Certosino di Bologna is the city's Christmas spice cake: a dense honey-and-almond loaf studded with candied citron, pine nuts, pinoli and dark chocolate, glazed with honey and aged a fortnight before slicing.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Certosino, also called panone in dialect, takes its name from the Certosa di Bologna monastery, where the Carthusian monks baked it from the 14th century onward as a Christmas alms-loaf for the city's poor. The recipe codified in the 16th century: a dense flour-honey-spice base with candied citron, pinoli, almonds and dark chocolate, baked low and aged at least two weeks before cutting. The Confraternita del Certosino was founded in 1997 to defend the canonical recipe; Atti, Paolo Atti & Figli and Pasticceria Maccaferri all bake it from late November to Epiphany. The cake keeps two months wrapped; one slice with espresso closes a Bolognese Christmas lunch.
Common allergens: Gluten, Tree nut, Egg
Tip from the editors. The two-week rest is the whole point; freshly baked certosino tastes of raw honey and cure, after 14 days the spice and fruit settle into flavour.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Atti in Bologna's Quadrilatero is the 1880-founded salumeria-and-pasticceria with two adjoining shops on Via Caprarie, slicing mortadella to order and baking the certosino di Bologna.
Tip: The bakery counter runs from 07:30; mortadella slicing takes 5 minutes per order and the queue thins after 11:00. Cash and card both fine.
Worth the queue: Mortadella di Bologna IGP
Paolo Atti & Figli in Bologna's Quadrilatero is the 1880-founded sfoglina-and-pasticceria with hand-rolled tortellini sold by weight, plus the certosino di Bologna at Christmas.
Tip: The pasta counter runs from 07:00; tortellini sell out by 12:30 on Saturdays. The Christmas certosino orders open in November.
Worth the queue: Tortellini and tagliatelle
Tamburini in Bologna's Quadrilatero is the 1932-founded salumeria-and-self-service operating from Via Caprarie, with cured-meat counters, a daily-changing carte and aperitivo from 18:00.
Signature: Mortadella tagliere, Tortellini in brodo, Cotechino
Order: The mortadella tagliere, the daily pasta plate, a tigella with squacquerone.
Tip: The self-service runs 11:00 to 22:00 daily; the salumi counter closes at 19:30 and the aperitivo crowd takes over after 18:00.
Pasticceria Impero on Via Indipendenza in Bologna is the 1920s-founded pasticceria with the morning sfogliatella ricciu, the Bolognese certosino at Christmas and a long-marble counter.
Tip: The sfogliatella riccia is the morning order; the Christmas certosino opens in November and sells by the loaf. Counter-stand and table both work.
Worth the queue: Sfogliatella riccia
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