Roman Breakfast Cake

Name: Roman Breakfast Cake
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Yield: 1 cake
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: Butter for greasing the pan; 1 1/2 cups (204 grams) all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt; 6 large eggs, separated and at room temperature; 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar; Finely grated zest of 2 lemons; 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) neutral oil, like canola; Juice of 1 lemon (2 to 3 tablespoons); 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract or oil (optional); About 1 1/2 cups (about 250 grams) blueberries, raspberries and/or blackberries (optional)

By Dorie Greenspan

Total Time: 1 hour, plus 2 hours' cooling
Rating: 4(1,474)
Comments: Read comments

Of course this cake is good at lunch, at dinner, after school, afternoon or after midnight, but I call it a breakfast cake because it reminds me of a lemon cake I had with coffee every morning that I was in Rome. The cake is tall and golden, lightly lemony and most like a sponge cake — it’s soft and stretchy: Pull it gently, and it will tug itself back into shape. If you have a tube pan, use it; if you don’t, choose a Bundt pan with as few curves, crannies and crenellations as possible (fewer nooks make unmolding easier). When there are berries in the market, I fold them into the batter at the end. During the rest of the year, I go with straight lemon, although you could certainly make this cake with orange or a mix of citrus. Like so many of my favorite recipes, this is one that you can play with.

Featured in: A Lemony Breakfast Cake That Tastes Like a Roman Holiday

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Ingredients

Yield:1 cake

Butter for greasing the pan
1½cups (204 grams) all-purpose flour
2teaspoons baking powder
½teaspoon fine sea salt
6large eggs, separated and at room temperature
1½cups (300 grams) sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
½cup (120 milliliters) neutral oil, like canola
Juice of 1 lemon (2 to 3 tablespoons)
2teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼teaspoon pure lemon extract or oil (optional)
About 1½ cups (about 250 grams) blueberries, raspberries and/or blackberries (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 350. Generously butter a 10-inch tube pan (or use a Bundt pan with minimal crannies), dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess. Be assiduous — this cake is a sticker. Alternatively, use baker’s spray.
Step 2
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of the salt; set aside.
Step 3
Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt on medium-high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks. (If you’re using a stand mixer, scrape the whites into another bowl. No need to rinse the mixer bowl.)
Step 4
Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. Put the sugar and lemon zest in the mixer/mixing bowl, and rub them together until the mixture is fragrant. Add the yolks, and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed — the batter will be thick, pale and shiny. With the mixer on medium, pour in the oil and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice, vanilla and lemon oil, if using, then scrape the bowl well. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients and pulse the mixer a few times to start incorporating them. Work on low until the flour is blended into the batter, which will be smooth and thick.
Step 5
Beat the whites briskly with a whisk (to restiffen them and incorporate any liquid in the bowl), and scrape a few spoonfuls over the batter. Use a flexible spatula to stir them in and lighten the batter. Turn the rest of the whites into the bowl, and fold them in gingerly. If you’re using the berries, gently fold them in just before the whites are fully incorporated. Scrape the batter into the pan, and level the top.
Step 6
Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, until lightly browned; a tester inserted deep into the cake should come out clean. Transfer to a rack, and wait 5 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake (if possible — it’s not easy with a Bundt), invert onto the rack and unmold. Cool to room temperature. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if you like.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,474 user ratings

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Comments

TriciaPDX6 years ago

The batter is pretty thick after Step 4, so adding the whipped egg whites all at once would tend to deflate them and cause the cake to flatten. If you pour just a bit of whipped egg white into the thick batter and stir gently the batter loosens up considerably. Then it's much easier to incorporate the rest of the egg whites into the batter with gentle folding motions.

Laura West6 years ago

If you roll the berries in flour before folding them in, they will distribute more evenly.

Judy6 years ago

50+ years ago, when my husband and I were poor graduate students, I had a 10" round pan, but could not afford a tube pan. Back then frozen orange juice came in metal cans. So I plopped a clean, empty one (minus the circular ends) onto the center of my 10" round can, holding it firm while I poured in the batter. Worked perfectly, and still does.

Linda from da Bronx23 hours ago

Outstanding! My new favorite cake Eggy and bouncy, great vehicle for fruit, bonus part is how easy this cake is to eat with your hands - look ma, no crumbs! I propose this recipe be renamed Breakfast in Bed Cake, to be enjoyed in situ with coffee on a lazy Sunday. Made this twice, once with blueberries and strawberries, then with blueberries and apricots. I think this recipe would work with just about any fruit. Looking forward to trying this cake with cranberries, cherries, rhubarb etc as they come into season. Used less sugar per suggestions, 1 c. was perfect for us.

Katie1 month ago

While I typically love Dorie’s recipes, and this one is great, Brian Levy’s One-Bowl Lemon and Olive Oil Cake (here on NYT) is far closer to the breakfast cake I ate in Rome for years. And it keeps on the counter under glass for a week like it’s on a Roman bar, too.

Blue10 months ago

I love this cake. The texture is amazing, a perfect sponginess and tender. I have made it several times with variations on inclusion of fruit, extracts, and types of zest. It is lovely and flexible. The only thing I consistently alter is using extra virgin olive oil instead of a neutral oil.

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