Berlingozzo

Berlingozzo by Blue Oleander(http://www.blueoleander.com) This lovely cake is a Tuscan tradition for Giovedi Grasso (Fat Thursday). In Florence, the celebration on giovedi grasso is called Berlingaccio. It is an old carnival celebration dating back to the Renaissance. Berlingozzo is a ring-shaped cake, spiced with anise. INGREDIENTS: 3 cups flour 3 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 cup milk 125g/1 stick butter Zest of 1 lemon ½ cup candied orange peel ½ tsp. anise seeds (or extract) 50g/1.8oz fresh yeast To make the cake, first dissolve the yeast in ½ cup of warm milk; add 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar, cover and let it rise for about 30 minutes. In another pot, warm up the remaining milk and melt the butter in it. Beat the eggs with sugar until light. Add the proved yeast mixture, melted butter and flour. Stir with an electric mixer to combine. Crush the anise seeds with mortar and pestle; then add to the batter along with lemon zest and candid orange peel. Mix to distribute everything evenly. Butter a ring-shaped baking pan and dust with flour. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in 180°C/350°F oven for about 20-25 minutes, until a test skewer comes out clean. Remove from the pan and dust with some confectioner’s sugar.