Manu’s Menu

Authentic Italian Home Cooking & More

  • Home
  • About
    • About me
    • About this site
    • About my photography
    • Privacy and Disclosure Policy
  • Recipes
    • Visual Archive
    • Regional Italian Recipes
  • Books
    • The Cool Side of Summer
    • Manu’s Christmas Menus
    • MsM’s Mobile App
  • Work With Me
    • Affiliate Sign-Up
    • Featured On
  • Out & About
    • Africa
      • South Africa 2019
    • Americas
      • Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize
      • CHILE AND ARGENTINA 2018
    • Asia
      • India
      • Japan 2015
      • Japan 2017
      • Japan 2018
      • Singapore
    • Europe
      • Slovenia and Croatia 2019
      • Italy 2019
    • Oceania
      • French Polynesia (Tahiti) 2017
      • French Polynesia (Tahiti)
      • New Caledonia
      • New Zealand
      • South Island – New Zealand Guide
  • Blogging Tips
    • Blogging Platform
    • Web Hosting
    • Technology Tips
    • Food Photography
    • Increasing Traffic to your Blog
    • Links
      • MsM in Your Kitchen
      • Events
        • 150 years of the Unification of Italy
        • Olio, Erbe e Fantasia – LILT
  • Tips
    • Techniques
      • Pasta and Gnocchi
      • Pizza and Other Doughs
      • Sauces and Other Basics
      • Decorations
    • Cake and Cookie decoration
      • Cake & Marshmallow Pops
        • Flowery Cake Pops
        • Hello Kitty Cake Pops
        • Dorothy the Dinosaur Cake Pops
        • Christmas Tree Cake Pops
        • Sea Marshmallow Pops
      • Fondant Cakes
        • Moo Cake
        • South Pole Cake
        • Lola Cake
        • Hello Kitty Yogurt Cake
        • Dorothy the Dinosaur Cake
        • The Little Mermaid Yogurt Cake
        • The Little Mermaid Fondant Cake
        • Sweet Sushi Mini Fondant Cakes
        • Peppa Pig Cake
        • Tinkerbell Cake
        • Miffy Cake
        • Olaf Yogurt Cake
        • Frozen Cake
      • Sugar Cookies
        • Heart Sugar Cookies
        • Dorothy the Dinosaur Sugar Cookies
        • Christmas Tree Ornament Sugar Cookies
      • Eggless Sugar Cookies
        • Chinese New Year Cookies
        • St. Patrick’s Day Cookies
      • Shortbread Cookies
        • Shortbread and Chocolate Hearts
        • Baby Shower Shortbread Cookies
        • Flounder Shortbread Cookie Pops
      • Easy Chocolate Cookies
    • Conversion Tables
    • Gift Ideas
      • Christmas 2010
      • Christmas 2011
      • Christmas 2012
      • Christmas 2013
      • Christmas 2014
      • Christmas 2015
    • Ingredients
    • Where I Shop for Italian Food in Sydney
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Recipes / Baking / BUCCELLATO – CUCCIDDATU

BUCCELLATO – CUCCIDDATU

January 12, 2012 By Manu 24 Comments

Buccellato

Buccellato is a Sicilian cake traditionally eaten during the holiday season, especially on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve… so it had to be featured on the  Sicilian Street Food New Year’s Eve Party I organised for this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 event!  It is a ring shaped shortbread cake filled with dried figs, raisins, candied fruits, nuts and chocolate and decorated with candied cherries (and/or other fruits) and pistachios.  The recipe below is a mix of many recipes we had at home and it is the final version my mom and I have come up with.  That’s exactly the way we like it.  This is one of those dishes where you can clearly see the Arab influence in Sicilian cooking: dried figs, raisins, almonds, pistachios, honey… are all ingredients that are easily found in Middle Eastern cuisines!  I guess you could consider this a Sicilian “fruit cake”.

