Italian Traditional Easter Dove Cake

Grab some fresh yeast and crumble it in a bowl. Pour in the warm milk and stir with a wooden until the yeast is totally melted. Sift in 1/3 heaping cup of flour (50 grams). Cover with wrapping paper and a towel and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Now add in 2 egg yolks, 2/3 cup flour (75 grams) and while stirring, pour in the lukewarm water. Cover again and let rest for 45 minutes.

Now grab other 2/3 cup of flour (75 grams), whole egg, 15 grams soft unsalted butter and 1.5 tablespoons of sugar (50 grams) and add them to the dough, stirring with a wooden spoon until combined.

Now let the dough rest covered for more 30 minutes. Add to the dough the remaining flour (150 grams or 1-1/4 cup) and sugar (90 grams, slightly less than 1/2 cup), butter (100 grams, 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp), a pinch of salt, orange zest, vanilla extract and the remaining egg yolk. Then grab the candied fruit and add them in. Add the raisins and mix all the ingredients together on a floured surface until you get a smooth and very soft dough.

Divide the dough into 2 oval pieces. Grab your dove mold and place the two pieces, one on each other, to form a cross. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rest for a couple of hours or until it doubled in size.

At this point we can prepare the glass!

In a food processor combine the peeled almonds, white sugar and egg white. About 2 hours later, your dove cake will look nice and fluffy. Brush the top with the glass we have just made, sprinkle the surface with grain sugar then decorate with the unpeeled almonds.

Bake at 180ºC for 45 minutes!

When ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool down on a wire rack.