Ciambella cake is a classic Italian cake similar to a pound cake. It requires only a couple of simple ingredients and can be made with little effort. The main ingredients are flour, milk, eggs, sugar, lemon and a dash of limoncello. I added my sourdough discard, which doesn’t make the cake sour, but gives the cake a more tender crumb.
The flavor of this cake is a little sweet and lemony and the inside is tender. You can serve the cake with a berry mixture, some ricotta or whipped cream, although I love eating it on its own. So good.
Tools & Equipment
- 23,1×9,9cm/9,1×3,9-inch (10 cups) bundt pan
- Fine mesh strainer
- Large bowl
- Medium bowl
- Offset spatula
- Silicone spatula
- Whisk
- Wire rack
Recipe Tips
Vegan Cake: It is possible to make this Ciambella cake vegan if you wish. To do so, replace the whole milk with a full-fat nut or oat milk and substitute the eggs with a flax eggs.
Limoncello: If you prefer to make this cake alcohol-free, you can swap limoncello for the juice of one lemon. However, you should use fresh lemon juice and not bottled lemon juice here, as it makes a huge difference in flavor.
Sourdough Discard: I used my sourdough discard in this recipe. In case you do not have any sourdough discard at home, use 50g flour and 50g whole milk instead.
Ingredients for Ciambella Cake
- Grapeseed oil
- All-purpose flour (550)
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Lemon zest
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Whole milk
- Limoncello
- Sourdough discard
- Vanilla extract
Directions – How to Make Ciambella Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Turn and shake the pan until it is evenly coated with flour, then tap out any excess flour. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
Whisk together sugar and eggs until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns slightly bubbly, for about 2 minutes. Add grapeseed oil, milk, limoncello, sourdough discard and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until combined and the mixture is frothy, for about 2 minutes.
Add the flour mixture and stir with a silicone spatula until just combined, make sure not to overmix the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, for about 40-45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Invert the cake onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Dust the top with powdered sugar before serving.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Storage: You can store the cake under a cake dome or wrapped in plastic at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing Instructions: You can freeze this cake for up to 3 months. Once completely cooled, wrap the cake in plastic, place in a freezer bag or in an airtight container. Thaw on the counter overnight before serving.
My Summary for Ciambella Cake
Difficulty: Simple.
Taste & Texture: This ciambella cake tastes lemony and sweet, but not too sweet. With the powdered sugar on top, you get a little more sweetness. The texture is rather dense but also tender, more like a pound cake.
Time: Making the batter takes about 20 minutes. Baking time is 40-45 minutes and cooling time is about 1 hour.
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