“Schiacciata alla Fiorentina” is a noble and ancient cake that is consumed in Florence during Carnival since 1700. It is perhaps the only Carnival dessert not to be fried. And, to be exact, it is not even a dessert but, as the name says, a sweet “schiacciata” (focaccia). It is not easy to cook it at home, because you need an excellent sourdough and a good dose of dexterity to manage the double leavening. And you taste it as it is, without creams or whipped cream: tradition is very clear about it. 

I Duzzini bakery’s schiacciata respects the true Florentine tradition: rectangular shape, height between 2 and 3 cm, only sourdough, no preservatives and double kneading. The scent is exceptional and you can feel all the freshness of the orange. The spice mix is essential and it’s the real peculiarity this sweet schiacciata with such an intense taste has. And its softness is to die for! Three centimeters of delicate lightness covered with powdered sugar. 

Back then it was called “schiacciata delle Murate”,because it was prepared by the cloistered nuns of the convent in via Ghibellina, in the center of Florence. In 1883 the convent turned into a prison, but the schiacciata remained…As the final course of the last meal served to those sentenced to death! Artusi’s centre of gastronomic culture included it in its book Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well under the name of “Oily schiacciata”: at that time it was prepared with pork fat to celebrate the wealth and abundance of Carnival before Lent’s austerity.