Easter, the best artisan doves in Italy to order at home

The possibility that the Coronavirus health emergency will end by April 12 is now, to say the least, remote. Despite the delicate moment, we will still be able to make Easter at home less difficult by comforting ourselves with the flavors and aromas of artisan Easter cakes, one of the most loved desserts of the Italian gastronomic tradition, declined according to tradition, such as that of Andrea Barile or from the Olivieri company, not to forget the Traditional Colomba Tiri from the homonymous pastry shop, or reinterpreted according to the creativity of pastry chefs and chefs from all over the boot, such as the savory 'nzogna and pepper or artichoke ones from the De Vivo pastry shop, the Colomba al Chinotto di Morandin, the one scented with Late Mandarin from the Loison family, the Colomba Nero Sublime from Fiasconaro, a true triumph of chocolate, or again, the Mortella di Visciano from Pasticceria Mascolo.

Pastry chefs and masters from all over the country have indulged themselves with the variations of this traditional sweet, whose history is linked to various legends. The most plausible, links the original recipe to thebusiness idea from the 30s, when Motta, a confectionery company already known for its Christmas panettone, decided to create an Easter cake, along the lines of the Christmas one, in order to use the same machinery and ingredients.

However, another story bind the Easter cake to the king of the Lombards. During the siege of Pavia, on the eve of Easter 572, the Lombard king Alboin decided to spare the city after having received a sweet bread in the shape of a dove as a sign of peace. Another legend links the Easter dove to the Lombard queen Teodolina and to the holy abbot San Colombano. During a banquet, San Colombano found himself uncomfortable in front of the game offered on the table during the period of Lenten penance. In order not to offend the queen, however, the Saint offered to bless the meat, in order to make it compatible with the faith: he raised his right hand and with a gesture transformed the dishes into candid doves of sweet bread.

Although there is a certain mystery around the origin of this sweet, over the years each region has made many changes, managing to create its own version of the Colomba, one of the most loved sweets in the Italian gastronomic tradition. Food offers a list of the best artisan doves from all over the country.

OLIVIERI 1882

The company from Arzignano, in the province of Vicenza, with a history of over a century, stands out for the production of leavened products.

The Colomba Olivieri 1882, 100% artisanal, is the pride of the company. Entirely handmade, according to the rules of tradition: four days of processing, of which more than 48 hours dedicated to natural maturation. A soft dessert of eggs, butter and flour, covered with a glaze of almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts and sugar.

With an elegant and, at the same time, decisive taste, the long leavening and the use of excellent quality raw materials make Colomba Olivieri rich but extremely digestible, without preservatives, semi-finished products, flavorings and vegetable fats.

Olivieri's handcrafted doves are characterized by a greater use of the quantities of eggs, almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts. The candied fruit, on the other hand, is finely chopped into the dough and added in large quantities for uniform distribution throughout the Colomba. The live sourdough used is refreshed daily, while the raw materials inside are top quality: Bourbon vanilla pods from Tahiti, Italian grain flours, raw cane sugar, Belgian butter obtained by centrifuge and Italian acacia honey.

In addition to the traditional Colomba, two variants can be chosen: the Three Chocolates, to which white, milk and dark Valrhona chocolate is added, or the one with White Chocolate and Berries, enriched with semi-candied berries and 35% Ivoire chocolate.

A result that has allowed the Olivieri family to obtain numerous awards, including the Tre Pani and Due Spicchi Gambero Rosso for bread and pizza, the Chocolate Panettone which reached the national podium in 2019 and the award for Best Artisan Colomba of Italy 2019.

MORANDIN

At the helm of the famous Saint-Vincent pastry shop is Mauro Morandin, son and pupil of the internationally recognized maestro Rolando. The quality of the sweets is given by theuse of old machinery which, although slowly processed, allow the quality of the ingredients to be maintained high, but above all the use of natural mother yeast, capable of making Panettoni and Colombe very soft and digestible.

The classic Colomba has a regular shape, enriched by a clear and crunchy glaze of large, skinless almonds. When cut, it reveals a decisive, rich and natural yellow-colored dough. Characterized by a soft and moist crumb. Very characteristic aromas emerge on the nose: butter, eggs and biscuits. On the palate it is balanced, with notes of candied fruit and butter and a slight acidity which, however, does not weigh down the taste. Among the variants we find the Colomba al Chinotto and the one with Pears and Chocolate.

DE VIVO PASTRY

Near the ruins of Pompeii, stands the historic Pasticceria De Vivo, initially born as a gourmet bakery. Since its inception, in the 30s, a fundamental rule has been in force: theuse of sourdough.

The pastry shop offers six flavors of the Easter dessert, dedicated to the classics of Neapolitan pastry: the Colomba Apricot and Almond, characterized by an intense aroma of apricot, the Neapolitan Zeppola Colomba , Colomba with Lemon Delight and, finally, two very particular and original variants: that with artichoke from Campania and that 'nzogna and pepper, rich in a stuffing of cured meats.

For a year now, De Vivo's chief pastry chef has been master Maurizio "Black" Santin who has enriched the pastry shop and production with modern mignons, cakes that wink at international fashion and single portions of great aesthetic impact. “A more international dimension and a more modern pastry counter marked by aesthetics” says Marco De Vivo.

“I wanted to leave the traditional offer of leavened products and sweets typical of the Neapolitan tradition unchanged, where De Vivo is already well established, trying to give greater attention to aesthetics and a selection of more modern products” declares Maurizio Santin.

The De Vivo pastry shop has also committed itself to solidarity for the ongoing health emergency and for this reason has decided to make an important contribution: for each artisan cake purchased online, 10 euros will be donated to the Cotugno Hospital and the Pascale Hospital in Naples.

