Fregolotta

Name: Fregolotta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Veneta
Ingredients: 250 g plain white flour; 150 g shelled almonds; 150 g granulated sugar; 150 ml double cream; 1 piece Lemon; 15 ml grappa; 2 g Fine sea salt; 10 g Butter

Fregolotta is a crisp, crumbly almond tart from the Treviso countryside, traditionally broken into irregular shards with your hands rather than sliced with a knife.

🇮🇹Italy· Veneto

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 40 min
Total: 55 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 340 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

250 g plain white flour — tipo 00 or standard plain flour
150 g shelled almonds — unblanched whole almonds
150 g granulated sugar — white granulated sugar
150 ml double cream — fresh heavy dairy cream
1 piece Lemon — finely grated zest only
15 ml grappa — or dry white wine
2 g Fine sea salt — a generous pinch
10 g Butter — for greasing the baking tin

Equipment

•26 cm shallow tart tin
•food processor
•large mixing bowl
•wire cooling rack

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 340 kcal
fat: 18 g
carbs: 38 g
fibre: 2 g
protein: 6 g
calories: 340 kcal

Instructions

1
Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan) and grease a 26 cm shallow tart tin with butter.
2
Toast 50 g of whole almonds in a dry frying pan until fragrant, then set aside to cool.
3
Finely grind the remaining 100 g of almonds in a food processor until they form a sandy meal.
4
In a wide bowl, mix the flour, ground almonds, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and fine sea salt.
5
Pour the double cream and grappa gradually over the dry mixture.
6
Rub the mixture quickly between your fingertips to form loose, uneven crumbs resembling damp gravel.
7
Scatter the crumbs loosely into the prepared tin without pressing or compacting the layer.
8
Scatter the reserved whole toasted almonds evenly across the top of the crumbs.
9
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown, dry, and fragrant.
10
Cool completely in the tin on a wire rack before attempting to handle it.

Chef's tips

Never knead or compact the dough into a solid mass. The name comes from 'fregole' (crumbs in Venetian dialect), so the texture must remain loose and pebbly before baking. To serve, firmly strike the centre of the cooled tart with your fist or a spoon to shatter it into rustic pieces.

Ingredient substitutions

double cream → 120 g melted butter, though fresh dairy cream is the traditional Trevisan binder
grappa → white wine or extra double cream to keep it alcohol-free

Storage

Store broken shards in an airtight biscuit tin at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Reheating

Serve at room temperature; crisp briefly in an oven at 150°C for 5 minutes if it absorbs moisture.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Pressing the crumbs firmly into the tin, which makes the baked tart rock-hard instead of pleasantly crumbly
•Slicing with a knife instead of breaking it by hand, which crushes the structure into fine dust
•Removing the tart from the tin while still hot, causing it to fall apart prematurely

Serving suggestions

Serve broken into irregular shards with a glass of Torcolato di Breganze or sweet ReciotoDip directly into a small glass of Grappa or Prosecco di Valdobbiadene after dinnerAccompany with fresh espresso or rich mascarpone cream