The Angelica cake, a wonderful and spectacular leavened cake, resembles a wreath, perfect as a Christmas dessert. I have always been fascinated by this leavened cake, I thought it was more complicated to prepare, but I was proven wrong.
The recipe I share with you is inspired by the famous one from the Simili sisters, expert bakers from Bologna, but while theirs had a filling of candied fruit and raisins, in this one I chose chocolate shavings and used my sourdough starter.
Therefore, the rising times are longer compared to using fresh brewer’s yeast, but I can assure you that the result will be very satisfying: you’ll bake a fragrant and soft brioche, perfect for breakfast or a snack.
Let’s prepare it together!
I also leave you:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 10 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 10People
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 434.12 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 69.98 (g) of which sugars 27.93 (g)
- Proteins 9.28 (g)
- Fat 14.45 (g) of which saturated 4.54 (g)of which unsaturated 6.01 (g)
- Fibers 1.05 (g)
- Sodium 126.04 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Angelica cake
- 5 oz oz sourdough starter (or 0.44 oz of fresh yeast)
- 3/4 cup cup semi-skimmed milk
- 2 eggs (medium size)
- 1/2 cup cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cup sunflower oil
- 2 teaspoons orange flavor
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 cup cup butter
- 1/4 cup cup sugar
- 1 cup cup dark chocolate chips (or chocolate shavings)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup cup vanilla icing sugar
Preparing the dough for the Angelica cake
To prepare the dough with sourdough starter, you should have refreshed it at least 3 times and it must have risen in 3 hours!
In a bowl, put the sourdough starter, break it into pieces, add the warm milk and mix with a spoon to dissolve it well. The procedure is identical if you use fresh yeast!
Add the eggs, mix, then the sugar and gradually the flour. Start kneading by hand always in the bowl, pour the oil in a thin stream and two caps of orange flavor. Continue working by hand, then turn the bowl over onto a lightly floured work surface, knead well and make a couple of reinforcement folds. Shape the dough into a nice loaf and let it rise in a clean and slightly floured bowl in the oven turned off with the light on. My dough doubled in 8 hours!
Soften the butter in a small bowl, in the microwave or at room temperature, add the sugar and mix well with a fork to make the mixture creamy.
Turn the risen dough onto the work surface and spread it out with your hands, giving it the shape of a rectangle 1/8 inch thick. Brush the pastry with the butter cream and sprinkle with chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and roll it up leaving the seam on the bottom. Carefully, place the dough roll on a sheet of parchment paper, with a knife divide it into two parts along its length, turn them upwards so that the opening is visible and twist them together.
Place the Angelica cake on the tray, brush it with a little milk, and always put it in the oven turned off with the light on to rise, it will take a couple of hours.
Bake in a static oven at 350°F for about 35/40 minutes, if it starts to darken before the end of cooking I recommend covering it with a sheet of aluminum foil.
The Angelica cake is cooked!
Prepare the water icing: in a glass pour a tablespoon of water and the icing sugar, mix well creating a thick cream. With a teaspoon, let it fall on the cake decorating it according to our imagination.
Storage
Store the cake in a food bag for a couple of days or you can freeze it.
Store the cake in a food bag for a couple of days or you can freeze it.
Store the cake in a food bag for a couple of days or you can freeze it.
Store the cake in a food bag for a couple of days or you can freeze it.
