Italian Breakfast Cake – Ciambella Allo Yogurt

Italian breakfast cake aka ciambella allo yogurt, a simple, light, lemony sponge cake that’s not too overly sweet. If you’re looking for an authentic Italian breakfast recipe then look no further.

This Italian breakfast cake is incredibly easy to make, you can’t really go wrong. It’s made with lots of lemon zest and yogurt for a soft, fragrant sponge that’s extremely delicious alongside a cappuccino or espresso. A great way to start your day in true Italian style.

One tradition I haven’t adopted since living in Italy is the sweet breakfast. Italians love their sweet cakes, croissants filled with crema pasticiera, nutella and jam filled brioche. There are endless amounts of sweet, flaky pastries and mouth-watering cakes that are devoured in bars with a cappuccino in hand or at home before heading off to work.

All of them are to die for, I mean seriously good but most of the time I need something savoury in the mornings. I am one of those that would choose cheese over chocolate any day of the week and I’ve always been like that.

When I do feel like something sweet however, this Italian breakfast cake is one of the first things on my mind. Ciambella allo yogurt is a traditional cake that’s not overly sweet and perfect with a cappuccino. Almost every nonna has her own version, It took me three tries to get it perfect and now I’m sharing my version with you.

I have to admit since I’ve been making this ciambella allo yogurt, I’ve been loving the sweet breakfasts, I also happily munch on it throughout the day it’s so good. It’s made with flour, eggs, sugar, natural yogurt, oil and lemon zest and only takes 30 minutes ( if that ) from start to finish.

You need a ring shaped cake mould to make this cake either a ciambella pan or shallow bundt pan that’s 10″ wide. I always use a non stick ciambella pan and then grease the pan with butter and dust it with flour to be extra sure it will easily slide out of the mould when it’s cooled.

How to make Italian breakfast cake

Whisk the sugar and eggs together using a stand mixer or electric whisk until pale and thick. Add the oil and yogurt and whisk together for a couple of seconds to combine.

Add the sifted flour and baking powder along with the lemon zest and fold it into the batter until it’s fully incorporated. If there here are a few lumps, try and get rid of most of them when folding the batter but if there are some left don’t worry.

Finally, bake the cake in the oven for 20 minutes, let it cool then dust with icing sugar before serving. Breakfast is served!

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTERESTto see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

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Italian breakfast cake - Ciambella allo yogurt

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Italian breakfast cake aka ciambella allo yogurt, a simple, light, lemony sponge cake that's not too overly sweet. If you're looking for an authentic Italian breakfast recipe then look no further.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 234 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250g) self raising flour
• 1 cup (200g) caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup (250g) plain natural yogurt full fat
• 4.5 fl oz (130ml) sunflower oil
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• zest of one large lemon (amalfi lemon if possible)
• Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4. Combine the eggs and sugar and whisk together using a stand or electric mixer until pale and thick (about 1-2 minutes).
2. Add the yogurt and sunflower oil and whisk for a couple of seconds to combine. Sift the flour and baking powder into the batter and add the lemon zest. Fold until fully incorporated and there are few lumps left.

3. Grease the ciambella mould and dust with flour, remove any excess flour. Add the batter to A 10" ciambella mould and bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

4. Allow to cool then remove from the mould, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Recipe Notes

Please note this recipe was tested and developed using metric measurements all imperial measurements are approximate. 

Recipe requires a 10" ring cake mould.