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Weekend Bites: Classic ‘cantucci’ for a Tuscan-feel to Idul Fitri
If you’ve had enough of baking traditional nastar (small cakes, usually flavored with pineapple jam) for the approaching Idul Fitri, this recipe is an easy alternative that lets you stand out from the crowd without having spent days in the kitchen
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f you’ve had enough of baking traditional nastar (small cakes, usually flavored with pineapple jam) for the approaching Idul Fitri, this recipe is an easy alternative that lets you stand out from the crowd without having spent days in the kitchen.
Cantucci or cantuccini — literally small cantucci — comes from the Tuscan city of Prato, hence its colloquial name of “biscotti di Prato”. Biscotti in Italian means “twice-cooked” since the biscuits were originally made by baking the dough twice; first in loaves, then cut into thin slices while still hot, and baked once more to crisp them. The word comes from the Latin “bis” (twice) and “coctus” (to cook).
They are normally eaten at the end of a meal. Being quite dry, you need something to dip them into, and they are usually served in Italy with a sweet wine called Vin Santo, the holy wine. Honestly, I prefer to eat them with hot tea or milk.
Makes 400 grams
1 large egg (about 70 g)
1 large egg yolk (about 15 g)
100 g caster sugar
A pinch of salt
250 to 270 g flour + extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
Zest of half an orange, finely grated
100 g of whole unpeeled almonds
• Preheat a fan oven to 175°C (185°C conventional)
• Beat the eggs, sugar and salt with an electric whisk until they’re light, pale, thick and the volume has tripled.
• Add the orange zest to the egg mixture. Remember not to press too hard when you grate citrus fruit for zest. • You don’t want to take the pith, the white part of the peel, as it’s quite bitter.
• Sift the flour, along with the baking powder, and mix into the batter in two or three batches using a rubber spatula. Stop adding flour when the dough no longer sticks to your hand.
• The amount of flour needed varies since you’ll likely to have different sizes of eggs. Bigger ones make damper batter, so you need more flour to absorb the moisture. The weather will also influence slightly; on rainy and humid days you tend to need more flour when you bake bread or biscuits.
• Sprinkle some water over the almonds using your fingers, just enough to wet the skin lightly; this will help them stick into the dough. Mix well to distribute them evenly.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and dust lightly with flour.
• Divide the biscuit dough in two equal size balls. Shape them into rolls about 25 cm long and gently flatten. Keep them apart from another to give room to expand.
• Bake for about 15 minutes until they’re golden and risen. Take them out and transfer quickly onto a cutting board.
• Using a really sharp knife, cut diagonally into 1.5-centimeter-thick slices while they’re still hot and soft.
• Lay them back on the baking tray on the cut sides, and bake for another 5 minutes.
• Let cool and keep in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
— All photos by Theodora Hurustiati
