Italian Easter Cake

Method

• step 1

  Start with the first dough the afternoon before you need it. Mix together the strong bread flour, sugar, butter, starter and 88ml of water in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix for 15 minutes until you have a velvety dough that comes away clean from the sides of the bowl, add the egg yolks and keep mixing until you have a smooth dough. Cover and leave to rise overnight for 10-11 hours or until it has tripled in volume. This step is incredibly important so don’t rush it.

• step 2

  After the dough has risen, add the additional 100g of flour for the second dough to the first batch, tipping back into the stand mixer and kneading for 10 minutes to reactivate the gluten. Once an elastic dough is formed, add the sugar, honey, vanilla and citrus zests from the second dough. Mix thoroughly.

• step 3

  Add one of the egg yolks and 1 tsp of salt, and mix well until fully combined. Add the butter in four additions, mixing well between each addition, then mix until the dough is coming away clean from the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining egg yolk and mix again. Add 20ml of water and mix until the dough is smooth, shiny and comes away clean from the sides of the bowl. Add the candied orange cubes to the dough and mix in thoroughly.

• step 4

  Butter an Italian dove cake tin or paper mould (or use a buttered and lined 22cm springform cake tin). Carefully remove the dough from the bowl and put into the mould, teasing into the shape. Leave to rise for another 2-3 hours or until the dough increases in volume reaching the edge of the mould.

• step 5

  Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. As you wait for the oven to heat up, make the icing for the cake. Whisk the egg white with the cornflour until frothy and brush over the top of the bread. Sprinkle over the caster sugar, pearl sugar and almonds. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.