In Bologna, the typical Christmas cake is neither panettone nor pandoro. It is the Certosino – or panspeziato. A cake made with honey, chocolate and candied fruit. The recipe has distant medieval origins, when it was traditionally prepared by apothecaries, or pharmacists. However, according to some, the Bolognese term ‘pan spzièl’ derives from the equivalent of "special bread," referring to its use for celebratory feasts. In any case, starting from the 16th century, the Carthusian monks of Bologna monopolized the production of this particular Christmas cake recipe. Ever since the monks of San Brunone made a gigantic Certosino in honor of Pope Benedict XIV, the cake has been symbolic of Christmas for the city. According to tradition, the preparation of the Certosino had to start many days before Christmas, so that the dough could mix with all the flavors of the nuts, candied fruit and spices.
The original recipe and variants
The official recipe, registered with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 2001, dates back to the end of the 19th century. Among the ingredients are flour, honey, candied fruit, fruit cooked with jam or mustard, almonds, pine nuts, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, cinnamon, baker’s ammonia, wine syrup or Marsala and butter. The presence of chocolate indicates, in all probability, an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century matrix. And the presence of spices such as cinnamon indicates that the Certosino was probably a food for aristocrats and wealthy people, where the cook felt obliged to use all the nuts, dried fruit and spices available. And still today, in families and pastry shops, there are various schools of thought on the recipe. So you’ll also find cloves, coriander, star anise seeds, dried figs, nuts, hazelnuts, raisins and even dates among the ingredients, depending on the recipe.
Certosino, the recipe
Ingredients (serves 12)
12 oz flour
11 oz honey
4 ½ oz whole candied fruit (orange and citron peels, red and green cherries, red pears, figs, apricots)
9 oz fruit cooked in jam or mustard
7 oz shelled almonds or with peel
2 oz shelled pine nuts
2 oz cocoa powder
1 lb dark chocolate in pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
½ oz ammonia carbonate
3 oz wine syrup or Marsala
¾ oz butter
Method
Dice half the candied fruit; put the honey on the fire in a saucepan and add the cut fruit when hot. Place the flour on the table in a fountain and in the center put the almonds, pine nuts, cocoa, fruit cooked in jam or mustard, cinnamon, ammonia carbonate, wine syrup or Marsala, honey with candied fruit and knead. Give the mixture the shape of a doughnut, put it in a pan greased with butter and then return it to a warm place for 3-4 hours. When it is time to bake, garnish the surface with the remaining candied fruit and the previously caramelized almonds and bake for 40 minutes over moderate heat.
When the Certosino is cooked and cold, brush with honey melted on the fire. It should be consumed at least after ten days.
When the product is seasoned, in order to keep it longer, wrap it in tinfoil or parchment paper.
The differences
And if the Certosino cake was the dessert of the rich, the poor ate the traditional Panone in celebration of the holidays. A very similar cake, but with a clearly different consistency. In common are the surface decorations made with candied fruit, chocolate and nuts. But if the Certosino resembles the Ferrara pampepato in consistency, then the Panone has more of an appearance of a cake, rich in ingredients despite its humble origins – or anything the less well-off families had in their pantries.
A relative to panettone
To make traditional Panone, you’ll first knead together eggs, sugar, flour, Bologna mustard, cocoa powder, milk, dark chocolate chips, raisins, dried figs, candied fruit, walnuts, peanuts and almonds. Then you’ll let the dough rest overnight, followed by the addition of milk and yeast. Then you’ll let the dough rest for another two hours and garnish with more nuts and candied fruit before baking in the oven. The leavening makes the Panone bolognese more similar to the other "panettoni" of Northern Italy, from the Milanese panettone and the Genoese pandolce to the Valtellina bisciola or the anello di Monaco in Mantua.
Panone, the recipe
Ingredients (serves 12)
12 oz white flour
5 oz quince jam
5 oz dried figs, chopped
5 oz peeled almonds (plus more for decoration)
4 oz caster sugar
4 oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
⅓ cup milk
3 oz butter
3 oz raisins
3 oz peanuts
2 oz candied fruit
2 oz walnuts
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Method
Whisk together the flour, sugar and baking powder. Then transfer it to a clean pastry board in the classic fountain shape with a hole in the center. In the center, crack the eggs, add the butter and vanilla extract and begin kneading. Then add in the chocolate pieces, lemon zest, milk, raisins, jam, figs, almonds, walnuts, peanuts and candied fruit.
Make the dough into the shape of a donut and transfer to a similar-shaped cake pan (30 cm diameter) greased with butter. Level the surface using a spatula and garnish with slivered almonds. Bake for 50 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven at 355°F (180°C).