The gubana is a traditional sweet for festive occasions such as Christmas, Easter, Weddings, and village fairs in the Natisone valleys (Udine), made with leavened sweet dough.
From a local-origin dessert, it has spread throughout Friuli and is enjoyed all year round.
I recommend making it at least once to realize how delicious it is and how impressive it looks on your tables.
This dessert has ancient origins, dating back to the 1400s, when it was first served at a banquet for Pope Gregory XII’s visit.
The name seems to derive from the Slovenian word Guba, which means fold, hence the name gubana.
The sweet stays soft for days, so you can prepare it 2-3 days before Christmas.
Follow my recipe and look at the photos to help you make it and see the satisfaction!
360 Kcal per person
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Expensive
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 10 people
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for the Gubana
- 2 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 Egg
- 1 Yolk
- 2 1/2 tbsp Whole milk
- 2 tsp yeast
- 5 oz Walnut kernels
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 3/4 oz Dry biscuits
- 1 1/2 oz Amaretti
- Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 espresso cup Grappa
- 1 tsp vanilla (liquid)
- to taste Ground cinnamon
- 1 Egg white
- 1 tbsp sugar
Preparation of the Gubana
Dough preparation
In a mixer or planetary mixer, put the yeast dissolved in lukewarm milk, add sugar, egg, yolk, and 1 cup of flour.
Mix the dough well, then add honey, milk, softened butter, and the remaining 1 1/4 cups of flour.
Knead everything well until a well-blended dough is obtained.
At this point, place the dough in a large bowl and let it rise for about 3 hours, or until it doubles in size.
Filling preparation
Chop the dry biscuits, walnuts, amaretti, place the chopped mixture in a container, and add cinnamon, grated lemon zest, sugar, vanilla, and grappa. Mix everything well.
The mixture should be quite moist, and if it isn’t, add more liquor.
This mixture should be prepared at least a day in advance and left to rest in the fridge to absorb the flavors well.
Completing the cake
Roll out the dough into a rectangle of 8 x 12 inches or slightly more. If it’s too small, the dough will obviously be thicker.
Spread the filling over the entire dough and roll it up….
like you would with a strudel, or roll it up on itself as I did and extend the roll to 27/32 inches in length.
Take the right end and fold it inward, then roll it on itself into a spiral, then place the other end under the cake.
Place the gubana in a buttered and floured mold, or lined with parchment paper, with a diameter of 9/10 inches, and let it rise until it doubles.
Once risen, brush the surface with beaten egg white, then sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in a preheated oven at 320°F for about 1 hour.
Do not serve hot.
