When you need a little something extraordinary in your everyday life, this Italian apple and fig polenta torta fits the bill. Simple ingredients combined together make this exquisite cake.
Inside, you will find diced Honeycrisp apples, dried figs, raisins, golden polenta, honey, and olive oil.
Curls of orange and lemon zest will make you think you've taken a big bite out of summer.
The recipe for this typical winter cake of San Marino origins, a microstate surrounded by Italy, was traditionally prepared by locals in a fireplace in a copper pot and served especially on holidays or Sundays.
The ingredients they used varied, depending on the family tradition, and are known only in part because the secret ingredients are kept jealously by Romagna housewives.
🛒Ingredients and Notes
These ingredients make the wonderful flavor and aroma of the cake:
- yellow cornmeal
- all-purpose flour
- plain breadcrumbs
- sugar
- salt
- cinnamon
- eggs
- olive oil
- honey
- milk
- dried figs
- raisins
- apples
- orange zest
- lemon zest
🔪Step by Step Instructions
* Detailed and the printable recipe is available at the bottom of this post.
- Whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Add the figs and raisins to the polenta mixture and stir until coated with the flour.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, oil, and honey. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir to form a smooth batter.
- Finally, stir in the chopped apples, orange and lemon zests. Combine well. Pour into prepared pan, and then top with fig slices. Sprinkle with reserved raisins.
- Bake until browned and set. Let cool for 30 minutes. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Keep leftovers refrigerated.
🍲How to Serve It?
Bustrengo is best served warm, covered with a cloud of powdered sugar until even the air around it tastes sweet. Take it easy on the portion sizes as the cake is quite dense and satisfying, with a texture similar to bread pudding.
It's quite the opposite of the Swedish apple pie recipe I shared earlier, which is so light and can be easily eaten whole in one sitting.
Note:
We got one more apple recipe coming tomorrow to conclude our apple week but thanks to Rainier Fruit, our partner who provided us with apples, I will have plenty left. I forbad my husband from eating them until this event was over.
I might let him have a few or I will use them to make apple pie bread pudding recipe or quick and easy apples in a robe treat. We'll see 😉
💡Recipe Tips
- For an intense citrus flavor, use the zest of two oranges and lemons.
- Omit raisins if you're not a fan.
- You can use white cornmeal instead of yellow if you prefer.
💗More Great Recipes to Try
- Chilean Shepherd's Corn Pie
- Paraguayan Cornbread
- Slavonian Polenta Casserole
- Traditional Bosnian Polenta
Liked this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section. Your feedback is always appreciated! Stay in touch through Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for my email list below too!
Italian Apple and Fig Polenta Torta
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup yellow cornmeal uncooked polenta
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup plain breadcrumbs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large eggs beaten
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cups whole milk
- 8 oz. dried figs woody stems removed and chopped (reserve a few for topping)
- 4 oz. raisins reserve a few for topping
- 2 large apples peeled, cored, and roughly diced
- zest of 1 orange
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Grease a 10-inch springform pan and set aside. Chop apples and figs and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Next, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (polenta, flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, salt, cinnamon). Add the figs and raisins (except the reserved handful) to the polenta mixture and stir until coated with the flour.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, oil, and honey. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir to form a smooth batter. The batter is quite prone to create lumps, so keep stirring with a whisk until you have a smooth mixture.
- Finally, stir in the chopped apples, orange and lemon zests. Combine well. Pour into prepared pan, and then top with fig slices, being careful not to push them into the batter. Sprinkle with reserved raisins.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until browned and set. Let cool for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and loosen. Remove cake to a serving platter and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature sifting with more powdered sugar on top just before serving. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Keep leftovers refrigerated.
Notes
- For an intense citrus flavor, use the zest of two oranges and lemons.
- Omit raisins if you're not a fan.
- You can use white cornmeal instead of yellow if you prefer.
Nutrition
Can you tell me if you use coarse or fine cornmeal?
I use coarse for polenta.
