A typical domed cake of Genoese origin, Sacripantina is a delicious sweet preparation invented in the second half of the 19th century.
Here are a few hints about its origins and the recipe for a slightly revised version by chef Gian Luca Cellerino.

Friends of Pesto Fresco, every Ligurian knows about the magnificent torta Sacripantina, but if you are not “local,” chances are you have never eaten it. Too bad!
This is a delicious domed cake invented in Genoa in the second half of the nineteenth century and today consumed mainly during the holidays.
It was precisely 1875 when Giovanni Preti, in his store in the heart of Genoa, created his first Sacripantina, originally rectangular in shape.
The cake was patented in the 1930s under the name “Preti’s Sacripantine,” and then produced industrially, even in single-portions.
The cake, in its classic version, is prepared on a sponge cake base and filled in layers with a cocoa and hazelnut buttercream, topped with sponge cake pieces and powdered sugar.

Sacripantine: the origins of the name

The name of the delicious typical Genoese dessert has its roots in a very old literary work: Ludovico Ariosto’sOrlando furioso.
Sacripante is the Saracen king of Circassia who, having fallen in love with the beautiful Angelica, rushes to her defense performing extraordinary feats, but never succeeding in winning her.

Sacripantine: the recipe of chef Gian Luca Cellerino of Ristocaffè Il Ponte di Toirano

Friends of Pesto Fresco, here you will find the recipe for Sacripantina from our friend chef Gian Luca Cellerino, who offers it to us with a slight twist: he has given it the shape of a classic cake and it is covered with the cream he used for the filling.
But let’s go step by step.

Sacripantine: the ingredients

• 1 500 g sponge cake (for a faster version)
• 200 g butter
• 30 g of cocoa
• 1 1/2 glasses of dry marsala
• 1 shot of rum
• 1/2 cup of ristretto coffee
• 180 g of powdered sugar
• 50 g of dry cookies
• 2 macaroons

Sacripantine: preparation

• Whip butter with powdered sugar, then add coffee, 2 tablespoons liqueur and mix until creamy.
• Divide the cream into 2 parts, and to one of the parts, add the cocoa and the remaining liqueur.
• Cut the sponge cake horizontally into 6 disks and douse them with a little Marsala.
• Line a 22-cm-diameter high-sided mold with foil.
  Spread one disk of sponge cake on the bottom and spread some coffee cream on it, and do the same with the second and third disk of sponge cake.
  Be careful to keep some of the cream aside for decoration.
• Cover with the fourth disk and spread with half of the cocoa cream.
  Repeat with the fifth disk as well, then cover with the last disk and pour in the remaining marsala.
• Transfer it to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Blend the cookies and macaroons until they are reduced to a powder and mix them with the powdered sugar.
• Remove the cake from the refrigerator, spread the coffee cream that was kept aside on it and decorate with tufts of it.
  Sprinkle the edges of the cake with the chopped cookie and macaroon mixture to which you will add more powdered sugar and put it back in the refrigerator until it is time to serve.

A great idea to serve Genoese Sacripantine as a dessert for Christmas lunch!