“Easter Panettone” – Laura Vitale – “Colomba di Pasqua” Recipe
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“Easter Panettone”
Laura Vitale
Colomba di Pasqua Recipe
Italian Food – Easter Recipe
The origins of this cake appear to be ancient, dating back to the Roman Empire, when ancient Romans sweetened a type of leavened cake with honey
Colomba pasquale or Colomba di Pasqua (“Easter Dove” in English) is an Italian traditional Easter cake, the counterpart of the two well-known Italian Christmas desserts, panettone and pandoro.
The dough for the colomba is made in a similar manner to panettone, with flour, eggs, sugar, natural yeast and butter; unlike panettone, it usually contains candied peel and no raisins. The dough is then fashioned into a dove shape (colomba in Italian) and finally is topped with pearl sugar and almonds before being baked. Some manufacturers produce other versions including a popular bread topped with chocolate.
The colomba was commercialised by the Milanese baker and businessman Angelo Motta as an Easter version of the Christmas speciality panettone that Motta foods were producing.
Colomba pasquale or colomba di Pasqua (“Easter Dove” in English) is an Italian traditional Easter cake, the counterpart of the two well-known Italian Christmas desserts, panettone and pandoro.
Recipe
Servings Feeds 8 to 10
Ingredients For the Biga: (to be made 16 hrs in advance)
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1-1/4 cup of All Purpose Flour
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1/4 tsp of Instant Yeast
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2/3 cup of Water
For the dough:
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3-1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour
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3/4 cup of Granulated Sugar
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1/2 cup of Golden Raisins
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1/2 cup of Candied Orange Peels
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1/2 tsp of Salt
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1 Packet of Vanillina (or 2 tsp Vanilla Extract)
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Zest of 1 Orange
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3 Eggs
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1/2 cup of Milk
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2-1/2 tsp of Instant Yeast
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5 Tbsp of Butter, softened at room temperature and cut into small pieces
For the Topping:
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1 Egg Whites
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1-1/2 Tbsp of Ground Almonds
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1 Tbsp of Granulated Sugar
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2 Tbsp of Pearled Sugar
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A Handful of Whole Almonds