A marbled ciambellone for breakfast
You might have already noticed from my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but hey, I’m back! and I am bursting with new energy and ideas, I am a little bit more conscious of who I am and where I want to go. You must be patient, though, because I will fill you with details of my trips in the next post. And yes, I promise I will slightly get back to a more steady rhythm, but today I want to start with a new project that makes me so unspeakably happy. I’m now in the kitchen to develop recipes for Mukki, la Centrale del Latte di Firenze, Pistoia e Livorno. In other words Mukki is the milk brand that made me who I am.
When I told mum that I was going to work with Mukki – I was visibly excited – she exclaimed: oh dear! do you know I raised you with Mukki milk? This explains how perfectly perceptible is the bond of affection and respect that exists between Mukki and the families in Tuscany, especially in Florence. Perhaps it is an affection due to a familiarity with a brand that has grown many young Tuscan, to their activities for children in schools or to the great attention given to the milk produced by cows here in Tuscany. Mukki is perceived as our milk brand, a brand which is part of our lives in every moment of the day.
The best way to start a project and the day is breakfast, isn’t it? So June will be dedicated to breakfast recipes, to begin the day with Mukki and a smile, the same smile that beams on your face when you are woken up by a text with just a word, buongiorno, the same smile you had when your mum woke you up with a kiss and a whisper: rise and shine, there’s a ciambellone for breakfast.
I’m talking about routine, or, better said, morning rituals. I’m talking about repeated reassuring actions which greet you when you wake up and simplify a part of your day. Just imagine how much more relaxing and satisfying is to unveil your ciambellone, removing the napkin that covers it during the night with a flourish, rather than rummaging into the kitchen shelves to find something edible.
This applies to mothers, who can have the breakfast ready for the kids, they just need to wrap it carefully anticipating the moment when the cake will be unwrapped in a frenzy at school, with small little fingers picking each and every crumb. This is true for young couples who can lengthen the pleasure of a Sunday spent together with small breakfasts made with love, a slice of ciambellone and a cup of cappuccino: the foam will leave a mustache on his face, making you laugh lightheartedly. This applies to anyone who has to run to work grabbing a slice of cake while drinking a coffee standing up, leaning against the window and watching the sun that rises lazily, in his five minutes of peace before being sucked into the frenzy of the day.
This is true for people like me who work from home and are constantly looking for a morning ritual to bring order into the day, to feel a bit special every day.
A marbled ciambellone – the classic Italian bundt cake – is the perfect start: traditional, homemade, reassuring. You can slice it thinly and spread it with a generous layer of homemade jam or rather, and this is my preferred option, cut it into thick slices and soak it in milk, hot, warm or cold, in a caffellatte or cappuccino, black or green tea. Pick your favorite ritual, mess it up introducing a hint of something new every day and start the day with a smile.
A marbled ciambellone
Print Recipe Share by EmailIngredients
- 6 free range eggs
- 400 g of caster sugar
- 350 g all purpose flour
- 150 g of potato starch
- 16 g of baking powder
- Zest of 1 organic lemon
- 1 pinch of salt
- 250 ml of whole milk
- 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180°C.
- Beat the sugar with the eggs until are light and foamy.
- Sift flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt and then fold them with the grated zest of the lemon into the batter.
- Add gradually the milk, whisking it thoroughly.
- Butter and flour a 28 cm wide bundt cake mould and scrape in 3/4 of the batter.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa into the remaining batter, mix it well and then scrape it into the mold, drawing some doodle on the surface.
- Bake the cake for 45 minutes, do the test with a toothpick to see if it is dry inside.
- Let cool and then remove it from the mould.
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Beautiful and extremely tempting! I’ll have a slice for dessert, please. 😉
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa! Please help yourself!
I would like to make this cake but I cant find potato starch here where i live so can I use corn starch instead. Also i was wondering is this cake soft and moisture or dry
Ciao Irena, yes, you can use corn starch, it won’t change very much. You use a part of starch to make it slightly lighter. This is a very dry cake, perfect to be soaked!
CONGRATS Juls!! That is an amazing opportunity!! And as always you are tempting me with yet another yumminess :))) I just want a slice of that now {it’s breakfast time here.. hehe}
If you were closer I would have treated you with a slice of cake and a cup of coffee! Being there, I can send you a text! 😉
Beautiful ciambellone, I love the marbled effect!
Thank you so much Laura!
Congratulations! What a great opportunity!
This looks like just the thing for a brunch/get together I’m doing on Monday, but I second the potato starch vs corn starch (or any other flour) question. I can’t find potato starch either – is there anything it can be replaced with?
Such a perfect idea for a brunch: serve it with a few jams or marmelades and provide teas or coffee to soak it and you won’t regret the choice!
As for the starch, as said, try using the corn starch, it should not differ much!
I’ll defer to Jul on whether corn starch can be substitued for potato starch in this recipe, but I have used them interchangeably without noticing any difference in the finished product. They do mix a little differently but I’ve never noticed a difference in taste.
Che bella torta Jul!
Ciao Ric, thank you for the starch tips! Happy you like the cake!
What a wonderful start to the morning. Your marbled ciambellone looks stunning – a perfect accompaniment for a good morning latte. Thank you for inspiration for the weekend 😀
Thank you Merryn and have a great weekend!
Wow, look at the colour of the cake! I am instantly tempted by looking at this and now I can’t wait trying this marbled cake recipe in my kitchen and serving this to my family and friends! 🙂 Thanks!!
Thank you! 🙂 yes, the marbled colour is so tempting, isn’t it?
A gorgeous, marble cake for breakfast?! Yes, please!
Help yourself Rachel!
Hi Giulia! I remember making this cake with my nonna, it’s such a classic cake! I just found your blog and will be following….because hey, they’re aren’t that many “Giulia’s” out there! Happy to follow, and now, I want to go make cake!
ahah! hello Giulia, nice to meet another Giulia out there!
My effort looked nice, but it was dry and tasteless. I will try again, though I followed each step carefully. Perhaps the ingredients here in Canada are not the same.
Kathy
oh Kathy, I am so so sorry. It is a dry cake, because it is supposed to be soaked in the morning, but it shouldn’t be tasteless… so sorry for the result!
Actually, it tastes much better the next day after it is made!
Happy to hear! I just finished it this morning – I made it on Monday – and it was still good! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
I love marbled cakes! This looks too pretty to eat 🙂
Thank you Kiran!
My second marbled cake turned out great! I just needed to practice! thanks!
Kathy M.
Oh Kathy, I am so happy! Happy breakfast!