Ingredients:

For the filling
500 gms – 17 oz. dried figs, chopped
250 gms – 8.5 oz. apricot or fig jam
100 gms – 3.5 oz. almonds, chopped
100 gms – 3.5 oz. hazelnuts, chopped
50 gms walnuts – 1.75 oz., chopped
50 gms pistachios – 1.75 oz., chopped
200 gms candied cherries, chopped
100 gms – 3.5 oz. raisins
100 gms – 3.5 oz. candied orange zests, chopped
100 gms – 3.5 oz. dark chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
1 sachet vanillina or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp clove powder
1 espresso shot
100 ml – 3.5 oz. Marsala or Muscat wine
125 gms – 4.4 oz. honey

For the dough
500 gms – 17 oz. flour
150 gms – 5.25 oz. sugar
200 gms – 7 oz. lard
3 eggs
1 sachet vanillina or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp honey
8 gms – a little more than 1/4 oz. ammonium bicarbonate (or baking soda)

For the glaze and the decoration
3 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water
Candied cherries
Pistachios, ground

Start by preparing the filling.  I usually do this the day before, so it can cool down completely.

Toast and roughly chop/crush all the nuts.

Chop the dried figs and candied fruits.

Put all the ingredients (apart from the chocolate chips) in a pot, heat it up and let it cook on a slow fire for 5 minutes.  Stir well.  Let it cool down completely and add the chocolate.  Stir it and keep it aside.

Now, make the dough.  Put all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer with a hook attachment and knead for 5 minutes or until you obtain a smooth and pliable dough.  Wrap in cling paper and let it rest for 1 hour in the fridge.

Take the dough out and roll it into a rectangle of 15 cm by 30 cm.  Make a sausage out of the filling and put it in the centre of the rectangle.  Lift one long side of the dough over the filling and fold the other side over the top of the first.  Press to seal it.  Gently transfer the log, seam side down, onto a baking sheet.  Bring the ends together to form a ring and close the joint by pressing with your fingers.

Now for the decoration.  Traditionally, you would need one of these: Pinza per buccellato   However, I did not have any.  I have already asked my parents to bring me one of them from Sicily next time they come… but for the time being, I had to come up with a solution.  So I simply used a fork.  Dig it and slightly drag it into the dough.  Do this in the same direction, all around (sides, top, inside), so that the decoration comes out uniform.

Put the ready Buccellato in the fridge and keep it there for 1 day BEFORE baking it.

The following day, take it out of the fridge and bake it in a pre heated oven at 200°C – 390°F for 35 – 45 minutes, or until brown.  Remove from the oven and let it cool down.

In the meantime, prepare the glaze.  Put all the ingredients in a pot and simmer for 5 minutes.  Brush the cold Buccellato with the hot glaze.

Decorate with candied cherries and ground pistachios.

Buccellato

Buccellato

Share

Related Posts:

  • FOODBUZZ 24×24: CHRISTMAS IN JULY
  • BISCOTTI DI FICHI – FIG COOKIES
  • CASSATINE SICILIANE
  • PISTACHIO GELATO
  • IL SICILIANO COCKTAIL

Filed Under: Baking, Breakfast, Cakes, Christmas, Desserts, Events, Finger food, Foodbuzz 24x24, Fruits, Italian, Regional Italian Dishes, Special Occasions, Street Food, Tea Time Tagged With: buccellato, candied cherries, Christmas, desserts, dry figs, figs, Foodbuzz, Foodbuzz 24x24, honey, Italian, Italy, jam, New Year's Eve, nuts, pistachios, raisins, shortbread, Sicilian, Sicily, sweets

« GELO DI MELONE – WATERMELON JELLO
ICED ESPRESSO »

Comments

  1. [email protected] etc. says

    January 12, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    wow… looks shimmery and fantastic delicious, love it 🙂

    cheers

    Reply
  2. Kiri W. says

    January 13, 2012 at 12:29 am

    Wow, I can’t say I’ve had shortbread cake with dried fruit! It looks fantastic and spicy, and I’d love to try this. Very cool creation! 🙂

    Reply
  3. PolaM says

    January 13, 2012 at 1:03 am

    Buono! It looks really festive and good and sweet. As I said, I think I ought go on a gastronomic tour of Palermo!

    Reply
  4. Amy says

    January 13, 2012 at 1:26 am

    As always, it looks perfect! Absolutely delicious looking!

    Reply
  5. easyfoodsmith says

    January 13, 2012 at 1:34 am

    I have never seen a cake being created in such an interesting manner. The most beautiful cake perhaps I have ever seen. Gorgeous clicks.

    Reply
  6. Culinary Cache says

    January 13, 2012 at 3:10 am

    Looks delicious! I’ve had this once and think it blows regular “fruit cake” out of the water. Great post!

