Buccellati means riddled, and refers to the texture of this ring cake from the Lunigiana region. This recipe is, as Pellegrino Artusi notes, perfect for family use. He also proposes a much more involved recipe that will feed a multitude.
Ingredients:
- 4 1/5 cups (500 g) flour
- 7/8 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (220 ml) 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
Preparation:
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 ring, 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 (190 C) oven. If you choose to make two ciambelle, don't place them too close together on the pan.
