Do you make artisan Easter dove cake?
co-LOM-ba — three syllables, stress on second.
In the weeks before Easter when looking for the traditional Italian Easter sweet — the dove-shaped sweet bread.
'Colomba' = dove. The colomba pasquale is the Easter equivalent of Christmas panettone — a dove-shaped sweet bread with almonds and sugar pearls on top. Artisan colomba uses the same sourdough technique as panettone.
Con la glassa alle mandorle?
With the almond glaze?
The almond glaze ('glassa alle mandorle') and pearl sugar topping are classic colomba features
Farcita al cioccolato?
Filled with chocolate?
Modern filled colomba — chocolate cream replaces or supplements the traditional candied orange
Quando iniziate a farla?
When do you start making it?
Artisan colomba is made from 3–4 weeks before Easter — ask when the first batch is ready
The colomba is associated with peace (the dove is the symbol of peace) and rebirth (Easter). Like panettone, it was commercialised in the 1930s by the Motta company in Milan. The artisan revival has produced extraordinary versions with rare candied citrus, premium almonds, and wines or spirits in the dough.