Torta del Vescovo (Bishop’s Cake ) is typical of the towns in the province of Parma and the name is intended to recall its importance. Indeed, while the plum jam tart is perhaps one of the classics par excellence, given the popularity of the Plum trees in this area, in the past chocolate was a rather rare ingredient and therefore reserved for special occasion desserts (such as a Valentine’s Day Sacher?).
Well, as the name suggests, this cake used to be prepared when the bishop travelled to provincial towns to celebrate the confirmation of children: in its simplicity, the contrast between jam and chocolate makes it a real treat.
Another cake? Try this with fresh fruit.
Bishop’s cake
48.83g carbohydrates with cake basted with
70g fruit juice, no liquor
Ingredients for the dough
- 300g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
- 150g butter
- 100g wholemeal rice flour*
- 100g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 8 g baking powder*
- a pinch of salt
Ingredients for filling and coating
- 450g plum jam with no added sugar*
- 150g dark chocolate with no added sugar*
- 80g fresh cream
- 20g butter
- rum and other dessert liqueurs*, water syrup and/or fruit juice
**Ingredients specific for celiacs
*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)
Preparation
- Prepare the shortcrust pastry in the traditional way, i.e. by mixing all the ingredients until a compact and homogenous dough is obtained. Cover the pastry with cling film and place it in the refrigerator for about ten minutes.
- With the help of a sheet of parchment paper, roll out a little more than half of the shortcrust pastry to form a disk to cover a baking tin about 26cm in diameter, leaving the edges slightly high so that they can be folded well once the cake is filled.
- Stuff the pastry with jam and cover with a second disc, trim the edges if they are too high and fold them inwards using a fork to press them down well so that the jam does not spill out during baking.
- Bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 30 minutes or anyway until lightly browned. Let the cake cool completely.
- Prepare a syrup with about 70g water and a tablespoon of sugar, or a few drops of sweetener (alternatively use the same amount of fruit juice), add the liqueurs and leave to cool.
- With a toothpick, pierce the surface of the cake, then use a brush to wet it well with the syrup-liquor mixture.
- Melt the chocolate with the cream on a very gentle heat, or in the microwave, then add the butter, mix well and coat the surface of the cake perfectly.
Bishop’s cake: a tart with chocolate-covered plum jam
Version with gluten of Bishop’s cake
When preparing the pastry, replace the 300g of gluten-free flour with an equal amount of standard cake flour.