    Reply
  7. [email protected] says

    January 13, 2012 at 5:16 am

    I love how this can be deceiving: like a regular gateau des rois with the candied fruit and nuts but you open it up and it’s a really decadent, Sicilian fruit cake filled with yummies. Great going, Manu!

    Reply
  8. Sawsan says

    January 13, 2012 at 6:14 am

    Wow! Manu this is amazing!
    I can’t even imagine how good it smells or tastes

    Reply
  9. Mi Vida en un Dulce says

    January 13, 2012 at 6:23 am

    This is perfect cake for holidays, absolutely. You know what, when I saw the first picture I was wondering on how you obtain that lines in the cake.
    If I don’t have lard can I replace it with vegetable fat…I think it is called shortening in English?

    Reply
    • Manu says

      January 13, 2012 at 7:45 am

      Hi Nydia! Lard makes it more “crumbly”, but I think any softened fat (shortening, butter, margarine) will do. 🙂 Hugs!

      Reply
  10. Eva Kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com says

    January 13, 2012 at 6:41 am

    I’m so glad you took a photo of the cut piece, I was so intrigued by the ingredient list. It looks very festive and delicious.

    Reply
  11. Amelia from Z Tasty Life says

    January 13, 2012 at 9:48 am

    splendido cosi’ grande Manu! Buon anno!
    Io li ho fatti piccolini, come biscotti: http://www.ztastylife.com/2011/12/sicilian-spiced-fig-nut-cookies-cuccidati-or-buccellati.html

    Reply
  12. Anna @ the shady pine says

    January 13, 2012 at 10:02 am

    Manu this looks like such a special celebration cake and perfect for presenting to family and friends!

    Reply
  13. Sandra says

    January 13, 2012 at 12:39 pm

    This is so much better than the traditonal fruit cakes we’ve become used to.

    Reply
  14. Paolo - quatrofromaggio says

    January 13, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    Love it! And love the story behind the recipe, and the amazing pictures.

    Reply
  15. Nami | Just One Cookbook says

    January 14, 2012 at 5:08 am

    I love this shortbread has lots of goodies! I have only tasted typical fruit cake, but this is much more fancier and perfect looking for celebrations and parties!

    Reply
  16. Nuts about food says

    January 16, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    I had never heard of this, you live and learn!

    Reply
  17. Paula says

    January 11, 2014 at 5:32 am

    If you haven’t received your pinza per buccellato yet, try these tongs. I think they would work:

    http://www.thestylishbuffettable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/tongs-american-metalcraft-1.jpg

    Reply
  18. Luisa Bellissimo says

    December 8, 2020 at 10:38 pm

    I never heard or even seen a cake like this!
    My husband loves fruit cake and this one has intrigued me. I have most of the ingredients since I wanted to make one for Christmas morning. If I start it today will it last 2 weeks?
    Thanks for all your interesting and authentic recipes. Be safe and healthy!
    An Italian from Woodbridge Ontario Canada.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A Sicilian Christmas: buccellato | Saucy gander says:
    December 15, 2013 at 1:59 am

    […] so far I’ve made similar recipes from Manu’s Menu, TWD/Baking with Julia and one from SBS Australia. Here are some thoughts on their similarities and […]

    Reply
  2. Sicilian mince pie in a tart, frolicking with pasta frolla | Saucy gander says:
    December 22, 2013 at 1:55 am

    […] I said I didn’t like Manu’s Buccellato filling as much as the Cuccidati filling from SBS? A little voice in the back of my head kept nagging: […]

    Reply
  3. Magic in the Kitchen | Kneading Life says:
    February 12, 2014 at 11:28 am

    […] that our families had both emigrated to America from the same part of Sicily.  The recipe for Buccellato-Cucciddato originated there, […]

    Reply
  4. Trapani, Erice and Segesta Guide - Italy says:
    November 21, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    […] Cassata Siciliana Buccellato Martorana Cassatelle Trapanesi Biancomangiare with Citrus Salad Cubbaita Pesche Dolci alla […]

    Reply
  5. Panificio La Sala – San Vito Lo Capo says:
    February 19, 2016 at 7:56 pm

    […] Cassata Siciliana Buccellato Martorana Cassatelle Trapanesi Biancomangiare with Citrus Salad Cubbaita Pesche Dolci alla […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Welcome to Manu’s Menu!

