This donut shaped cake with meringue frosting is pronounced Chara-mee-cola ( Ciaramicola) and is an Umbrian delicacy. Legend has it that there was a tradition where a woman would present the cake to her fiance on the morning of Easter Sunday. Now it is a common Easter cake in the Umbrian region and particularly the province of Perugia. We were introduced to this cake by our Umbrian friends, Marco and Chiara. The cake gets its pink tint from the Alchermes liqueur, which some believe to date back to the Renaissance. While not hard to find in Umbria, if you cannot find in the US, you can substitute it with a cranberry liqueur. Enjoy this slice of Umbria in your own kitchen! Buona Pasqua!
INGREDIENTS
450gr flour 250gr butter 350gr sugar (100 for meringue) 5 eggs (2 egg whites for meringue) 1 cup Alchermes 1 small cup of milk 1 lemon (juice and grated peel) 1 pinch of salt 16gr of baking powder |
DIRECTIONS
-Beat the eggs in with the sugar -Add the melted butter, Alchermes, lemon, milk and sift in the flour -Bake at 355F for 45 minutes -Remove the cake from the oven -Beat the egg whites with the first salt at low speed -Cook for 2 minutes in boiling, salted water and toss with sauce of choice -Cover the cake with meringue and decorate as desired -Put back in oven at 220/250F for 10 minutes -Leave the cake in the oven to cool and dry with the oven door open |
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