Ciambellone
Italian ring cake
Ciambellone: Italy's tall breakfast ring cake for dunking
Every Italian nonna has her own ciambellone, the tall, plain ring cake that sits under a glass dome on the kitchen counter for breakfast, sliced and dunked in caffellatte or eaten with jam. It is made with eggs, sugar, flour and oil or butter, flavoured with lemon zest, and often marbled with cocoa. In Rome and Emilia it is also the cake brought to friends' houses and church fêtes. Chef's tip: whisk the eggs and sugar for a full 8 minutes, until very pale and thick; that air is what makes the cake rise tall without much baking powder.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 4 eggsat room temperature
- 8 oz caster sugar
- ½ cup sunflower oil
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 lemonzest only
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 11 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)for a marbled version
- 1 tbsp icing sugarfor dusting
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan). Grease and flour a 24 cm ring tin.
Step 2: Whisk 4 eggs and 8 oz caster sugar for 8 minutes, until pale, thick and doubled in volume.
8 minStep 3: Whisk in ½ cup sunflower oil, ¾ cup milk, the zest of 1 lemon and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Sift in 11 ½ oz plain flour, 3 tsp baking powder and 1 pinch salt and fold until just smooth. Common mistake: beating after adding flour; the cake turns tough and dense.
Step 4: For a marbled cake, mix a third of the batter with 2 tbsp cocoa powder. Pour the plain batter into the tin, spoon the cocoa batter over and swirl with a knife.
Step 5: Bake for 40–45 minutes, until risen and golden and a skewer comes out clean.
45 minStep 6: Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on a rack. Dust with 1 tbsp icing sugar.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ciambellone take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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