Bensone is a specialty of Modena, where it’s also called balsone or ciambella Emiliana. Ciambella means donut in Italian and also refers to any ring-shaped cake. Ciambelle appear all over the country with different flavourings and textures, there are even savoury ones. This ciambella is more a pastry than a cake. It’s a sweet shortcrust dough folded around a jam filling, which gives it a ring-like appearance when sliced. Because of the way it’s folded, it’s important to cook it long enough that the dough in the very centre is cooked through, so opt for a longer rather than shorter cooking time, until it has a dark golden colour. The only way to be certain is to cut it open and take a look then, if need be, pop it back into the oven for a further 5 minutes or so. If it’s already very dark, cover it with foil for this extra cooking time. In both Emilia and Romagna, ciambella often refers to a plain sweet bread that’s popular dunked into coffee for breakfast, or Lambrusco wine for a snack at any time. Bensone keeps well in an air-tight container in a cool place for up to 5 days. Try it with coffee and a nip of Borsci Elisir S.Marzano, a wonderful amaro I discovered in Parma (it’s great poured over ice cream too). See video below for highlights of my small group food & wine tour to Emilia-Romagna.
Serves 6–8
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