured a rectangular baking pan,

pour the mixture and bake for about 40 - 45 minutes.

Check the cooking time by time, schiacciata cake will be ready when the surface becomes golden.

To better check the cooking use a spaghetto and insert it the middle of the cake, if it is dry when you remove it schiacciata cake is ready.
Let schiacciata cake cool down, sprinkle with icing sugar and with the shape of lilium  made with cacao powder.

BUON APPETITO!