Although the name Genoa cake is mainly used in the United Kingdom, where recipes for it have been around since the 19th century,[4] it is a variant of the pandolce (Italian:[panˈdoltʃe]; Ligurian: pandoçe, Ligurian:[paŋˈduːse]; lit.'sweet bread') cake which originated in 16th century Genoa as a Christmas cake. Unlike Genoa cake, traditional pandolce includes pine nuts as a major ingredient and uses yeast as its raising agent, which requires several hours to rise, like bread.[5] This original form is today known as pandolce alto ('deep pandolce'), whilst a simpler variant which uses baking powder is known as pandolce basso ('flat pandolce') and is essentially the same as the Genoa cake sold in the UK, with a moist but crumbly texture.[6][7]
The term Genoa cake is also sometimes used to refer to two other Genoa-related cakes, neither of which are fruit cakes: Genoese cake, a light sponge cake,[8] and pain de Gênes ('Genoa bread'), a dense almond cake.[9]
