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ItalianEasy

Mantuan Cake

AT

By

Ago Tanfossi

Chef and recipe curator at Global Cucina

Published on March 26, 2026

Updated on April 14, 2026

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It's called Mantuan cake, yet it's produced in Prato (and elsewhere). This beloved Italian dessert is perfect for breakfast or any meal due to its unique blend of buttery and fragrant ingredients.

The ingredients of the Mantuan cake are butter, almonds, eggs, flour, sugar, and baking powder. This dessert is characterized by the volume it reaches during baking and its fragrance. The real Mantuan cake has a circular shape and is mainly characterized by its thickness, which, after baking, should be no more than 2 cm. The surface is covered with toasted almonds, and its texture inside is soft and buttery.

Capolavoro Score 4.7/5 · 25 votes
Mantuan Cake

Ingredients

dry ingredients

  • 5.7 oz Flour

sweeteners

  • 5.7 oz Sugar
  • to taste Powdered Sugar

fats

  • 5 oz butter

eggs

  • 4 Egg yolk
  • 1 Egg

nuts and seeds

  • 2 oz Pine nuts
  • 2 oz Almonds

flavorings

  • to taste Lemon Zest
  • to taste vanillina

Equipment

  • Baking Pan
  • Mixing Bowl

Instructions

  1. 1

    Beat the egg yolks and whole egg with sugar, salt, and vanillin, then add the lemon zest.

  2. 2

    Incorporate the flour and butter, obtaining a soft and not-overworked dough.

  3. 3

    Pour into a buttered 22 cm pan and sprinkle the surface with chopped pine nuts and almonds.

  4. 4

    Bake at 180 °C for about 1 hour.

  5. 5

    Remove from the oven, let cool, and dust with powdered sugar.

Ago's Notes

  • Adjust the salt according to the salt content of the preserves.

May the flavor of your Mantuan cake accompany you like a hug, balancing sweetness and crunchiness in an equilibrium that only Italian tradition can provide.

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