This cake has a rather odd shape, but it’s an essential Italian Christmas dessert.

▲The festive snake-shaped almond cake (snake cake) is one of the essential holiday desserts in Italy. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

Reported by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

Christmas is getting closer!\nJun Ting Hotel’s Yunxuan Western Restaurant invites Chef Matteo Ragni from RELAIS VILLA MONTE SOLARE, a hotel under the Yunlang Tourism Group, to celebrate the holiday season with food lovers who enjoy Italian cuisine. The Italian Christmas and New Year feast will take place from December 16, 2015, to January 1, 2016. Chef Matteo Ragni will prepare a variety of authentic Umbrian dishes and present them at a round table to recreate the unique Italian festive family gathering atmosphere. The set menu is priced at NT$1,500 + 10%.

The Italian Christmas and New Year menu features traditional Umbrian festive dishes — including handmade liver pâté with pickled vegetables and grilled flatbread, refined capon broth with handmade “hat” meat dumplings, al dente meat-filled pasta rolls, roasted lamb chops, slow-cooked beef cheek, and the festive snake-shaped almond cake, paired with red and white wines from Yunlang Winery. Whether it’s the handmade liver pâté made from chicken liver and sausage, the adorable little “hat” dumplings, or the snake-shaped cake, all are local specialties of the Umbria region and rarely seen in Taiwan. Especially the snake-shaped cake, made with almonds, sugar, and egg whites (though it doesn’t quite resemble a snake), is one of the essential Italian Christmas desserts.




▲Refined capon broth with handmade “hat” meat dumplings. %The handmade dumplings are exquisitely pleated.%