The Easter Colomba is a leavened cake that is the symbol of Easter in Italy, with a cover of almond glaze, similar to Panettone and Pandoro at Christmas. The Easter Colomba symbolizes peace and reconciliation, giving the Colomba at Easter means indeed giving a sign of peace and love to the recipient, a clear reference to the story of the universal flood. After the rain ended, after 7 days, Noah sent out a dove that returned in the evening with an olive branch, a sign of God’s forgiveness towards mankind, and from then on it became a symbol of peace. Such a good and soft peace symbol that at Easter we indulge in it, but imagine the pleasure of making it at home with your own hands, creating it with the flavors we love most, and yes, because it can also be customized, for example, if you don’t like raisins, you can omit them as I did, or you can exclude the candied fruits, or add chocolate chips, or fill it with delicious creams. Today, for you, the classic Colomba, a very fragrant leavened cake, with orange in the dough and almonds for the cover. For the recipe, I used dehydrated sourdough with yeast, an excellent solution for those who don’t have fresh sourdough available, as it is found in all supermarkets. Let’s see how to make the recipe, and remember, don’t rush, waiting times are very important, as is the processing. Read here my review of the Indesit oven I used for baking.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Days
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 500 g mold
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients for Traditional Easter Colomba
- 2.82 oz Manitoba flour
- 0.33 cup milk
- 0.21 oz dehydrated sourdough
- 1 tsp acacia or wildflower honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 grated zest of organic orange
- 1 grated zest of organic lemon
- 1/2 shot glass rum
- Lievitino
- 2.47 oz Manitoba flour
- 1.06 oz sugar
- 1.06 oz butter
- First dough
- 1.41 oz sugar
- 3.53 oz Manitoba flour
- Colomba flavoring
- 2 egg yolks
- 1.41 oz butter
- 1.76 oz candied orange peels
- 2 egg whites
- 1.06 oz hazelnuts
- 2.12 oz almonds
- 0.88 oz flour
- 0.71 oz cornstarch
- 3.53 oz sugar
- as needed sugar crystals
- as needed unpeeled almonds
- as needed powdered sugar
Tools to Prepare Easter Colomba
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Teaspoon
- 1 Grater
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Knife
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Mold
- 1 Spoon
Preparation Steps for Classic Easter Colomba Recipe
We start by preparing the lievitino. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk. Stir with a spoon and add the flour, mixing well until you obtain a soft and sticky mixture. Work well to make it lump-free and elastic; it will be done in a couple of minutes. Cover and let it rise. Let it rise well until it has doubled in volume, or you see bubbles forming on the surface. The times vary depending on the room temperature, which can range from 82°F to 59°F, the higher the temperature, the shorter the times. I recommend always a middle ground in this phase.
In a bowl, grate the zest of 2 oranges, only the orange part, and one lemon. Add the vanilla extract, honey, and rum, mix and let macerate, even at room temperature.
Take the ready, well-risen lievitino, add the melted butter, sugar, and flour, and knead until you get a nice smooth dough. Work well, taking breaks, to get a nice elastic dough. If you prefer, you can work with a stand mixer, but it is really simple by hand too. Shape the dough into a round, smooth ball, cover, and let it rise until doubled, again, times vary based on temperature. I recommend letting it rise for at least 6-12 hours in a sheltered corner because leavened doughs should always stay away from drafts. Put in the fridge for an hour before proceeding with the second dough.
For the second dough, we work with a stand mixer, but it is obvious that it can also be done by hand, it just takes a bit of elbow grease. Put the well-risen first dough in the stand mixer, add the remaining flour, sugar, 2 egg yolks, and the Colomba flavoring we had left to macerate, and with the hook of the mixer, start kneading at low speed. Occasionally take breaks and let the mixture cool.
When we have obtained a soft, homogeneous dough, we start adding the remaining butter little by little, adding it in pieces, and adding the next piece only after incorporating the previous one. It will take some time, but good processing is crucial at this stage. Finished incorporating the butter, continue to work at high speed, so as to well bind the dough.
Only at the end do we add the candied orange peels and knead again. Then work well on a work surface and close the dough making a good round ball. Let it rise in a bowl for at least 12-24 hours or more if needed, depending always on the temperature, if it’s too hot and it’s already nice and swollen after a few hours, put it in the fridge for at least 8-12 hours. Keep in mind that it takes at least 2 days, depending on the temperature, it might take even an extra day to get a soft and light leavened cake with the most natural leavening possible, in short, for a really perfect Easter Colomba.
Add to the egg whites the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and finally also finely ground hazelnuts and almonds, mix and set aside in the fridge for later.
When the dough is risen, we deflate it, make a couple of rounds of folds, spreading the dough into a rectangle and folding it as in the tutorial reinforcement folds.
Then divide the dough into 2 parts, one larger for the central body, the other for the wings.
From each dough piece, we obtain a rectangle and roll it tightly. Seal well. Place in the mold first the body, then the part for the wings, making the central part that overlaps the body thinner, trying to adhere the two parts well so that it becomes a whole. Let it rise by placing the tray on the oven rack, so as not to ruin the leavening by moving the cake. Let rise in a warm corner until the Colomba is puffed up to almost an inch from the edge. If you notice the leavening is slow, you can increase the temperature by closing the cake in the oven with the light on and a cup of boiling water that creates the right humidity.
When the Colomba is risen, cover with the almond glaze, trying not to get too close to the edges, otherwise, it runs down. Then add almonds and sugar crystals as desired and finally sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 338°F for about 40-45 minutes, if we see it darkens, we can slightly lower the temperature, not beyond 320°F.
Remove from the oven and immediately, in a few seconds, skewer with a couple of steel skewers and place it upside down so it doesn’t deflate during the cooling phase. As soon as our homemade Colomba is cold, we close it in a bag and keep it like that, so it stays as soft as freshly made. The homemade Easter Colomba with this recipe keeps for a few days.
