The Angelica cake is a braided sweet brioche, very soft, rich and fragrant; it is a Bolognese pastry sold in pastry shops during the Christmas and Easter holidays.
I have always loved Angelica for its very soft texture and the beauty of the braid; seeing it in pastry shops always makes me want to taste it!
The traditional version is made from a very soft pan brioche enriched with butter, raisins and candied fruit. I followed their recipe exactly but changed the filling, replacing it with orange marmalade and dark chocolate chips; you can choose the ingredients you prefer, but do not overfill it, otherwise it will be impossible to braid. A few years ago I also created a savory version with sun-dried tomatoes and olives, perfect as a centerpiece for Easter or Christmas.
The recipe I propose today is the original one by the Simili Sisters, well-known Bolognese bakers with a great passion for bread and leavened goods; you can also find it in their book “pane e roba dolce”.
The preparation is very simple; you can knead it by hand or with a stand mixer — choose the method you prefer but respect the resting times, which are essential for the perfect development of the pastry.
Try also the other leavened recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 10 servings
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, Christmas
Ingredients
- 1 1/8 cups Manitoba flour
- 0.5 oz fresh yeast
- 1/3 cup water (warm, be careful not to make it hot or it will damage the yeast)
- 1 teaspoon barley malt (or honey)
- 3 1/3 cups Manitoba flour
- 3 oz sugar
- 1/2 cup milk (at room temperature)
- 1/2 cup butter (soft)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 1/2 tbsp butter (soft)
- 3 oz candied orange peel (small dice)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade
- 3.5 oz dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cups vanilla powdered sugar
- 1 egg white (I replaced it with 3-4 tablespoons of water)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Bowl large
- 1 Work surface
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Pastry brush kitchen
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
Procedure
Put the warm water, a teaspoon of honey and the crumbled yeast in a bowl and let it dissolve. Add the flour and knead everything until you obtain a smooth mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 45 minutes or until doubled in volume.
In a large bowl or in a stand mixer, combine the flours, the sugar, the egg yolks and the milk. Knead until you obtain a dough, then add the salt and the butter, adding the butter little by little. Work for 10 minutes until you get a smooth, homogeneous dough.
Divide the pre-ferment into small pieces and add them to the dough, working everything to incorporate the ingredients until you have a smooth, homogeneous dough.
Place it in a bowl, make a cross-shaped cut on top and cover with plastic wrap; it must rise for two hours or until doubled in volume.
After the necessary time, place the dough on a work surface and, without working it further, roll it out with a rolling pin to form a rectangle about 3/16 in (5 mm) thick.
Spread the entire surface with orange marmalade and sprinkle with the dark chocolate chips. Roll the dough from the longer side to form a cylinder.
P.S. If you want to make it with the original filling from the Simili Sisters, brush the rectangle with about 3 1/2 tbsp (50 g) of soft butter, distribute the candied fruit and well-soaked, well-drained raisins, then form a cylinder and continue following the recipe.
Cut the roll in half lengthwise and separate the two parts. Braid them together keeping the cut side facing up. Shape the braid into a ring and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
Bake the Angelica cake in a preheated conventional oven at 356°F for 28–30 minutes. Check the baking frequently and if you see the surface becoming too dark, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and let cool.
The original recipe calls for a glaze made with egg white. Consider that the traditional version is many years old and does not take egg pasteurization into account (I use only pasteurized eggs), so I replaced the egg white with a few tablespoons of water to create a white, dense glaze.
Glaze the Angelica cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, let it dry and serve.
Tips
Storage
The Angelica cake keeps at room temperature for 2 days; if you want to maintain its softness longer, I recommend freezing it in portions to thaw as needed.
The Angelica cake keeps at room temperature for 2 days; if you want to maintain its softness longer, I recommend freezing it in portions to thaw as needed.
You can knead it by hand or in a stand mixer. I have been using my stand mixer for five years — the Kenwood Major Premier. If you want to treat yourself to a nice gift you can find it HERE. It is a reliable and stable machine that, thanks to its capacity, allows you to prepare large quantities of dough. Take advantage of the Amazon Black Days to have it gifted to you — you’ll have fun preparing special leavened recipes!
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