Easter Menu: Italian Desserts
Traditional Zabaglione, Pandiramerino and Colomba Pasquale Recipes
Three easy recipes for symbolic yet scrumptious sweets and cakes to round up a typical Italian Easter dinner
Colomba Pasquale (Easter Dove) is an Italian sweet bread baked in the shape of a Dove (Colomba) and served during Easter. It contains candied peel and is topped with sugar and almonds. Zabaglione (Marsala Eggnog) is a scrumptious cream which can be enjoyed as is or used to fill a Colomba. Bakers used to set up stalls and sell Pandiramerino (Rosemary Buns) to church-goers on their way home from Easter Mass. The bun represents Jesus, and the rosemary stands for the scented oils used to cleanse His body before burying Him.
Zabaglione
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp Marsala wine (substitutes: brandy or other sweet wine)
- Cinnamon and grated lemon rind (optional)
- Warm the egg yolks and the sugar in a double boiler over low heat, then whip them with a wire whisk. Cinnamon and grated lemon rind may be added at this point.
- Pour in Marsala, drop by drop, and keep beating.
- The mixture will begin to foam and swell into a light soft cream. Be careful not to overcook or it will collapse.
- Serve with shortbread biscuits or sponge fingers.
Pandiramerino
- 6½ cups plain flour
- ¼ cup fresh baker's yeast (or 5 tbsp active dry yeast)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups seedless raisins (or sultanas)
- 1 branch of fresh rosemary, washed and dried
- 1 egg
- Make a soft dough with the flour, yeast and sugar, binding with lukewarm water.
- Cover and leave to rise until doubled in volume.
- Put on a pastry board and add the raisins, oil and rosemary needles. Knead the dough for a few minutes and form a quantity of dome-shaped buns, brushing the surface with beaten egg.
- With a sharp knife, slash a cross on top of each bun
- Bake at 425F for about 30' until the buns havee a nice, even, brown crust.
Colomba Pasquale
- 1 oz. baker's yeast
- 1 lb flour
- 6 egg yolks
- 5 oz confectionery sugar
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- salt
- 3 oz milk
- 4 oz candied lemon and orange rinds (diced)
- 3 oz peeled almonds
- 7 oz butter
- Dissolve the crumbled yeast in some warm water and mix it with 2 oz. of flour. Make a rather solid dough and cut a cross on the top.
- Roll the dough in flour and put it into a bowl with 1 cup warm water for half an hour. Turn the dough occasionally when it floats to the surface.
- Knead the remaining flour separately with 5 egg yolks, 4 oz softened butter, the sugar, the lemon zest, a pinch of salt and 3 oz warm milk.
- Add the yeasted dough and knead for 20 mins. until the dough is smooth and rather compact.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place until increased by a third in volume.
- Knead the dough once again, adding half of the remaining softened butter in pieces.
- Put the dough back in the bowl to rise until doubled in volume.
- Put the dough on the pastry board once again and knead in the remaining butter and the candied peel.
- Shape the dough into the form of a dove, or put it in a dove shaped mold, and let rise for half an hour.
- Brush the dough with the remaining egg yolk, distribute the almonds over the surface, pressing them in slightly, and then sprinkle with the granulated sugar crystals.
- Bake for 15 minutes in preheated 375 F. oven then lower the heat to 325 F. and cook for another 20 minutes.
See also:
- Traditional Neapolitan grain and ricotta Easter pie (Pastiera napoletana)
- Italian Easter Menu: Traditional starters, main dishes and vegetables
The copyright of the article Easter Menu: Italian Desserts in European Culinary Travel is owned by Maddalena Delli. Permission to republish Easter Menu: Italian Desserts must be granted by the author in writing.
