Torta delle rose

Torta delle rose is a cake from northern Italy made by arranging rolls of yeast dough side by side and baking them. The many spirals, with their cut sides facing up, look like a cluster of rosebuds. It is popular in Mantua, Brescia and around Lake Garda, and the sweetness of butter and sugar spreads from between the layers of soft dough.

The dough is rolled out into a rectangle and spread with softened butter and sugar. It is rolled up from one edge into a log, cut into rounds and arranged in a pan. In one example from Lombardy, the bottoms of the cut pieces are sealed, and the pieces are placed with space between them before being left to rise. As the dough rises, each roll moves closer to its neighbors, and when baked they become one large cake. When it is cut, the spiral shape remains in each portion. A culinary introduction from the Mantua area also gives an example in which the rolled-out dough is first cut into eight strips, and each strip is rolled up and scored on top.

Methods of making the dough vary. Some home recipes shape the dough after rolling it up once, while some pastry chefs fold and layer the dough, let it rest, and then spread it with more butter and sugar before rolling it up. Individual pastries with custard cream inside are also made. All of them are shaped by rolling, but they differ in how the dough is left to rise and in their fillings.

According to a story told about this cake, the cook Cristoforo di Messisbugo created it in imitation of roses for Isabella d’Este, who married Francesco II Gonzaga, lord of Mantua, in 1490. Another theory traces its origin to the southern Lake Garda area. The story of the splendid wedding is a legend. It cannot be confirmed that the modern cake was first made on that day and has been made with the same recipe ever since.

Glossary