Buccellato is a traditional Italian cake in the shape of a ring, with two distinct regional variations. The Sicilian version is ornate and filled with dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, rum, and spices, while the Lucca version is simple and dominated by aniseed flavor. Both are associated with special occasions and have a long shelf life.
A buccellato is a traditional Italian cake in the shape of a ring. There are two distinct variations of buccellato, one originating on the island of Sicily and the other associated with the Tuscan city of Lucca. While these regional variations contain some of the same basic ingredients, they are generally quite different in both appearance and taste. The Sicilian version of the cake is often quite decorated and is usually baked for special occasions such as baptisms and Christmas. In Lucca, however, the cake tends to be quite simple and is often served as an accompaniment to morning coffee.
The name buccellato derives from the Latin word buccella, which means “bite”. Historical writings show that a ring-shaped bread known as buccellatum was eaten by the ancient Romans. It is possible that the modern buccellato of Sicily and Lucca evolved from this Roman bread.
Sicilian buccellato tends to have a rather ornate appearance. It usually consists of a dough made mainly with flour, butter, sugar and eggs which is wrapped around a filling of dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, rum and spices. Filled pastry is formed into a ring, baked, and sometimes decorated with sugary icing, candied fruit, nuts, or marzipan.
In Sicily, this type of cake is associated with celebrations. It is often shared at Christmas. It is also traditionally given to a child by his or her godparents on that child’s baptism day. Buccellato baptism is considered a symbol of good luck for the child.
While Buccellato di Lucca may be much less elaborate than its Sicilian cousin, it is considered an integral part of the local cuisine and can be eaten on a weekly or even daily basis. Some argue that an authentic Lucchese buccellato should contain only flour, eggs, sugar, baking powder and aniseed, which are combined and then cooked into a ring shape. Others allow the addition of raisins or nuts. In both cases, the cake remains quite simple and is dominated by the aniseed flavour.
This version of the cake has a shelf life of at least a week. Even when it starts to grow hard after several days, the natives of Lucca don’t consider it spoiled. Instead, they came up with a clever solution to soften the cake: They cut it into generous slices and then dipped it in their morning coffee or evening wine.
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