Grandma’s Anise Bundt Cake
This bundt cake has ancient origins and is a typical dessert of Marchigiana cuisine.
A dessert that comes from the countryside, it was traditionally prepared during the grain and cereal threshing period, often enjoyed during banquets, family meals, and community celebrations, such as weddings following the grape harvest.
A simple dessert of humble rural origins, it’s the classic “dunking” cake, ideal for breakfast, but you can also use it for a snack or tea, accompanied by white custard or chocolate.
The ancient recipe includes ingredients such as lard and anise (or even better, mistrà or Varnelli liqueur) which is a typical Marchigiana liqueur. I really like the ancient recipe with these ingredients, but if you prefer, you can replace the lard with butter and the anise with another liqueur. Varnelli is a special anise liqueur from the Marche region, which is not easily found, but you can easily buy it online on Amazon.
If you love bundt cakes and pantry desserts for a healthy homemade breakfast, click on my Special: “Pantry Desserts“.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Grandma’s Anise Bundt Cake
- 2.2 lbs all-purpose flour (sifted)
- 7 oz lard (or butter)
- 1 cup milk (whole)
- 5 eggs (whole)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1.7 oz anise liqueur (or other liqueur, e.g., limoncello)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 0.5 oz cream of tartar (sifted)
- 0.3 oz baking soda
- 1 packet baking powder (sifted)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon milk (to brush the surface, optional)
- as needed sugar (in crystals)
Tools
- Bowl
- Small pots
- Stand mixer
- Bundt cake pan
Steps for Grandma’s Anise Bundt Cake
First, melt the lard (or butter) in a double boiler. Once the lard is melted, add 1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest to the still warm mixture to release all the lemon’s aroma, then let the mixture cool.
Pour into the stand mixer’s bowl (but you can easily use electric beaters) the 5 whole eggs, beat with the whisk attachment to combine the eggs well, then add the sugar and mix for 15 minutes.
Then add the melted lard, milk, sifted flour with the other dry ingredients, little by little, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and finally, the anise liqueur (or mistrà, or Varnelli, or other chosen liqueur). In total, you should mix the batter for about 20 minutes.
Butter and flour a bundt cake pan of about 10-12 inches in diameter, brush the surface with a bit of milk, and sprinkle with sugar crystals.
Bake the cake in a preheated static oven at 340°F for about 60 minutes; use the toothpick test to ensure it’s dry. If the surface darkens too much, cover the bundt cake with aluminum foil after 30 minutes.
Notes and Tips
If you want to make the bundt cake even more tempting, you can prepare a glaze (1) made with 1 oz of egg white and 1 cup of powdered sugar with a little lemon juice or a glaze (2) prepared with 1 cup of powdered sugar, a pinch of vanilla, and about 5 tablespoons of lemon juice and brush the surface of the bundt cake after baking. To garnish, add sugar crystals on top.
For weighing the ingredients of my preparations, I use this handy digital kitchen scale, with a large removable bowl, tare function, and built-in timer, available on Amazon at a great price. #adv
To perfectly beat eggs, I use my Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with EasyWarm 7L bowl, built-in scale, and blender, a faithful kitchen ally for: kneading, weighing, beating, cooking, chopping, pasteurizing eggs.
You can find this stand mixer on Amazon at a special price, click HERE !
If instead, you are looking for a more economical and smaller stand mixer with a 4-liter bowl, you can easily choose to purchase Kenwood KVC7300S Chef Titanium stand mixer, with integrated lighting and the included rubber whisk and pastry spatula. #adv
If you prefer to use electric beaters, I recommend the handy Philips electric beater with 5 speeds (+ turbo) and 300 watts of power, available at a great price on Amazon. #adv
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
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