Colomba Pasquale
The Easter dove: the same enriched dough as panettone, shaped into wings and armoured in almond crust and pearl sugar. Two days of work.
Photograph credit: Colomba pasquale, edizione 2013 - ND0 4662 (8564331585) (image of Colomba di Pasqua on… by N i c o l a from Fiumicino (Rome), Italy · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photograph credit: Colomba Pasquale Casalinga al Cioccolato by DinaBenedettoFerrandina · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Colomba Pasquale, Step by Step
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Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, yolks and warm milk to a shaggy dough, then knead 15 minutes until it passes a windowpane test.
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Add the salt, then work in the butter a piece at a time, kneading until each is absorbed before the next goes in.
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Knead in the vanilla, orange zest and candied peel. Cover and prove 3 hours, until doubled.
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Knock back, cover tightly and refrigerate 12 hours.
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Bring the dough back to room temperature, divide it two thirds to one third, and lay the larger piece down the body of a paper colomba mould and the smaller across it as wings.
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Prove 4 hours at room temperature, until the dough reaches the rim of the mould.
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Whisk the ground almonds, sugar, egg whites and cornflour to a spreadable paste and cover the top of the risen dough.
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Press in the whole almonds and scatter the pearl sugar over.
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Bake at 160°C / 320°F fan / 180°C / 355°F / gas 4 for 45 minutes, until an internal temperature of 92°C / 198°F.
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Skewer the base horizontally and hang the colomba upside down 3 hours to cool, then dust with icing sugar.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Small Things That Help
- Twelve hours cold. It is where the flavour and the strength come from.
- Butter only after the windowpane test, a piece at a time.
- Hang it upside down or the crumb compresses.
What Goes With Colomba Pasquale
- Moscato d'Asti
- Espresso
- Easter morning
Leftovers and Storage
Sealed in a bag at room temperature for 10 days. Freezes 2 months.
Colomba Pasquale: Questions and Answers
How long does Colomba Pasquale take to make?
50 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking, plus 22 hours of proving, the overnight cold ferment and hanging to cool, so allow 23 hours 35 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 10.
Colomba Pasquale Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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