We all know the caprese cake: traditional cake of Neapolitan cuisine, a soft cake in the center and crisp outside, prepared with almonds, cocoa, eggs, butter, sugar and garnished with icing sugar. But what are the origins of caprese cake? Did you know that, at least according to the legend, this delicious cake is actually born from a mistake?
The first legend
There are two legends related to the birth of the caprese cake. The first is set in the Borbonic Naples of the ‘700, at the time of Maria Carolina and King Nasone. The two were married when the princess was just 16 years old; a marriage definitely not dedicated to love, that brought Maria Carolina moments of sadness and melancholy. One day, taken by one of these, she asked the palace cooks to make her a Sacher cake; but none of them knew the recipe. To satisfy the queen, They asked her to describe the taste and appearance of the cake and then make it, but without succeeding; on the other hand they made a very good cake, which will take the name of Caprese, in homage to the island loved by Maria Carolina.
The second legend
The second legend instead sees the origins of caprese cake in more recent times, the 20s of the ‘900. To strengthen the agreements with the New York Camorra, directly linked to the Neapolitan, Al Capone sent two of his most trusted collaborators to Naples. The two gangsters, in addition to business, also took pleasant trips, one of which to Capri, in the famous pastry shop of Carmine Di Fiore. The two asked the baker to make a cake; but Di Fiore relized they were gangsters and he was frightened. Taken by anxiety, he forgot to use the flour in the cake dough with chocolate and almonds he wanted to prepare. Al Capone’s henchmen, against all odds, greatly appreciate this “wrong” cake: after that, the pastry chef tried to reproduce “la caprese” even to his regular customers and it was a success.
