Torta di Granoturco

This is a very basic cake, reputedly the most rustic of all Italian cakes, because it is made with cornmeal, which has no rising properties. Combined with almonds and sugar, it makes a very flat sweet cake. The recipe is from the region of Lombardy, where it is eaten at breakfast time by children on their way to school.

Granoturco, meaning ‘Turkish corn’, is the Italian name for maize, because the grain first came to them from the East. With the emphasis on sugar and nuts, this is r