A recipe with ancient origins, which used to be prepared for the families of future brides and grooms on the occasion of the official engagement, over the years the Pupa e il Cavallo has become a typical Easter dessert.
Traditionally, they are prepared by grandmothers on Maundy Thursday and given to children as a symbol of love and prosperity. The Pupa is intended for little girls, the Horse for little boys.
The recipe was originally prepared on the occasion of solemn betrothal vows: the families of the bride and groom-to-be would exchange these sweets as a sign of approval of the union. The Cavallo was given to the fiancée’s family, the Pupa to the fiancé’s family. The tradition has not been lost; the cake is still prepared as in the original recipe (although it has some variations), but it has simply been modified, making children today the main recipients of the two sweets, which are usually molded together as a family.
How to prepare
Starting with a base of almond paste, roll out the pastry sheet and shape or cut out the silhouette of the Puppet and Horse with a knife, placing a hard-boiled egg in the center of the Puppet and on the back of the Horse, wrapped between two strips of pastry to form a cross (the egg symbolically is associated with rebirth and resurrection, the cross is linked to Christianity). To this day there are numerous variations of it, enriched by a variety of more or less colorful decorations, using colored sugar sprinkles, chocolate chips, cloves, royal icing, cocoa or whatever coloring your imagination suggests.
Sweets “viral” on social media
Made strictly by hand, without resorting to molds, just as it used to be done in the old days, they are not always modeled to perfection, so much so that for the past few years a competition to elect on social media the Ugliest Doll and Horse., a contest held by the Facebook page “The Abruzzese Outcast,” which was also relaunched on La7’s TV program, Propaganda Live.
