Ciambellone, An Italian Tea Cake
Total Time
About an hour
Rating
0 out of 5 stars
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Ingredients
12 servings
- 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons fine sea or table salt
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- Finely grated zest of half an orange
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (325 ml) neutral oil (such as sunflower, safflower, grapeseed or another vegetable oil)
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (about 185 grams) plain, not Greek, yogurt (see note)
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) mascarpone cheese
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml) vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- Scant 2 tablespoons (30 ml) corn syrup
- About 3 tablespoons (45 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
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Preparation
Step 1
Make cake: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat bundt or tube cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and coat with granulated sugar. Knock out any excess sugar from pan.
Step 2
Place sugar and salt in the bottom of a large bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into it.
Step 3
Whisk in oil, mascarpone, yogurt, and then eggs and vanilla until smooth.
Step 4
Sprinkle baking powder over batter and whisk it thoroughly into the batter, a good 10 turns around the bowl.
Step 5
Sift flour onto batter and use a rubber spatula to stir just until batter is smooth.
Step 6
Drop batter in large scoopfuls equally around your cake mold, then smooth, and drop on counter a few times to ensure there are no trapped air bubbles.
Step 7
Bake for about 40 minutes, checking in at the 30-minute mark to rotate the pan for even coloring.
Step 8
Cake is done when a toothpick or tester comes out batter-free.
Step 9
While the cake bakes, make the glaze: Whisk sugar, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice together until smooth, adding the last tablespoon of juice just if needed.
Step 10
When cake is done, let it rest on a cooling rack for 3 to 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan — yes, while piping hot.
Step 11
Brush glaze evenly over the top of the cake, and sides if you wish. Use all of the glaze.
Step 12
Glaze will set as cake cools.
Step 13
Cake is good at room temperature for 4 days. Cover loosely with foil.
Step 14
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Chef's notes
The cake keeps for days at room temperature and pairs well with seasonal berries.
This recipe recommends using plain, not Greek-style, yogurt. If only Greek yogurt is available, replace the last tablespoon of yogurt with water.
Lemon zest in the glaze is omitted to avoid distracting texture.
The original cake volume was reduced to avoid overflow and dark edges during baking.
