Ciambellone - Italian Easter Bread - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had some fun testing recipes for the Italian Easter Bread that's called Ciambellone. I'm not going to talk about the two recipes that failed, other than to say my evil eye is now trained on the developers and, once they recover, they'll get with the program and do a better job. I am happy to report that I did find a workable recipe. This link, Chef's Line , will take you to a pod cast that demonstrates exactly how Easter Bread is made. Ciambellone falls somewhere between a cake and bread on the culinary periodic table. It tastes like soft biscotti and that, of course, makes it perfect to serve with coffee or tea. It also requires no special equipment to make. Flour is piled onto an immaculately clean board and the remainder of the ingredients are added to a fist-made well and mixed into the flour using your equally immaculate fingers. It's then formed into rings and baked. I prefer to make one large ring and use a ring mold to enhance the appearance of the Ciambellone. The recipe appears below the next photo.

I also want to share a great recipe for Soft Sugar Cookies with you. It comes from Denise at Cottage Sisters. I stumbled on it while searching for the Italian Easter Bread. She was kind enough to share the recipe and photo with me so I could pass them on to you. I hope you'll take a look at her fabulous site.


Photo courtesy of Cottage Sisters


Ciambellone - Italian Easter Bread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Kitchen Guy at Chef's Line

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 egg for egg wash
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a large baking sheet or a 9-inch tube pan. Set aside.
2) Mound flour on a board. Create a well in center of mound. Using your fingers, begin alternating liquid and other dry ingredients into well, mixing until all ingredients are combined. Knead, adding additional flour if needed, to form a smooth dough.
3) Divide into one or two parts and shape into fat rings. Beat additional egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush top of ring with egg wash. Place on baking sheet or into tube pan. Bake 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 1 or 2 coils.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Lemon Tea Cookies - One Perfect Bite
Chinese-Style Almond Cookies - One Perfect Bite
Kona Coffee Cookies - One Perfect Bite

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Shrove Tuesday Buns - Blue Monday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These these lovely cream filled buns were once associated with the Lenten season in Scandinavia. They were prepared on Shrove Tuesday to use up stores of butter, cream and sugar that could not be eaten during the days of fast and abstinence that led up to Easter Sunday. While religious affiliations in the region have changed, they are still called Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday Buns. The buns are now enjoyed at any time, but they were once made only on the day before Ash Wednesday. That day was called Shrove Tuesday because those whose confessions were heard on this day were called shrove, or shriven of sin. The buns are a real delicacy and I think everyone will enjoy them. A simple sweet dough is shaped into rolls and baked. Once they're done they can be filled in many ways. Some simply hinge the roll, insert a piece of almond paste into it and top it with whipped cream. Others remove the top of the roll, scoop out the innards and mix the bread crumbs with ground nuts to form a poor man's almond paste. Either way, the buns are delicious and they are not hard to do. While everything can be prepared ahead of time, it's best not to fill these until you're ready to serve them. They can get soggy. Here's the recipe.

Shrove Tuesday Buns...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Kathy Cutler

Ingredients:
Buns
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Active dry yeast
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup milk
6 tablespoons butter
1 egg
Filling
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
3/4 cup confectioners" sugar + additional sugar for dusting
1 cup light cream or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Directions:
1) Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cardamom in a mixing bowl. Whisk well.
2) Place milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Let cool to 120 degrees.
3) Add milk to flour mixture. Mix well. Add egg and about 1 cup of remaining flour to make a soft dough.
4) Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
5) Punch dough down. Shape dough into a 12-inch rope. Cut rope into 12 1-inch pieces.
Form pieces into round buns. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place buns on baking sheet. Lightly cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.
6) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
7) Bake buns for until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
8) Slice top off each bun. Reserve tops. Scoop out center of rolls, leaving a shell about 1/4-inch thick, with a fork or grapefruit spoon.
9) Place crumbs, nuts and confectioners' sugar in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles corn meal. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add light cream and vanilla. Mix well.
10) Spoon filling into buns. Top each with a heaping spoonful of whipped cream. Put tops back on and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 12 Buns.

You might also enjoy:

Crepes with Hot Buttered Rum Sauce
Gluten Free Pancakes
Hot Cross Buns


This post is being linked to:

Smiling Sally - Blue Monday
Wild Yeast - Yeast Spotting