Nonna’s Checca di Parma
(Or Italian Apple Nut Cake)
In looking through her baking supplies, Suzi found her mother’s cookie press and in the old box, found a recipe in Italian, “Checca di Parma.” Between the two of us, we figured out that di parma means “from the city Parma.” My Dad helped us translate, reminding us that “ch” in Italian is pronounced like “k” so “checca” is Italianized slang for cake, similar to “cake-e” in Spanglish. The ingredient list also pointed to it being a cake recipe, the first ingredient in the recipe being “poma” which means apple in Italian. Its living in the cookie press box was just a red herring, but eventually, mystery solved.
Suzi’s great grandpa came from Sicily in 1913, her great grandmother Fara Palazzolla, joining him three years later. As did so many European immigrants at that time, they passed through Ellis Island on their way to a better life in America, in their case Buffalo, New York. My Italian Grandpa Joe made the trip in 1922, settling first in Rochester, New York. For folks from Southern Italy and Sicily, the brutal winters of upstate New York were less than ideal, shall we say. Both families eventually migrated to sunny California, a climate with which they were familiar and happy. Oddly, both our grandparents opened plant nurseries, Suzi’s in San Jose, mine in nearby Milpitas. The last move for both our families was to Watsonville, where years later Suzi and I would meet and be friends for the next half century, and counting.
Above, Suzi’s Dad, Nat Russo with his cousins and Suzi’s grandma Josephine with her brother Steve.
One of Suzi’s older cousins, Peter Pedone, Sr., wrote a book, My Sicilian Nanna, all about the family and his memories of Grandma Josephine. He called her nanna, but Suzi remembers her older brothers calling her Nonna. Both Fara and Josephine were legendary cooks and bakers. As with a lot of cooks at that time, many recipes were not written down, just passed down with rough measurements, if any at all. Finding this recipe is a lovely surprise for the Russo family and for all of us, as we get to taste this cake from way back when.
Checca di Parma
(Italian Apple Nut Cake)
Checca di Parma is an old-fashioned Italian-style apple and nut cake, rustic and moist, passed down through family tradition. Judging by the ingredients in the handwritten recipe, it’s similar in spirit to a spice cake or a fruit-nut loaf—without any frosting or layers. It’s perfect for breakfast or dessert, just calling out for a hot cup of tea or coffee.
Preheat oven 350°F
Make one 13×9 inch pan
Special equipment: greased & floured 9×13 inch pan, large mixing bowl, wooden spoon or whisk, sifter or sieve, silicone spatula, cooling rack
Ingredients:
- 4 cups peeled, cored, chopped apples
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- 2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Prepare apples and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until light. Add oil and vanilla; mix well.
- Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt over egg mixture, just until combined.
- With spatula, fold in apples and nuts.
- Scrape into prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly.
- Bake for about 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a cooling rack before serving.
