The Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe on Peffer Street in Harrisburg has been a longtime favorite for homemade Italian foods, breads and pastries. The corner bakery in the uptown section of the city is known for many things, but one of their most popular and unique items is their delectable Italian rum cake.
“At Alvaro’s we make an Italian rum cake, it’s probably the most traditional birthday/baptism cake that we make,” said Vincenzo Alvaro, manager.
“On average we sell about six to 10 a week. It consists of a vanilla pound cake the inside has a Jamaican rum soak, on the bottom layer it is a chocolate custard pastry cream and on the top it’s a vanilla custard. It has a white buttercream on the outside and roasted almonds as decoration.”
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According to Alvaro, the richness of the cake is what makes it special. “I think in a lot of the Italian cuisine they try to make everything a little bit more sweeter than usual and I think with the custard being on the inside plus the buttercream on the outside it’s just a flavorful mouthful.”
Restaurant name: Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe
Address: 236 Peffer Street, Harrisburg Pa. 17104
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Featured dish: Italian rum cake
Why is it so popular? It is one of the more traditional Italian cakes ordered for birthdays and baptisms. It’s a taste of all Italy in one bite!!
How’s it made? The cake is a mix of butter, sugar, egg, flour, baking powder and milk. The custard is a mix of egg, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and milk and the soak consists of an Italian rum extract and simple syrup
Price of the dish? $60 a cake / $7.50 per slice when available
What does it taste like? Fresh and vibrant custard, aired out and light fluffy cake with a hint of a sweet rum essence
How did you come up with the featured dish? It’s been made for generations
Approximately how many of these do you sell each week? 6-10
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PennLive spotlights central Pa’s favorite dishes in our weekly “Best Eats” feature. Know a dish we should feature? Send an email Joe Hermitt at jhermitt@pennlive.com.