You can make Ciambella in 45 minutes! You'll love this easy, Italian cake featuring fresh lemon flavor. Enjoy it for breakfast, brunch, a snack or dessert!
Think of Ciambella (pronounced "chahm-BAY-la," as Italian pound cake. It's one of the easiest cakes to make from scratch. And, you don't even need a mixer!
Some regions make it with yeast, so it turns out like bread. Others skip the yeast and use baking powder, like we're doing here, to make a Ciambella cake.
Even so, some versions of Ciambella can be quite dense and bready. To achieve a lighter texture, we decreased the flour and sifted it. The batter bakes up into a delicious, tender, lemon pound cake that's just sweet enough!
Recipe ingredients
You probably have all of the ingredients, except maybe the lemons! We have just a couple of notes for you.
Lemon Zest & Juice: You'll need two medium lemons and will use every bit of their zest and juice. They'll give the cake a pleasant, lemon flavor that's not over-the-top.
Butter: Ciambella can be made with olive oil, but we prefer the rich flavor of butter in this cake. We're melting salted butter that can be whisked into the batter. If you use unsalted butter, you'll need to add a little extra salt.
How to make it
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.
Prepare the batter
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set it aside.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl.
- Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest.
- Add all of the flour mixture to the egg mixture, but don't whisk it yet. Add all of the liquids (the melted butter, warmed milk and lemon juice). Whisk everything gently, just until combined.
Bake the cake
- Transfer the batter into a greased Bundt pan, using a silicone spatula to scrape the bowl.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven just until golden on top, brown on the sides and cooked through.
- Let the cake rest in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Recipe tips
- Sifting the flour makes it finer and produces a lighter cake. Otherwise, the cake will be denser.
- Whisking the ingredients gently, instead of using a mixer, produces a more tender cake. Think of it like mixing muffin batter. Overbeating can make it tough.
- It's best to just grease the pan with cooking spray. When we tested greasing and flouring the pan, little holes formed on the surface of the cake in places where the flour got stuck.
- Don't overbake! It should be done in 25-30 minutes, or just until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean or with a few crumbs. You don't want to dry out the cake by baking it too long.
What to serve with it
You can enjoy this cake with a simple dusting of powdered sugar and a cup of coffee. But, you have to try it with fresh, juicy strawberries!
You can take it a step further and make Italian dessert strawberries with lemon. Add a dollop of whipped cream if you'd like!
How to store ciambella so it doesn't get dry
Since this Ciambella is made with butter, it has a tendency to get dry. Here's how to store it to keep it as soft as possible.
- Wrap this Italian breakfast cake in plastic, especially covering the cut sections. It can stay for a couple of days at room temperature like this.
- For longer storage, slice the Ciambella into portions and freeze them in a zip-top freezer bag. Thaw each slice at room temperature or in the microwave.
- To freeze a whole cake or a partial cake that won't fit into a zip-top bag, wrap the cake in plastic, then a double layer of foil beforehand.
- If your slice of leftover cake seems dry, heat it in the microwave for around 10 seconds to soften it.
What kind of pan to use
We always make this recipe in a 12-cup Bundt pan (affiliate link), with grooves and ridges that make the cake look pretty when inverted. One of our pans has a dark interior, and one has a light interior. Either one works, but we found the Ciambella is done a few minutes sooner in the lighter pan.
If you don't have a Bundt pan, you can use a 10-inch tube pan. Or, use a springform pan with a small mason jar placed upside down in the center. You also could use a deep, round cake pan with the jar, or a can filled with dry rice in the center.
Frequently asked questions
Ciambella means "doughnut" and refers to a ring-shaped cake made with flour, baking powder, eggs, oil or butter, sugar and milk. It can be flavored with citrus, cocoa or nuts. It doesn't have frosting and is simply dusted with powdered sugar.
Ciambellone means "big doughnut" and refers to a tall sponge cake baked in a tube pan to form a ring. It can be flavored with citrus, cocoa and more.
More recipes to try
- Anginetti (Lemon Knot Cookies)
- Lemon Pizzelle Recipe
- Pizzelle Cookies with Almond
- Tiramisu with Zabaglione & Mascarpone
- Chocolate Torta Caprese with Almond Flour
Enjoy!
If you try this Ciambella Recipe, please leave a comment and a rating!
Ciambella (Italian Ring Cake)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 extra-large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (from two medium lemons)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (spooned into cups and leveled with a knife)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice (from two medium lemons)
- 7 Tablespoons salted butter (melted)
- 3 Tablespoons milk (can use whole, 2% or fat-free half and half)
- powdered sugar (to sprinkle on baked cake)
Instructions
- An hour before you make the cake, set out the eggs at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. (Don't use any flour.)
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium mixing bowl. (You can place a large, fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and add the dry ingredients to the strainer. Tap the sides of the strainer to sift the flour mixture.)
- Rinse two medium lemons and pat them dry. Zest the lemons until you have one tablespoon of zest. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze them until you have ½ cup of lemon juice.
- Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the granulated sugar and use a whisk to mix until combined. Stir in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
- Cut up the butter and add it to a glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl. Heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds, lightly covered with wax paper. When the butter is nearly melted, add 3 tablespoons of milk and heat the butter and milk a few more seconds until the butter is melted. Whisk to combine.
- Add all of the flour mixture to the egg mixture in the large bowl. Don't whisk it yet, because you need to wait for the wet ingredients so you don't overmix. Add all of the liquid (the melted butter mixture and the lemon juice). Whisk everything gently, just until combined.
- Transfer the batter to the greased Bundt pan. Use a silicone spatula to smooth out the top and even it out. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or just until the top is golden, the sides are brown and an inserted toothpick or cake tester comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
- Let the Ciambella rest in the pan for 15 minutes. Then, invert it onto a cooling rack so the curved ridges of the cake are on top. When cooled completely, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- Wrap this Italian breakfast cake in plastic, especially covering the cut sections. It can stay for a couple of days at room temperature like this.
- For longer storage, slice the Ciambella into portions and freeze them in a zip-top freezer bag. Thaw each slice at room temperature or in the microwave.
- To freeze a whole cake or a partial cake that won't fit into a zip-top bag, wrap the cake in plastic, then a double layer of foil beforehand.
- If your slice of leftover cake seems dry, heat it in the microwave for around 10 seconds to soften it.
- Use a 10-inch tube pan.
- Use a springform pan with a small mason jar placed upside down in the center.
- Use a deep, round cake pan with an upside-down jar in the middle, or a can filled with dry rice in the center.
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C)
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