MASCOLO PASTRY

The victory for the "Best creative dove" in the "Divina Colomba 2020" competition was awarded to Pasquale Montella and Francesco Lamanna of Pasticceria Mascolo, located in Visciano, in the province of Naples. It was founded by Giuseppe Mascolo in 2005, who has always been passionate about leavened products.

The spearheads of the pastry shops are panettone and Easter doves, in great demand throughout the Neapolitan territory. Close to Easter, the pastry shop offers different varieties of sweets, so as to be able to satisfy all palates. From the Classic Colomba with Orange to that with apricots from Vesuvius, up to Mortella di Visciano, the hazelnut par excellence. For those with a sweet tooth for chocolate there are several choices, such as the orange and chocolate one, the black cherry and chocolate one, the coffee one with extra-milk chocolate.

THIRD MILLENNIUM BAR

The Foggia pastry chef of the "Terzo Millennio" bar, Andrea Barile, is the winner of the "Divina Colomba 2020" award in the "Best traditional dove" category, for his soft, fragrant dove and a beautiful yellow color inside.

The original dough is based on 00 flour, butter, egg yolk, granulated sugar, natural yeast, acacia honey, aromatic mix, malt, salt, vanilla and candied orange, enriched with an almond glaze.

However, Andrea Barile also offers 7 different variations of the traditional Easter cake, harmonies of taste, from the more traditional combination to the more daring and innovative one, such as with Pistachio, Pistachio + Jar of spreadable cream (white chocolate, cream and limoncello), Pistachio and wild strawberries, 64% Valrhona Chocolate, Apple and Lemon, Apricot, Seven Veils, Sette Veli+ Jar of cream (white chocolate, cream, hazelnut paste and anhydrous butter), Limoncello and Limoncello + Jar of cream (white chocolate, cream and limoncello).

SHOOTS SINCE 1957

Vincenzo Tiri, one of the greatest masters of Italian pastry, has not only inherited the name from his grandfather, but also the historic pastry shop of Acerenza, in the province of Potenza. His Panettone, always at the top of the charts, allowed the great pastry chef to win the title of King Panettone.

Not least are the Colombe Pasquali, both traditional and the one with white chocolate and coffee. There Traditional Colomba Tiri, characterized by the use of high quality raw materials: such as mother yeast (almost a century old), vanilla bean (Madagascar bourbon), the mix of cream surfacing butters (one French and one Belgian), the acacia honey and, lastly, the orange staccia from Basilicata, (a large citrus fruit at risk of disappearing) Slow Food Prison, whose application takes place in open-air tanks. The origin of the raw materials is one of Vincenzo Tiri's dots and the dove is no exception. Furthermore, unlike the classic method, they are foreseen three phases of dough with 72 hours of leavening, so as to make the final result even softer and more digestible.

LOISON PASTRY

Founded in 1938, Loison is an artisan confectionery company which started out as a simple shop and became famous all over the world for the production of panettone and Easter doves presented in highly refined packaging which is personally supervised by Sonia Pilla, wife of Dario Loison

The elements that characterize its confectionery production are mainly linked to the first choice ingredients: fresh eggs from safe farms, very fresh milk, butter and mountain cream, fine flour, Italian almonds and hazelnuts, first choice sugar, sea salt wholemeal of Cervia. Enriched by the presence of 3 Slow Food Presidia, including Mananara Vanilla from Madagascar, Ciaculli Late Mandarin, Savona Chinotto and IGP Piedmont Hazelnuts.

The dove with late mandarin has a homogeneous and golden color, both inside and outside. The dough, on the other hand, is well structured, rich and fresh. The intensity of the notes of butter and mother yeast stand out on the nose, together with candied fruit. A balanced and delicate taste, thanks to the presence of mandarin. Another factor that raises the quality of their products is the respect of the 72 hours of processing, as tradition dictates.

In addition to the Classic Colomba, Pasticceria Loison offers various variations, such as the Colomba Regal Chocolate, Colomba with Late Mandarin Ciaculli, Colomba Divigna with Blend of Raisin Wines and, finally, the Peach and Hazelnut Colomba.

Among the various merits of this pastry shop is that of having seasonally adjusted the desserts linked to holidays, such as Panettone and Colomba, showing their possible uses in sweet and savory recipes created with the help of famous Italian chefs.

FIASCONARO

It was the 50s and Mario Fiasconaro had just opened his bar-pastry shop in Castelbuono, Sicily, in the center of the town, specializing in traditional Sicilian desserts. However, only with his son Nicola, the management takes another path. Fascinated by sourdough and the maturation of the doughs, Nicola decided to devote himself to the production of panettone and colombe, giving life to the Fiasconaro empire.

Through the use of Sicilian raw materials, Fiasconaro has thought of different doughs. Not only the classic Colomba, but also more daring versions, such as the one all'Apricot and Chocolate, or the Colombo Oro di Manna, with gianduja chocolate and Manna cream to spread, covered in white chocolate and a pour of mannetti. Another delight is the Sublime Black Dove, with Sicilian chocolate and wild strawberries and dark chocolate, with a chocolate cream to spread. For pistachio lovers, however, there is the Dove Green Gold, with pistachio cream to spread, covered with white icing and pistachio. All rigorously handmade, from the loaves to the packaging.

A high quality production, which has allowed the company to sell leavened products all year round and not just during the holidays.

The health emergency has revolutionized our habits, but not those of people with cystic fibrosis. The purchase of LIFC doves allows you to help the Regional Associations to enhance the assistance services on their territory. In particular, the proceeds from the campaign will be entirely allocated to the continuation in 2020 of the project "Leghiamo Insieme Fatti Concreti: saturated with life positively".