Let Him Eat Trigona

Cake? Not for my father. Although he may be an undisputed sugar addict with a sweet tooth the size of an SUV, my dad has very particular tastes in desserts that make it nearly impossible to bake for him. Cakes are almost always too dense and rich; Pies very rarely make the cut, and even then, never with custard or cream; Even chocolate is an iffy subject, only the cheap milk chocolate being acceptable. The only sort of baked good that he might request has been angel food cake… And here is where the problems begin.

One of the only things that I cannot seem to replicate using vegan ingredients is angel food cake. I haven’t even found a single recipe, written in text, online, or otherwise. Sure, some may say that pound cakes or sponge cakes are practically the same thing, but not to my most discerning critic. So as his birthday ominously loomed in the near future, I had to think quick… And stumbled upon an idea nearly as non-traditional and quirky as the birthday boy himself.

I present my trigona, the perfect sweet for my picky dad. Loaded with pure maple syrup and an entire bag of pistachios (His favorite nut, no less), he can achieve his sugar high in record time. A lot like baklava, trigona has layers of flakey philo dough layered with nuts and sugar. I was truely amazed – Before the two-day stretch of weekend had come to an end, 2/3 of the entire dish had somehow disappeared! If you make this recipe, be warned: It makes a lot of pastry, and is quite dangerously addictive.