50th

Ciambellone is an Italian version of the many Easter breads that occur across the continent, celebrating the cook's ability to have in the house (and eat!) the eggs, butter, sugar and other rich ingredients that are finally permitted again after the long Lenten fasting period. The bread is a sweet one, and heavy enough to be considered a cake.

The name ciambellone has over recent years come to mean almost any kind of ring cake, and appears in countless other forms containing chocolate and numerous other flavorings. But this is the most basic recipe.

When asked to select two of the most famous cakes in the country to send to the European Union's 50th birthday celebrations as the "national birthday cake", Italy chose the ciambellone as one of them.

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This beautiful, simple and surprisingly elegant cake was contributed by Irish TV chef Darina Allen as one of Ireland's two "birthday cakes" for the festivities celebrating the 1957 signing of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Union.

Oranges have been popular in Ireland for hundreds of years, initially (in the 1600's) as a faddish snack food, then as a favorite staple in desserts. For example, Dean (Jonathan) Swift's favorite dessert was "burnt oranges" -- oranges and white wine, caramelized under the grill with brown sugar and whiskey. Oranges appear in many Irish desserts, in both fresh and dried / candied forms -- but rarely as intensively as they do here.

It would probably be understandable if residents of the Republic of Ireland pause briefly to wonder whether the "orangeness" of the cake is a sly nod to our cousins up in the "Wee North".

Click "Read more" for the recipe...