Capri is known for its lemons. Capri is so known for its lemons, in fact, that their presence can occasionally feel comical. Lemons are inescapable: they decorate windows and droop from arbors, they’re used as centerpieces on café tables and illustrations on menus, and even their scent is everywhere. More than once, while researching SALTWATER, I had to push aside a giant, decorative lemon to make space for my cup of espresso.
It’s no surprise, then, that the lemon is also ubiquitous in Caprese cooking. Pasta al Limone is featured on nearly every menu, as is lemon gelato and limoncello. So naturally, when it came time to cook something for Crimespree, I knew I would be turning to a recipe that featured Capri’s most iconic citrus.
This bright, Italian tea cake—ciambellone—is adapted from a recipe by Deb Pearlman of Smitten Kitchen and the patron saint of home cooks. While technically, ciambellone translates as donut, you can adjust the amount of oil in this cake to tip it from more donutty to less donutty depending on your desires any given day.
Ingredients for the cake:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt (Deb calls for 2 ½ teaspoons and I have always found this too much!)
- Zest of 1-3 lemons (depending on preference)
- Zest of 1 small orange
- 1 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons neutral oil (sunflower, safflower, etc). For a more donutty texture, don’t skimp on the oil; if you’re feeling restrained, this can be reduced to 2/3 cup and still result in a lovely, light, cakey crumb.
- ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon plain yogurt (full fat)
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese (I’ve happily used cream cheese as a substitute many times)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Ingredients for the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice.
Instructions from Patron Saint Deb Pearlman (which I follow every time!):
Make cake: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a bundt or tube cake pan.
Place sugar and salt in the bottom of a large bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into it. This abrasion helps release the most flavor from it. Whisk in oil, mascarpone, yogurt, and then eggs and vanilla until smooth. Sprinkle baking powder over batter and whisk it thoroughly into the batter, a good 10 turns around the bowl. Sift flour onto batter and use a rubber spatula to stir just until batter is smooth.
Drop batter in large scoopfuls equally around your cake mold, then smooth, and drop on counter a few times to ensure there are no trapped air bubbles. Bake for about 40 minutes (times will range by shape and volume of pan), checking in at the 30 minute mark to rotate the pan for even coloring, and to ensure it’s not baking faster than anticipated. Cake is done when a toothpick or tester comes out batter-free (crumbs are fine).
While the cake bakes, make the glaze: Whisk sugar, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice together until smooth, adding the last tablespoon of juice just if needed. You want this glaze thick, thicker than your regular drizzle glaze, because we want it to stick to the sides of the cake when it’s hot.
When cake is done, let it rest on a cooling rack for 3 to 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan — yes, while piping hot. Brush glaze evenly over the top of the cake, and sides if you wish. Chef Weiss says “Use all of the glaze! Don’t be cheap.” And I listen to her. Glaze will set as cake cools.
Cake can keep up to four days covered on the counter (if it lasts that long!)
Katy Hays is the New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters. She is an art history adjunct professor and holds an MA in art history from Williams College and pursued her PhD at UC Berkeley. Having previously worked at major art institutions, including the Clark Art Institute and SFMOMA, she now lives with her husband and their dog in Olympic Valley, California.
