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Taralli Dolci
Ciambelle alle mandorle
Ciambelle alle mandorle (made without yeast, with butter, potato starch, and lemon zest; topped with almonds; baked)
Originated from: Italy
Occasion: Any time
Contributed by: Taken from "Il Piccolo Talismano Della Felicita" by Ada Boni (1929)

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Ingredients

For dough
455 grams (about 1 pound) of flour
100 grams (about 3 1/2 ounces) of butter, cut into small pieces
175 grams (about 6 ounces) of sugar
50 grams (about 1 2/3 ounces) of potato starch
5 grams (about 1/5 of an ounce) of egg yolks
5 grams (about 1/5 of an ounce) of lemon zest
5 grams (about 1/5 of an ounce) of baking soda
10 grams (about 1/3 of an ounce) cream
2 fingers of a glass (about 4 ounces) of milk

Eggwash
Egg yolk, beaten

For garnish
Almonds, thinly sliced

Original Italian text
Farina, gramma 455
Burro, grammi 100
Zucchero, grammi 175
Fecola, grammi 50
Uovo, rosso d'uovo, grammi 5
limone, grammi 5
bicarbonto, grammi 5
Cremore, grammi 10
due tita di bicchiere latte
Mandorle, in filettini



Directions

Make a fountain with the flour, place the butter cut in small pieces, sugar, potato starch, an egg yolk, finely grated zest of a lemon, five grams of baking soda, ten grams of cream and two fingers of a cup of milk.

Mix everything promptly, shape into average-sized donuts, brush the tops with beaten egg, sprinkle with almonds fillets and cook in a moderate oven for about twenty minutes.



Original Italian Text:

Mettete sulla tavola la farina dispota a fontana e nel vuoto ponete il burro in pezzetti, lo zucchero, la fecola di patate, un uova e un rosso, la buccia grattata d'un limone, cinque grammi di bicarbonato, dieci grammi di cremore e due dita di bicchiere di latte.

Impastate scollecitamente tutto, foggiate delle ciambelle di grandezza regolare, spennellatele d'uovo sbattuto, cospargetele di mandorle in filettini e cuocetele in forno moderato per un ventina di minuti.






Notes

This recipe is rather easy to do, except the almonds can get burnt if one follows the directions as given. To avoid burning the almonds one can either soak them in water before using them (This is not all that effective, but it works a little), or one can bake the ciambelle without the almonds and egg wash for half the time needed to cook them, and then in the middle of the baking cycle remove the ciambelle and quickly brush them with egg yolk and add the almonds (The almonds will not stick to the dough if one doesn't use the egg yolk). Photo and personal notes: Mary Melfi.

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