Fresh Cream Vanilla Cake
This Italian Vanilla Cake is quite an easy cake to make. Made with fresh cream and no butter but with the added touch of citrus. Whether you choose lemon, orange or even mandarin zest this cake would make a delicious addition to any dessert table.
This Italian cake is known as a Ciambellone, which actually means big donut. These types of cakes are eaten for breakfast or snack. They are never glazed or frosted, but they are dusted with a good amount of powdered sugar.
They are quick and simple to make because you never know who will be stopping by for an afternoon espresso and a little bit of town gossip.
And now I know why Italians eat cake for breakfast, I am pretty sure one of the reasons is this cake.
I have made a lot of Italian cakes in my day, but I am going to say that this is probably one of my favourites.
If there is one thing that Italians love to add to their sweet recipes it’s either lemon zest or lemon juice.
Well I decided to change it up and I added mandarin zest instead, and what a good choice it was. If you wanted you could substitute with orange or maybe even lime might be an interesting choice. You choose. You could probably leave out the citrus if you wanted and just add a bit more vanilla.
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour – pastry/cake flour
- Sugar – Granulated sugar
- Cream – whole, heavy or whipping cream with at least 30% fat content
- Egg – room temperature
- Egg yolk – room temperature
- Baking powder
- Vanilla – vanilla extract
- Salt
- Lemon, mandarin or orange zest
How to Make Cake Flour
For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free. Cake flour in cakes will give you a very tender texture and fine crumb, it will also help the cake to rise.
How to make the Vanilla Cake
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat on medium speed the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Then add the vanilla, and then slowly add the cream while beating on medium / low speed.
- Add the flour mixture and zest and beat to combine until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until done or a toothpick comes out dry.
- Let cool completely before removing from the pan.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
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Tips for making the Best Vanilla Cake
- Be sure to use cake or pastry flour. This helps to make a softer cake.
- To make your own homemade pastry flour, for every one cup of all purpose remove 2 tablespoons and substitute with corn starch. Be sure to sift together before using.
- Remove the eggs, cream and and zest from the fridge at least 30-45 minutes before using.
- Room temperature ingredients will mix easier and better with the batter and they rise more easily.
- Be sure to use whole / whipping / heavy cream, in other words cream with at least 30% fat.
- Since there is no butter or oil in the cake you need the fat from the cream.
- You can make the cake in a tube pan or even a 9 inch cake pan.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing.
How to store a Homemade Cake
The cake should be stored in an airtight container or a covered cake dish. It will keep at room temperature for 4-5 days.
The cake can also be frozen. Wrap the cooled cake tightly in plastic and place in a freezer safe bag or container. It will keep up to three months in the freezer.
More Delicious Italian Cakes
- Italian Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake
- Easy Italian Apple Cake
- La Torta Tenerina
- Italian Pear Cake
- Easy Yogurt Cake
If you are like me and love trying a not too sweet Italian cake that is perfect for breakfast or even for snack in the afternoon with a cup of tea or coffee, then I hope you give this Fresh Cream Vanilla Cake a try. Enjoy!
Fresh Cream Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cake / pastry flour (homemade or store bought)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole / whipping cream room termperature (260 grams total, if doubling the recipe then double this amount)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾-1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 zest of lemon / mandarin or orange
TOPPING
- 2-3 tablespoons icing / powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 350F (180C), grease and flour an 8 inch (20-22cm) cake or bundt/tube pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand up mixer or large bowl, beat on medium speed the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy (5-6 minutes), then add the vanilla, and then slowly add the cream while beating on medium / low for 2 minutes, add the flour mixture and zest, beat on medium speed to combine until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!
Hi Rosemary, This cake is perfect. I used lemon and made it for my mom and she loves it. This is a cake I’ll make again and again. thanks.
Hi Kelli, thanks so much, so glad you Mom enjoyed it. And yes adding lemon is a great idea. Have a great week.
Does the recipe adjust for the fact that European Italian. Cream has more fat than American?
The cake was good -but is was missing that crumb that only fat- milk can give
I felt it should of been more tender- this was a bit dense and sponge
Love your recipes
Hi Lourdes as long as you use whole fat or heavy cream which has at least 30% fat it should be ok. Yes Italian cakes are denser than American cakes. Thanks glad you enjoy the recipes. Merry Christmas.
Can I use lemon juice instead of zest ?
Hi Sheri yes you can, so use the juice of one lemon. Let me know how it goes.
Hi! My husband wants a โmoist, lightโ layer cake with strawberries and buttercream icing on it. Can I make that work with this? This just looks delicious, so I want to try it.
Thanks!
Hi Adiel, I think it would work fine, as long as the frosting isn’t really thick and heavy. Let me know how it goes if you use it.
Hi dear
I have medium size eggs not large. So how much I use .
Let me know please I want to try this receipe.
Thanks
Hi Preety, use 2 medium eggs (the same as the large). That will be fine. Let me know how the cake is.
Thanks for your quick reply. You mean 2 medium eggs +1 yolk. But receipe says 1large egg and 1 large egg yolk.
Thanks
Hi Preety, oh yes sorry I meant 1 medium egg and 1 medium egg yolk. Let me know how it goes.
Hello! This cake sounds delicious, and Iโm thinking of making it for my daughterโs first birthday as I donโt want something overly sweet. However Iโm wondering if you think itโs too soft to stack. I was planning on putting vanilla pastry cream and peach sauce in between the layers, which is relatively heavy. What do you think? Would it fall apart? Thanks for your advice!!
Hi Stephanie, I do think it is too soft to hold that, sounds delicious though. What about serving it on the slices of cake or you didn’t layer it and just placed it on top of the cake just before serving. I think that would work much better. Let me know if try it.
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes also? It looks delicious!!
Hi Mariah, thanks, I think you can, just be sure to bake them 15-20 minutes, check with a toothpick at the 15 minute mark, if the toothpick has a few crumbs to it or is dry they are done. Let me know how they turn out.
I want to give this 6 stars . It is light and full of cream flavour. The perfect cake by itself or with fruit and whipped cream. Divine is what best describes it. My friend couldn’t stop slicing pieces and eating it,
Hi Nancy, thanks so much, so glad you and your friend like it. Happy New Year!
Amazing texture! I had lemons on hand but will try with orange next time. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Gail, thanks so much glad you liked it. Lemon is also a good choice. Have a great weekend.
This cake is so delicious..the orange flavor is wonderful. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Lo, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Have a great week.
Just made this cake yesterday and put the sugar in with the flour instead of with the egg (obviously I didn’t read your instructions before I started). Despite this mistake, the cake turned out delicious and will be a regular in our household. I used orange zest, and it was lovely.
Hi Carien, thanks so much, well there you go it works that way too. Have a great week.
What type pan do you use?
Hi Mary, in the recipe instructions it says an 8 inch bundt pan or cake pan. ๐
I’m going to make this and will be using the zest of an average size orange, not a mandarin. Am I zesting the whole orange? Could you provide an approximate amount of zest that should be used?
Thank you.
Hi Lo the recipe does say zest of 1 orange, lemon or mandarin. Let me know how it goes.
Ok thanks.
I made the cake and it was delicious. My family liked it. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Thanks so much, glad everyone liked it. Have a great weekend.
This looks delicious. Your baking recipes take me back to my grandmothers and my Italian heritage.
Hi Janine, thanks so much, glad I can bring back some memories.