A lemon-scented Italian tea cake with a donut-like glossy crust — slather the hot cake with thick lemon glaze and watch it set. Perfect with coffee.
A ciambellone is a simple, sunny Italian tea cake with lemon zest and a rich crumb typically baked in a tube pan, which gives it a torus shape, i.e. the appearance of a doughnut, which is, in fact, what Google Translate tells me is the translation of ciambellone. As I can never resist the siren call of either an everyday cake or a doughnut, I am unequivocally here for this.
At-a-glance
Servings | Total time | |
|---|---|---|
12 | About 1 hour (see notes — bake time ~40 min; plus prep) |
When someone told me last month the version at Caffe Marchio — described as a “rich, Italian-style bundt with a lemon glaze” — is one of her favorite cakes, and even found the recipe online for me, my first thought was: I already have a lemon pound cake I love. Ina Garten’s version is a classic. Comparing proportions, the Caffe Marchio cake uses oil instead of butter, more oil, a touch more sugar, mascarpone plus yogurt instead of buttermilk, and less lemon. I doubted there’d be anything new in citrus tube cakes — so I tried both. The ciambellone surprised me.
The cake has a glorious crust. Even when slightly overbaked, the crust remains one of its best features, and the interior stays plush and not at all dry — no syrup brushing required. You glaze it while the cake is still piping hot so the finish sets into a glossy coat like a glazed doughnut. Resist the urge to put sprinkles, unless you must.
This cake keeps for days at room temperature and pairs beautifully with seasonal berries for breakfast, as a snack, or as dessert. The version below is scaled to about 80% of the original recipe because the full volume nearly overflowed a 10-cup bundt in tests; if you have a larger bundt, scale accordingly. For smaller donut-y ring pans (about 7 cups), reduce to roughly 60% of the original.
The recipe recommends plain (not Greek) yogurt; if you have Greek yogurt only, replace the final tablespoon of yogurt with water. The original called for lemon zest in the glaze, but the author omits it for texture reasons.
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Granulated sugar | 2 cups (400 g) |
Fine sea or table salt | 2 1/2 tsp |
Finely grated lemon zest | Zest of 1 lemon |
Finely grated orange zest | Zest of 1/2 orange |
Neutral oil (sunflower, grapeseed, etc.) | 1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp (325 ml) |
Plain (not Greek) yogurt | 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp (≈185 g) |
Mascarpone cheese | 1/2 cup (120 g) |
Vanilla extract | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp (20 ml) |
Large eggs | 4 |
All-purpose flour | 3 cups (390 g) |
Baking powder | 2 1/2 tsp |
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Powdered sugar | 1 cup (120 g) |
Corn syrup | Scant 2 tbsp (30 ml) |
Fresh lemon juice | About 3 tbsp (45 ml), add last tbsp only if needed |
Make cake: Heat oven to 375°F. Grease a bundt/tube pan with nonstick spray and coat with granulated sugar; tap out excess. In a large bowl, rub lemon and orange zest into the sugar and salt with your fingertips to release the oils. Whisk in oil, mascarpone and yogurt, then add eggs and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Sprinkle baking powder over the batter and whisk thoroughly (about 10 turns). Sift flour over the batter and fold with a rubber spatula just until smooth.
Spoon batter in large scoopfuls around the pan, smooth, and drop the pan on the counter a few times to remove trapped air. Bake about 40 minutes (time varies by pan shape and volume); check at 30 minutes and rotate if needed. Cake is done when a toothpick or tester comes out free of batter (crumbs are fine).
Make glaze: Whisk powdered sugar, corn syrup and 2 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth; add the remaining tablespoon of juice only if needed. The glaze should be thick — thick enough to stick to the hot cake sides.
When the cake finishes, let it rest on a cooling rack for 3–5 minutes, then unmold it while piping hot. Brush the glaze evenly over the top (and sides if desired). Chef Weiss advises: “Use all of the glaze! Don’t be cheap.” The glaze will set as the cake cools.
Cake stores at room temperature for up to 4 days; loosely cover with foil.
Tip | Source text (short) |
|---|---|
Coat pan with sugar after greasing for an extra crust. | “Coat bundt or tube cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and coat with granulated sugar.” |
Rub zest into sugar to release more citrus aroma. | “Use your fingertips to rub the zest into it. This abrasion helps release the most flavor.” |
Make a thick glaze so it sticks to the hot cake; brush on while cake is piping hot. | “You want this glaze thick… Brush glaze evenly over the top of the cake… Use all of the glaze!” |
If you only have Greek yogurt, replace the last tablespoon of yogurt with water. | “If you only have Greek yogurt… simply replace the last tablespoon of yogurt with water.” |
Adjust batter volume to pan size — 80% of original for 10-cup bundt; 60% for a 7-cup ring pan. | “Written below is an 80% level… For this pan, I recommend a 60% level of the original cake.” |
