Easter Pandorlato, a very soft and delicious leavened cake, with a flavor between baba and colomba, scented with almonds, should definitely not be missing from Easter tables.
It is a leavened Easter cake, much easier than colomba, but equally impressive on the table.
If you want to enrich your Easter menu with other sweet and/or savory recipes, I recommend checking out my “Special Easter Menu“.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 9 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Easter
Ingredients for the Easter Pandorlato
- 2 1/4 cups Manitoba flour (or with W 350)
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 3/8 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter (quality)
- 3 large whole eggs (about 3)
- 1 tbsp fresh yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 orange zest
- 2 tbsp Cointreau
- 1 tsp acacia honey
- as needed sugar granules
- as needed powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup almonds (with skin)
Tools
- Bowl
- Stand mixer
- Brush
- Mold conical
Preparation of Easter Pandorlato
I recommend starting the preparation of the pandorlato early in the morning (around 8:00 AM).
First, mix the warmed milk with the yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup of flour, cover for half an hour (it should swell).
Then add the egg whites, the rest of the flour, and mix with the paddle, at speed 1 (ken). Add the salt, the liqueur, and slowly bring to speed 2, knead (it will take 5 – 10 minutes).
“Knead” means that the entire dough should stick in one piece to the paddle and detach from the sides of the bowl.
Reduce to speed 1.5 and add one yolk, upon re-kneading add another yolk and half of the sugar, re-knead, and add the last yolk with all the sugar, knead again.
Change from the paddle to the dough hook and add, one teaspoon at a time, 3 tbsp of cold melted butter, bring to speed 1.5, knead, and add the remaining soft butter in pieces, along with the orange zest, knead again.
It should look shiny and well combined and create a windowpane effect as in the photo.
If you’re struggling to knead, in the end, after the soft butter, you can add 2 tbsp of flour (no more).
Place the dough in a fridge container, seal, and after 40/50 minutes (to ensure fermentation begins), place in the fridge at about 43 – 45°F for around 6/8 hours.
Remove from the fridge and, after 30 minutes, turn onto a floured surface and give it type 2 folds, (the second example in the explanation, the one with the round dough) you should get a compact mass.
With the seam underneath, gently round the dough and transfer it to a cylindrical mold of 750 g (approximately 1.65 lbs). 6.3 x 4.3 inches. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the turned-off oven with the light on until it reaches a finger and a half below the rim of the mold (it will take about 3 hours).
Once risen, gently brush with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle first with sugar granules, then gently decorate with almonds as desired, finally sprinkle with powdered sugar.
When it is absorbed, sprinkle again with powdered sugar, and bake at 356°F for about 30 minutes, on the oven’s baking sheet, placed on a low rack, as it rises a lot.
Frequently check that the sugar does not burn, if necessary cover with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and place on a rack until cooled.
Notes and Tips
Pandorlato can also be prepared a few days in advance, as it remains soft for several days.
If you wish, you can replace the almonds in the topping with crumbled amaretti and the liqueur with Amaretto di Saronno instead of Cointreau.
The recipe is by the talented Paoletta Sersante (specialized in sweet and savory leavened goods) and is taken from her blog, Anice e Cannella
Shopping Tips
To bake the pandorlato I used a cylindrical aluminum mold that you can find here on Amazon. #adv
To knead perfectly, I use my Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with illuminated bowl, 7L, integrated scale and blender, 1400 W power, a faithful kitchen ally for: kneading, weighing, whipping, cooking, chopping, pasteurizing eggs. #adv
If you are looking for a more economical and smaller stand mixer, you can safely choose to buy the excellent Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker XL, 1200W power, 5L bowl, and integrated scale. #adv
