Buccellati means riddled, and refers to the texture of the cake. This recipe is, as Pellegrino Artusi notes, perfect for family use. He also proposes a much more involved recipe that will feed a multitude.

• 5 cups flour
• 7/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate (you can, if need be, replace this and the cream of tartar with 2 teaspoons double acting baking powder)
• 2 eggs
• Milk
• Grated lemon or orange zest, or minced candied citron
• 1/2 cup blanched peeled almonds (optional)
• Sugar for dusting

Make a mound of the flour and scoop a depression in its center to hold the melted butter, eggs, and sugar. Mix the flour with these ingredients, adding enough milk to make a moderately firm dough, and knead it thoroughly. Add the powders and the flavoring agents last.

Rather than make a single ciambella, you can make two with wide holes. Grease the pan or pans with butter or lard, lay the dough out in a ring shape, score its surface, brush it with a beaten yolk, dust it with sugar, and dot it with the almonds if you decide to use them. Bake the cake for 45 minutes in a 380 degree F oven. If you choose to make two ciambelle, don't place them too close together on the pan.

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Cakes and baked desserts
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