Piera’s Signature Bake – Florentine Carnival Cake #GBBO

One of the things that we love about GBBO is how diverse the contestants are. It’s fantastic to hear about how they learned from different generations and family members from across the globe.  

With that in mind, we are going to be sharing some of the recipes from our VIPs and volunteers, as well as some of the history behind them.  

After meeting Piera for a chat about the importance of healthy eating, I managed to get her to spill her family recipe for Schiacciata di Fiorentine, or Florentine Carnival Cake.  

Every February, in Florence, the city holds its Carnival. People from miles around come in costumes and masks to eat, drink and be merry. It is a celebration of life and a chance to party, what’s not to love? 

Every family will have a different recipe for this cake as it is so simple and easy to make, there is a lot of room to improvise.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 small pot of natural yoghurt (keep the pot) 

3 eggs 

2 yoghurt pots of white sugar (which is why you kept the pot) 

3 almost full pots of plain white flour (about 1cm from the top) 

Or 

2 pots of white and 1 of cornflour 

Depending on how light you want the cake, there are two options. 1 pot of Sunflower oil will yield a lighter cake while a pot of extra virgin (apparently, it is a sin to use anything but extra virgin) olive oil will create a richer one.  

Lievito (which I have since learned is “yeast” in Italian) 

You can add in fruit, such as chopped apples or pears, but Piera told me to remind you that it will sink to the bottom in the cooking 

HOW TO MAKE:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together 

1. Grease a shallow, cake tin (preferably rectangular or square for authenticity) with extra virgin olive oil 

1. Dust the pan with flour. Try not to use too much, but if you do you can just knock the pan to get rid of the excess 

1. Set the oven to 180°C, if you are able to choose the direction of the heat, Piera advises that you have downward facing. If not, you can simply put the pan in the middle of the oven 

1. Cook for 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it after about 30 minutes but don’t open the oven until 35 minutes have passed 

1. Do the usual cake test, knife or cake tester in and if it comes out clean, your cake is cooked. 

1. Allow the cake to cool and then dust with icing sugar 

 There it is, the whole recipe. I have it on good authority that the best way to eat it is to slice it in half, spread on some Nutella and then sandwich it together.  

Written by volunteer Luke

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