Italian Breakfast Bundt Cake – Ciambella Allo Yogurt

A soft, light, and sweet Italian Breakfast Bundt Cake made with yogurt and lemon zest. This cake is the solid way to start your day Italian-style with a slice of sweet Ciambella cake and a cappuccino!

This post was first published on 30th July 2017 but has since been updated.

If you've spent any time in Italy you'll have noticed that the traditional way to start the day is with something sweet and good be it a slice of Crostatacustard-filled doughnuts flaky and buttery croissants or this soft and good Ciambella cake.

We have to admit, we enjoy a sweet treat for breakfast every now and then but it's not an everyday thing for us, it's usually kept for lazy weekends or when we can have a slow start to the day.

That being said we'll happily devour a slice of this yogurt cake with a cup of tea or coffee throughout the day as a snack, it's soft, light and so good!

Ciambella is a type of Italian bundt cake made with a ring or bundt mould they're fairly inexpensive but if you don't have one you could use a regular cake pan you might need to bake it for an extra 5-10 minutes.

Ingredients you need

The ingredients are simple all you need is self-raising flour, large eggs, natural yogurt, sunflower oil (these are both important for the soft texture) baking powder and lemon zest. See the photo below that shows all the ingredients you need.

How to make Italian Breakfast Cake (Ciambella allo Yogurt)

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 (photos 1-3).

Add the sifted flour and baking powder along with the lemon zest and fold it into the batter until it's fully incorporated (photos 5-7).

Pour the batter into a prepared bundt cake pan then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, let it cool then dust with confectioners' sugar before serving (photo 8).

Top tips and recipe FAQs

• Yogurt – use natural plain yogurt that's not too thick in texture.
• Lemon zest – You can replace the lemon zest with orange if you prefer.
• Extra flavour – For a more intense lemon flavour you can add 1-2 tbsp of juice into the batter.
• Cake batter – sift the flour first to avoid a lumpy batter.
• Cake pan – We used a 10-inch ring cake or ciambella cake mould.

What's the best way to line a bundt cake pan?

We use a non-stick bundt or ring mould and grease it lightly with butter then lightly coat it in flour making sure to shake out any excess. This ensures the cake can easily be removed after baking.

How long does it last?

The Ciambella cake will last up to 5-7 days stored in a sealed container or can be frozen wrapped tightly in plastic wrap (cling film) and aluminium foil.

More Italian sweet treats you might like

• Pistachio Cake with Strawberries & Cream
• Apple Olive Oil Cake
• Torta della Nonna: Italian Custard Tart
• Quick & Easy Tiramisu – Best Ever Recipe
• Stracciatella Gelato (No Churn)

Ingredients

Makes 10 servings

• 2 cups self raising flour ((250g))
• 1 cup caster sugar ((200g))
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup plain natural yogurt (full fat (250g))
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil ((130ml))
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• zest of one large lemon
• confectioners' sugar (icing sugar) (for dusting)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.

2. Combine the eggs and sugar and whisk together using a stand or electric mixer until pale and thick (about 1-2 minutes).

3. 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.

4. Grease the ciambella mould and dust with flour, remove any excess flour. Add the batter to a 10" cake mould and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool then remove from the mould, dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Kitchen notes

• Yogurt use natural plain yogurt that's not too thick in texture.
• Lemon zest You can replace the lemon zest with orange if you prefer.
• Extra flavour For a more intense lemon flavour you can add 1-2 tbsp of juice into the batter.
• Cake batter sift the flour first to avoid a lumpy batter.
• Cake pan We used a 10-inch ring cake or ciambella cake mould.
• Storage The Ciambella cake will last up to 5-7 days stored in a sealed container or can be frozen wrapped tightly in plastic wrap (cling film) and aluminium foil.