The Segovian punch is a traditional dessert from the city of Segovia, although such is its fame that it has spread practically throughout its region. Ubiquitous in pastry shops and restaurants, it is an essential in celebrations and events or simply to enjoy it with a coffee in good company.
This sweet is characterized by its very successful combination of layers of cake soaked in syrup, between which is a yolk cream filling (or pastry cream), all covered with a thin sheet of marzipan and generously sprinkled with sugar. Finally, it is given a special touch by slightly burning that sugar forming a diamond pattern that gives it an even more appetizing and elegant appearance.
The history of the Segovian punch goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, in the same city of Segovia. According to what they say, the recipe was created by Frutos García, a pastry chef who ran the El Alcázar confectionery, with which he wanted to reflect the richness and diversity of the gastronomy of the place. The original recipe has a patentwhich demonstrates its authenticity and the importance of keeping intact the essence of this creation, awarded with the Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona.
An important point to note when doing it at home is that, to achieve the characteristic burnt sugar diamonds, you have to use an iron stick. In a Segovian workshop they have specific sugar burners, but at home we don’t usually have them. Fortunately, we can replace them with a steel skewer stick and a kitchen torch or even a gas fire. We tell you everything in the recipe.
Now yes, without anything else to say, let’s go directly to the recipe.
recipe information
-
- Preparation time: 1 hour
-
- cooking time: 30 minutes
-
- total time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
-
- rations: 12
-
- Category: desserts
-
- type of cuisine: Spanish
-
- Calories per serving (kcal):342
Segovian punch ingredients
For the cake:
-
- 4 large eggs
-
- 100g of sugar
-
- 100 g of wheat flour
For the yolk cream:
-
- 4 large egg yolks
-
- 4 large eggs
-
- 200g of sugar
-
- 20g cornstarch
-
- 100 ml of water
Stop the syrup:
-
- 100g of sugar
-
- 200 ml of water
-
- Lemon peel (optional)
-
- 1 splash of rum (optional)
-
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (optional)
For the marzipan:
-
- 125 g ground almonds
-
- 125g icing sugar
-
- 20 g pasteurized egg white
For the assembly:
-
- Cinnamon powder
-
- Powdered sugar
Necessary utensils
-
- Iron stick to burn (or a steel skewer, for example)
How to make Segovian punch
We start with the cake taking 4 large eggs and put them in a bowl along with 100 g of sugar. We beat with some rods until they triple their volume. This step can be done either by hand or with electric rods, but we recommend the latter option given the work involved.
Next, we sift 100 g of wheat flour. For this, we can use a sieve or simply pass it through a fine strainer. Little by little, we are incorporating it into the eggs using a spatula and making enveloping movements so that the dough does not lose air.
Once the flour is incorporated, we put the oven to preheat to 180 ºC with heat up and down. While it heats up, spread the mixture on a baking tray lined with baking paper or a flat cake tin. More or less, we have to have a 30 x 36 cm rectangle. We level well so that it is as smooth as possible.
Then, we put the tray in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the surface is golden to taste. When removing from the oven, we let the cake temper.
we get with the yolk cream while the cake cools. To do this, in a saucepan we put 4 yolks, 4 large eggs, 200 g of sugar and 20 g of cornstarch dissolved in 100 ml of water.
We beat the mixture and heat it over medium heat without stopping stirring until it thickens. Then, remove from the heat and transfer to a container to let it cool.
In another saucepan, we prepare the syrup mixing 100 g of sugar with 200 ml of water. Optionally, this syrup can be flavored with the peel of a lemon (without the white part), 1 good splash of rum and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence. Heat for a couple of minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. Strain and let cool slightly.
It is now time to prepare the marzipan. To do this, in a bowl, combine 125 g of ground almonds, 125 g of icing sugar and 20 g of egg white. For safety, since the egg white is going to be raw, we can use pasteurized egg white and avoid problems. Knead until you get a smooth paste and reserve.
Now we have everything ready, so we get fully involved in assembling the Segovian punch. The first thing is to divide the cake plate into three equal rectangles.
Place the first layer of cake on the serving plate and soak it with a third of the syrup. Next, we reserve a third of the yolk cream for later and spread the cake with half of what we have left.
Next, we place the second layer of sponge cake, wet it with another third of the syrup, spread it with the other half of the cream and, on this layer, sprinkle ground cinnamon to taste.
Finally, we cover with the third layer of sponge cake, wet it again with the remaining third of syrup and cover the entire exterior with the third of yolk cream that we had reserved at the beginning.
Immediately afterwards, we spread the marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. We are shaping it so that it is a rectangle of 20 x 38 cm.
Carefully, we transfer the marzipan over the punch and adjust it so that it is well lined. We cut the excess edges, although with the quantities and dimensions that we have given you, there will not be much left over.
Once lined, sprinkle the Segovian punch with icing sugar and, using a steel stick (like a skewer), mark the diamond pattern that we want to give it.
Finally, we burn the sugar in the form of diamonds to give it its characteristic appearance. The easiest thing to do is to heat a steel rod, like the one for skewers, with a kitchen torch or gas fire, and when it is very hot, place it on the sugar. We reserve in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or better overnight. To present it, we can leave it as it is or give it a very simple decoration simply with a marzipan flower, some mint leaves, a cherry or, as in our case, an alquequenje flower, which is so fashionable.
Easy preparation summary
-
- Beat the eggs of the cake and the sugar until triple its volume
-
- Gradually add the sifted flour
-
- Spread the mixture on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
-
- Bake for 10 minutes at 180ºC, remove from the oven and let cool
-
- In a saucepan, put the cream yolks, the eggs, the sugar and the cornstarch dissolved in water.
-
- Beat and heat stirring constantly until thickened, remove and let cool
-
- In another saucepan, mix the sugar from the syrup with the water, the lemon zest, the rum and the vanilla.
-
- In a bowl, combine the ground almonds, the icing sugar and the egg white to make the marzipan, knead and set aside
-
- Divide the cake plate into three equal rectangles
-
- Soak the sponge base with the syrup and spread with the yolk cream
-
- Place a second layer of cake soaked in syrup, spread with the cream and sprinkle with cinnamon
-
- Finish with the third layer of cake soaked in syrup and spread the entire exterior with cream
-
- Roll out the marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar
-
- Line the Segovian punch with the marzipan and cut the edges
-
- Dust with icing sugar and mark the diamond pattern with a skewer
-
- Burn the sugar with the hot skewer and reserve 2 hours in the fridge
