I found this delightful blog {madonna del piatto} the other day and it made me want to go to Italy even more than I already to {I watched Under the Tuscan Sun and was hooked forever}.
So this ciaramicola thing? It’s also known as, get this, fiancé cake. Women would bake the cake for their fiancés as a gift for Easter. I don’t know a guy who would turn that down, do you? Me neither.
{photo from here}
Recipe
I make the dough as a cake, not as a sweet bread:
450 gr. ( 4 and 1/2 cups) cake flour
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
250 gr (1/2 lb) sugar
170 gr (6 oz.) butter
grated zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon alkermes or dessert wine
4 tablespoon milk
16 gr (4 teaspoons) baking powder
Using a food processor, mix first dry ingredients with butter, then add all liquid ingredients. Transfer in a buttered bundt pan and bake in preheated oven at 180° C (375°F) until set, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile make the meringue as explained below. Remove from the oven, switch off heat, but keep the oven warm as you will need it to dry the meringue. Remove the cake from the cake mold as soon as it is cool enough to handle.
for the meringue topping:
110 gr. (4 oz) sugar
2 egg whites at room temperature
2 tablespoon lemon juice
To make a classic Italian meringue, combine the ingredients in a metal bowl. Place over a saucepan of gently simmering water and beat with an electric mixer until very thick, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the bowl from heat and beat off the heat until light and fluffy.
Assemble the ciaramicola:
Cover the cake above and around the sides with a thick layer of meringue. Sprinkle with multicolor confetti if you like. Transfer in the warm oven and leave to dry for several hours or until the next day. Enjoy with a glass of sweet wine like Sagrantino passito, Moscato or Vin Santo.
From looking at the ingredients, it looks like it would have a spicy, yet floral aroma to it, especially when you take into consideration that the alchermes sometimes has rose water in it.
Sounds good to me! Maybe I’ll make it for Easter next year {having a fiancé is unnecessary}.
ohmygosh.. making this! looks sooo tasty!
Who needs a fiancé when you can have cake?! Sorry, boys. ;-}