Golf Park Dubrovnik - DalCasa

eng In February, while a majority of Europe is coveredwith a white wintry cloth, the warm Mediterraneansun ornaments the almond tree withwhite flowers. Almost surreally the white paddles rockgently, absorbing the sun, whose energy and strengththey’ll collect in their scent full core for a full five monthperiod. The cake combines the sun, the barren earthwith the bitter taste of the stony landscape. It is the almondscombined with sugar crystals, scent full lemonand the special taste of the Maraschino liqueur that arethe base for the centuries old unique treat known bythe name The Island of Rab Cake. It is with these wordsthat a brochure of a local pastry shop “Vilma” describesthis Rab delicacy in a version made by them selves.Although the origin of the Rab cake is not yet fullydiscovered, it can be said with a certainty that the oldest,today a secret, recipe for the cake dates back to1177, when it was served to Pope Alexander III duringthe blessing of the Ascendance of the Holy Virgin Marycathedral on Rab.The Island of Rab Cake, probably along with othersimilar cakes traditionally prepared on the Me diterranean,has the same basic ingredient-the almond.The most famous product in the Mediterranean, madefrom the fruit beneath the hard shell, is marzipan, atasteful mixture used for filling all sorts of pastry andcakes.From Morocco and the north African coast to thesouth European coasts and islands, we can find cakesof a similar kind that have only been changed fromplace to place by the local cooks adding different aromas,characteristic to their native area. A housewifeor two might have added a few secrets here and there,but the Moroccan biscuits, the French “massepain”andThe Island of Rab Cake, along with others, are withouta doubt close relatives. The name marzipan andmassepain originate from the Italian word marzapanewhich means “a sweet box” and its contents. A thickpasty mass made from squashed almonds, egg-whitesand sugar or sugar syrup cooked together, marzipan isa unique ingredient of cakes prepared on the Mediterraneantraditionally for such festive occasions, dueto high cost of almonds, as weddings and Christmas.Marzipan, as we previously men tioned, can be individualizedwith special aromas, but can also be naturallycolored.Sweet specialties made from this stuffing havemade famous many a Mediterranean place, along withthose in its hinterland, namely Castilla and Sicily, butalso the more distant ones such as Germany or Belgium.It is claimed that the ages old marzipan preparationhas been perfected by the nuns of the St. Ursula orderfrom Issoudun, France. As the members of the order,especially during the French revolution, spread to otherareas of France (as well as Belgium and Germany) theoriginal recipe followed them. It is this way that marzipanand its fame arrived to the French and Russian royalcourts and to the Vatican. The delicacy was well appreciatedin such high places by the refined and spoiled tastebuds of their inhabitants.It is said that Napoleon III and Pope Pius IX weregreat lovers of marzipan. But, as we already know, the