Hi! I am Manu, the author of Manu's Menu. I was born and brought up in Italy and my blog can show you how to create authentic Italian food in your own home! Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

HOMEMADE PASTA MADE SIMPLE – THE BOOK. CLICK TO BUY IT FROM AMAZON NOW!

Homemade Pasta Made Simple

Archives

Categories

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Video Recipe: Orecchiette with Crudaiola Sauce

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqSyzFElbRY
foodgawker bowls-150x150
tastespotting150
Tasteologie badge
Pasta & Gnocchi

The Cool Side of Summer e-Book – Click to buy it now! On SALE for only $9.99!

The Cool Side of Summer e-Book

MsM’S EBOOK – CLICK TO BUY IT NOW!

MsM’S EBOOK – CLICK TO BUY IT NOW!
Genesis Theme Framework for WordPress
Community Table Contributor Badge
Sunday Supper Movement

manusmenu

manusmenu
Now on the blog - Low Fodmap Vanilla and Miso Cara Now on the blog - Low Fodmap Vanilla and Miso Caramel Cheesecake Slice.  Clickable recipe link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #baking #lowfodmap #lowfodmapdiet #miso #cheesecake #cake #dessert #japan
Now on the blog - Low Fodmap Ragù Bianco. A tradi Now on the blog - Low Fodmap Ragù Bianco. A traditional pasta sauce from central Italy. Clickable recipe link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #Italian #italy #italianfoodbloggers #italianfood #pasta #pastasauce #ragu
Now on the blog - Trieste, Italy Guide. A surprisi Now on the blog - Trieste, Italy Guide. A surprising city. Come check it out. Clickable link in my profile.

#manusmenu #manusmenucom #travel #travelblogger #italy #tourism #Europe #trieste #holidays #beautifuldestinations #history #food
Now on the blog - Sausage and Potato Sourdough Cre Now on the blog - Sausage and Potato Sourdough Crespelle. The best comfort food. Clickable recipe link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #baking #sourdough #sourdoughstarter #crepes #crespelle #food #foodgram #italianfoodbloggers #italianfood
Now on the blog - WWI, Italy Guide. A guide about Now on the blog - WWI, Italy Guide. A guide about some of the most important landmarks of the Great War. Clickable link in my profile.

#manusmenu #manusmenucom #travel #travelblogger #italy #tourism #Europe #cividale #friuliveneziagiulia #beautifuldestinations #war #history
Now on the blog - Sourdough Crêpes. So good. Use Now on the blog - Sourdough Crêpes. So good. Use up some of your #sourdough discard to make these delicious sweet or savoury crêpes. Clickable recipe link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #baking #sourdough #sourdoughstarter #crepes #crespelle #food
Now on the blog - Cividale del Friuli, Italy Guide Now on the blog - Cividale del Friuli, Italy Guide. Clickable link in my profile.

#manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #travel #travelblogger #italy #tourism #Europe #cividale #friuliveneziagiulia #beautifuldestinations #history #food #italianfood
Now on the blog - Hugo. A refreshing Italian cockt Now on the blog - Hugo. A refreshing Italian cocktail and an alternative to your everyday spritz. Clickable recipe link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #Italian #hugo #spritz #prosecco #drinks #cocktails #elderflower
Now on the blog - Low Fodmap Pork Meatball Satay S Now on the blog - Low Fodmap Pork Meatball Satay Stir Fry. So good. Clickable recipe link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #lowfodmap #lowfodmapdiet #satay #stirfry #pork #meatballs
Now on the blog - Quick Pickled Cucumbers. So crun Now on the blog - Quick Pickled Cucumbers. So crunchy and refreshing. Clickable recipe link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #picklingcucumbers #pickles #pickling #garden #cucumber #vegetarian #vegan #video
Now on the blog - Coffee Panna Cotta. Wobbly and d Now on the blog - Coffee Panna Cotta. Wobbly and delicious. Clickable link in my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #Italian #pudding #italy #italianfoodbloggers #italianfood #coffee #pannacotta
Now on the blog - Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls. Recipe Now on the blog - Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls. Recipe adapted from the wonderful @jennifer_rodda. The best way to use up some of your Sourdough discard. Clickable recipe link on my profile.

#recipes #manusmenu #manusmenucom #instafood #instayum #foodbloggers #foodstyling #baking #sourdough #sourdoughstarter #pastry #cinnamonrolls #teatime #breakfast
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2011-2020 - Manu's Menu and Manuela Zangara. All rights reserved.