Spongata di Sarzana 500g

Spongata di Sarzana 500g

La Spongata is a dessert of ancient origins, and its provenance is lost in time and legends. There is evidence of its existence in Roman times, from which the name “spongia” derives, meaning sponge, due to its surface characterized by a spongy layer from the particular glaze that covers it and the presence of raisins and pine nuts, ingredients used in Roman cuisine. The historical journey of our Spongata follows the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage route that started from Rome to Canterbury and Santiago de Compostela, passing through Sarzana.

Travelers needed easily transportable foods to tackle their journey, like our dessert, which lasts a long time at room temperature. An important note concerns the molds, as its manual preparation is not random but follows a specific procedure that uses round molds, where historically the dough was pressed with the family mold. Its shape resembles a priest’s hat, with the filling only in the centrally raised part and a crumbly shortcrust pastry edge. Tradition tells us that it was offered to Dante in 1306 A.D. when the supreme poet intervened on a mission as procurator of the Malaspina family against the Bishops of Luni, to stipulate the “Pace di Castelnuovo”.

The Spongata consists of a crumbly shortcrust pastry, produced using organic Italian flour, which encloses a soft cream made from Agrimontana chestnuts, pine nuts, and Italian almonds, with the addition of cinnamon and other spices.

Spongata di Sarzana 500g: How is it produced

Pasticceria La Fortezza, Liguria

Ingredients Spongata di Sarzana 500g

External coating: soft wheat flour type "0" (from Italy), butter, sugar, eggs, salt, natural orange flavor.
Filling: chestnut cream (chestnuts, cane sugar, glucose syrup, fructose, natural bourbon vanilla extract), apricot purée (apricot puree, sugar, glucose syrup. Thickener: pectin citric, E330), almonds and pine nuts, spices.
Allergens: milk, eggs, gluten and may contain other nuts and sesame seeds
Average nutritional values per 100g of product:
Energy value (kcal) 405 - (kJ) 1701
Fat 15g of which saturated fatty acids 3.6g
Carbohydrates 62g of which sugars 34g
Protein 5.3g
Salt 0.2g
Shelf life: 2 months

Nutritional values