Ciambellone Recipe

The ciambellone is one of the most representative Italian cooking biscuits.

This delicious cake jumped from the wheat fields, where it was consumed in the middle of the breaks from the hard days of the threshers, to everyone’s kitchen.

Its fluffy texture and sweet flavor have made it a classic in baking.

On the 50th anniversary of the European Union, Italians chose ciambellone as one of their two commemorative cakes.

Despite the fact that ciambellone is nowadays any hollow cake in the middle, there are many variations according to the region in which it is prepared, even salty versions are found.

However, today we would like to pay a little tribute to the original Italian recipe, because sometimes it is good to go back to the roots.

Ingredients for the ciambellone

• 500 grams of flour (minimum)
• 1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 thick-skinned lemon
• 300 grams of sugar
• 1 sachet of yeast
• 3 bars of dark chocolate

• 1 small spoonful of vanilla essence
• 1 glass of milk

Preparation

This recipe is not very complex, you only have to worry about taking care of the baking times of the cake and its temperature, otherwise you will not have the slightest inconvenience.

Of course, we warn you that once you try it you will not stop cooking.

Don’t forget to preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

1. Start by preparing the chocolate for  later handling. Put it in a container and with a knife, cut it into small pieces. You can intersperse the sizes to texture the bread.
2. Grate the lemon peel with a fine grater (this will give you smaller portions of the peel). R eserve the zest in a closed container to prevent it from oxidizing.
3. Put 3 eggs in a deep bowl and mix well.
4. When they have been stirred, add the sugar and beat until foamy.
5. Then add the oil, milk, vanilla, lemon zest and sifted yeast.
6. Separately sift the flour and gradually add it to the mixture.
7. When it is less liquid, add the chopped chocolate, in this way you will prevent it from settling to the bottom.
8. Finish incorporating the flour and mix until the dough acquires a smooth, soft and homogeneous texture.

Ready for the oven

The mold for this specific recipe is one that has a hole in the center, it is better that you look for the right mold because the most emblematic of the ciambellone is its shape.

Flour and roll it, paying special attention to the part in the center, which is where it tends to stick the most.

1. Pour the mixture into the mold and with the white of the fourth egg brush what is exposed.
2. Take the container to the oven and leave it for at least an hour.
3. Lacking 15 minutes for the time, we suggest lowering the temperature of the thermostat at 180 ° C is fulfilled.
4. When you think it is ready, do the test with the knife, if once it comes out clean it means that it is ready.
5. Remove from the oven and let your cake cool, unmold, sprinkle with a little sugar to glaze

It’s that easy, it’s ready for you to enjoy this Italian delicacy, either as a dessert or as a snack at any time of the day.

Additional tips

• Since we will not use the lemon juice in this recipe, it is best to use it when you need to incorporate it into another preparation. This way you will avoid waste and optimize your ingredients.

• Products such as walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds can be added when you add the crushed chocolate.
• In addition to not opening the oven in the middle of cooking, to prevent it from sinking we must also wait for the temperature to drop a little when finished

• Never, for any reason, unmold a cake when it is hot. If you don’t wait for it to cool, it will lose its shape or may even fall apart completely.

• It is very important that you lower the temperature of your oven. This is because, when it is very hot, there is a risk that the change in temperature that occurs when you remove the cake from the oven will cause it to sink in the center.