Easter dove from a pastry shop in italy: a cake very similar to panettone but for easter season.
The Colomba is a symbol of Easter, but a tradition born on industrial demand and diffused in all of Italy. In the early 1900s the Milanese company “Motta” decided to make a product similar to the panettone, but with an aspect decidedly connected to Easter. The Colomba was born a dessert cake with a similar composition to the panettone, but that is enriched with the flavour of amaretto. In 1930, the Motta Company requested an artist specialized in public adverts, and produced the slogan “The Easter Columba by Motta, the dessert that knows of springtime.” In realty, the Colomba has very old roots, way into the second half of the sixth century in which it was offered to “Alboino” the king of the Longobardi, (who happened to be harassing the city of Pavia) a yeast bread formed into the shape of a donut. Although the ingredients weren’t very rich (egg, flour and yeast), in respects to the ones we have today, in which we use butter, sugar and candied fruits. They must though, add a topping of almonds, and dried fruits. The form of the Colomba (pigeon) was given by a choice made not of its symbolic nature, but also for the season; springtime.
The Easter Holiday all over the world is connected to nature, and was born for this reason; for thanks and offerings. Eggs, vegetables, lamb, chocolate and cakes in the form of a colomba are present in the Italian Home. All these ingredients of the Easter tradition have a worldly story behind them-the chocolate eggs were invented in Torino in the 1800’s, as a refined substitute of the traditional exchanging of chicken eggs, that in turn represented the end of fasting.
The Easter Colomba, in respects of the Italian gastronomy and today represents a production of excellence in pastry making. In fact, the Colomba is a delicate dessert cake, it must be soft, aromatic on the outside, and moist on the inside and naturally left to rise one entire night.
The very next day, they make a second dough uniting flour, sugar and egg with some tiny pieces of candied fruits. After 30 minutes of rest it is divided into the appropriate sizes and after four hours of further rising it is covered with almonds, sugar and amaretto. After it is baked, it is left to rest at least seven hours, and then they are packaged.
Download the app RICETTE DOLCI or VIDEO RICETTE DOLCI on your iPhone and iPad or for your Galaxy and Android