Thank you
Lisa
Hi Lisa, I use coarse (like for polenta). 🙂
Excellent, thank you
Wow, that looks & sounds so good. Thanks for sharing this at the Inspiration Spotlight party Sharing
Thank you, Theresa!
Jas, this is an interesting dessert, and quite attractive-looking seen from above. I can see what you mean...it is very dense. I love figs, so I know this would be right up my alley. And making it with cornmeal too, is a new twist to me. I would love to taste a piece of this! Pinned.
Thanks for the visit, Florence! This cake is unique but tasty. However, one slice will fill you up for the whole day, ha!
Wow, I would love to try this recipe! Thanks for joining us at the TO GRANDMA’S HOUSE WE GO – LINK PARTY #58 this week! Your project has been pinned. Would love for you to join us again this Wednesday! Cheers!
Thank you, Sheri! I hope you'll give it a try 🙂
This look like a great afternoon snack!
Thanks for sharing at bloggers spotlight! Pinned to a few group boards 🙂
Thank you, it really is 🙂
Jas, your recipes always look delicious and I love the bits of history of the dish your provide along with the recipe. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. Pinning.
Thank you so much, Beverly! I really appreciate your kind words 🙂
This looks amazing Jas and I love the figs on top - I will definitely be trying this
Thank you, Amber!
Lately, I've been on a fig and apple kick and I can't get enough. Love this recipe and I've pinned it. Thanks for all the delicious recipes you share with us at Celebrate Your Story.
Thank you, Sandra, it means a lot!
Your Italian Apple Fig Polenta Torta is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks, Miz Helen! Always a pleasure to share my recipes on your blog 🙂
This sounds delicious! I would really like to try making it. Thanks for sharing the recipe with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
I hope you do, Jann 🙂
WOW! This sounds delicious. I always like to make Italian dishes during the holiday to keep the tradition of my Italian Family. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I'm pinning it for keeps!
Lisa
That's great, Lisa! I love traditions especially if they involve cakes, ha! Thanks for stopping in!
That looks absolutely divine! We just started the Whisk It Wednesday link party and I thought you might be interested in sharing there too! Thanks, Carrie
Thanks, Carrie! I will definitely come to your party!
I absolutely love figs! This torta looks outstanding!
Thank you, Alison! Figs are my favorite too 🙂
This looks amazing, Jas! I love cakes like this. Pinning and sharing. Thank you for being a part of the Hearth and Soul link party.
I'm so happy you like it, April! Hope your week is going great!
Deliciousness, thank you for sharing this recipe, sharing it to Google+!
Thank you so much, Love!
This looks delish! My family is Italian and we eat a lot of polenta but usually, it's savory. I definitely want to try this. Thanks for the recipe. Pinned.
Hi, Lisa! I love savory polenta too (I have a couple of recipes here), but this sweet version is delicious as well 🙂
What a gorgeous torta! I love how you've arranged the fruit on top
Thank you so much, Kat, for your kind comment 🙂
Oh my. This looks amazing! It's been a while since I had polenta and I've been craving anything apple lately. Can't wait to try this.
It's hard not to crave apples during the apple season! So many apple dishes to choose from, fall should last at least 6 months, lol.
I love this recipe!! I adore the sweet mellowness that figs give cake, and paired with the polenta, this sounds really special and elegant. And the fruit makes it breakfast appropriate, I think.
Totally breakfast appropriate!! LOL. Thanks for stopping in! 😀
What an amazing dish. I love the idea of apples and figs together. Thanks for sharing on the Celebrate 365 All Things Apple Blog Party!
Thank you, Val! I'm glad you like it 🙂
Your posts are always so beautiful Jas. Thanks for sharing on #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty!
Aw, thank you so much, Christie! Hope your week is wonderful!
I think I want to come live in your kitchen. That wouldn't be too much, would it?!
Not at all! You could have breakfast in bed every morning, LOL
I love figs. I love apples. I love cakes that don't have frosting. I love everything about this recipe.
If I made one person happy with this recipe then I did my job and can go home. Bye, LOL 😉 Thanks, Wendy!!!