Simple ingredients make this exquisite bustrengo cake: Honeycrisp apples, dried figs, raisins, golden polenta, honey, and olive oil.
When you need a little something extraordinary in your everyday life, this apple and fig polenta torta from Romagna fits the bill.
Curls of orange and lemon zest will make you think you've taken a big bite out of summer.
This polenta torta with apples and figs is another Italian fruitcake version, the panettone's cousin, similar to German Gugelhupf and Stollen.
This ancient cake with roots in San Marino, a microstate surrounded by Italy, was traditionally prepared by locals in a fireplace in a copper pot and served especially on winter holidays or Sundays.
The ingredients they used varied, depending on the family tradition, and are known only partly because the secret ingredients are kept jealously by Romagna housewives.
📃 Why it Works
- It's simple and quick to prepare.
- You can modify the recipe according to your taste.
- Dense in texture, it's substantial and best served in small portions; thus, it can feed a crowd.
- It uses inexpensive ingredients.
- Traditionally served on Christmas, this festive cake is eaten year-round.
Each family has its own recipe for bustrengo, which was born as a dessert prepared to empty the pantry and, therefore, with many ingredients. This rustic torta is also sometimes called Pinza, Putana, or Torta Paesana (peasant cake).
Tradition has it that it is prepared with 32 ingredients, of which at least 10 are secret, but the most common is certainly yellow cornmeal (or flour), fruit, sugar, and eggs.
🛒 Ingredients and Notes
- Cornmeal: We used yellow coarse cornmeal, but you can substitute it with white cornmeal, instant polenta, or corn flour (flour milled from corn - not cornflour, aka cornstarch in the US and some other countries).
- Raisins: We mixed raisins and sultanas, but you can use one or the other. If you're not a fan of raisins, you can leave them out.
- Citrus: Since we're only using the zest, it is best to use organic.
- Apples: We love Honeycrisp apples, but there are no rules.
👉 Variations
- Some recipes use dates instead of figs.
- You can add walnuts, almonds, or pine nuts.
- There are some variations with cocoa or using different flour, like chestnut flour.
🔪 Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, mix 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, sliced figs, and raisins (reserving a few figs and raising for topping), and zest of orange and lemon. Combine well.
- Pour into prepared pan, and then top with reserved fig slices. Sprinkle with reserved raisins. Bake until browned and set.
- You can add the figs and raisins to the dry ingredients mixture and stir until coated with flour before adding the wet ingredients. It will prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
- Wash the citrus with warm water, especially if they're not organic.
- For an intense citrus flavor, double the amount.
- Soak the sliced figs and raisins in water or rum to soften. You can omit raisins completely if you don't like them.
- Take it easy on the portion sizes as the cake is quite dense and satisfying, with a texture similar to bread pudding.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Bustrengo torta is best served warm, covered with a cloud of powdered sugar or with whipped cream. It also goes great with a glass of sweet white wine.
Cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
Yes. Replace the milk with almond, soy, oat or coconut milk. Use vegan honey or maple syrup, and swap the eggs with flax egg (For 3 eggs, mix 3 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 9 tablespoon of water; leave the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, before adding it to the cake mixture.
- Chilean Shepherd's Corn Pie
- Paraguayan Cornbread
- Slavonian Polenta Casserole
- Traditional Bosnian Polenta
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Italian Apple and Fig Polenta Torta
EQUIPMENT
- 9-inch springform cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal, uncooked polenta
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 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 diced
- zest of 1 orange
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Grease and dust with flour a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. Chop apples and figs and set them aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a separate bowl, mix 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 sliced figs, raisins (reserving a small amount of figs and raisins for topping), chopped apples, orange and lemon zests. Combine well. Pour into prepared pan, and then top with fig reserved 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 right before serving.
Notes
- You can use white cornmeal instead of yellow if you prefer.
- You can add the figs and raisins to the dry ingredients mixture and stir until coated with flour before adding the wet ingredients. It will prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
- Wash the citrus with warm water, especially if they're not organic.
- For an intense citrus flavor, double the amount.
- Soak the sliced figs and raisins in water or rum to soften. You can omit raisins entirely if you don't like them.
- For easier cake removal, line the pan with parchment paper.
- Use whole or reduced-fat milk (see FAQs in the post for a vegan version).
- I used Honeycrisp apples, but Golden Delicious or any other sweeter variety will work.
- Take it easy on the portion sizes as the cake is quite dense and satisfying, with a texture similar to bread pudding.
- Serve warm, with powdered sugar or with whipped cream.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used and serving size.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in September 2017 and updated in June of 2021 with new photos and recipe tips.
Sandra L Garth says
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.
Jas says
Thank you, Sandra, it means a lot!
Miz Helen says
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
Jas says
Thanks, Miz Helen! Always a pleasure to share my recipes on your blog 🙂
Jann Olson says
This sounds delicious! I would really like to try making it. Thanks for sharing the recipe with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Jas says
I hope you do, Jann 🙂
Lisa says
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
Jas says
That's great, Lisa! I love traditions especially if they involve cakes, ha! Thanks for stopping in!
Carrie Ditton says
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
Jas says
Thanks, Carrie! I will definitely come to your party!
Alison's Allspice says
I absolutely love figs! This torta looks outstanding!
Jas says
Thank you, Alison! Figs are my favorite too 🙂
April J Harris says
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.
Jas says
I'm so happy you like it, April! Hope your week is going great!
Love from Munchkintime.com says
Deliciousness, thank you for sharing this recipe, sharing it to Google+!
Jas says
Thank you so much, Love!
Lisa says
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.
Jas says
Hi, Lisa! I love savory polenta too (I have a couple of recipes here), but this sweet version is delicious as well 🙂
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
What a gorgeous torta! I love how you've arranged the fruit on top
Jas says
Thank you so much, Kat, for your kind comment 🙂
Jamie says
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.
Jas says
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.
cakespy says
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.
Jas says
Totally breakfast appropriate!! LOL. Thanks for stopping in! 😀
Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids says
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!
Jas says
Thank you, Val! I'm glad you like it 🙂
Christie Hawkes says
Your posts are always so beautiful Jas. Thanks for sharing on #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty!
Jas says
Aw, thank you so much, Christie! Hope your week is wonderful!
Carlee says
I think I want to come live in your kitchen. That wouldn't be too much, would it?!
Jas says
Not at all! You could have breakfast in bed every morning, LOL
Wendy Klik says
I love figs. I love apples. I love cakes that don't have frosting. I love everything about this recipe.
Jas says
If I made one person happy with this recipe then I did my job and can go home. Bye, LOL 😉 Thanks, Wendy!!!