Lemon-Ricotta Ciambellone: A.K.A. I was missing home

Free of Gluten, Refined Sugars, Dairy and Eggs

Today it is the actual first day of Fall here in southern California, rainy and chill. Fall is my season, I was born in the Fall, they say that during your birth season you gain a renewed energy and more perspective.

My hubby and daughter went to a birthday party. I just finished my weekly Lymphatic Reset Group Call and turned on the fireplace. It's cozy and strangely quite in my home today, it is as if this peace

allows me to listen to my thoughts better and connect better with myself.

And there, sitting on the couch looking at the window as the rain finally falls on this stage-4-draught-land, I see my Nonna making Ciambellone, and us kids helping, measuring, grating, mixing.

Such a warm feeling embraced me, with a bit of sadness, because when your home is over 6,000 miles away the closest thing at times is the smell of a freshly baked Ciambellone.

So I pulled out my Nonna's Ciambellone recipe and "reworked" it B Well Recipe style making it free of gluten, dairy, eggs, refined sugars and alcohol. I am going to give you both, the original recipe and my revised one, so you can choose what you desire to keep or change.

NONNA'S RECIPE (the ingredients are listed in order of how you will mix them)

Eggs: 4

Sugar: 220 gr / 7.7 oz

Lemon: 1 (skin and juice)

Vanilla extract: 1 tsp

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 100 ml / 3.4 fl. oz.

Ricotta: 250 gr / 8 oz

Potato Starch: 80 gr / 2.8 oz

Flour: 260 gr / 9.2 oz

Baking Powder: 1 tsp

MY REVISED RECIPE

Flax Eggs: 4

Maple Sugar: 220 gr / 7.7 oz (you can also use coconut or date sugar)

Lemon: 1 (skin and juice)

Vanilla extract: 1 tsp

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 100 ml / 3.4 fl. oz.

Plant Based Ricotta: 250 gr / 8 oz

Potato Starch: 80 gr / 2.8 oz

Gluten Free Flour: 260 gr / 9.2 oz

Baking Powder: 1 + 1/4 tsp

Making a flaxseed egg is simple. Just combine one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water and then let the mixture sit in the fridge for fifteen minutes to set. Ratio 1:1 (So in this case you repeat this x4. - You can also use applesauce, 1/4 cup per each egg. Keep in mind that the apple sauce will create a more dense batter so add some aluminum-free baking powder to the mix if you decide to use the apple sauce).

For the plant-based Ricotta I used the recipe from my B Well Recipe Book the Cure Is In The Kitchen

For the flour I used what I had available at home, since it was such an unplanned impulse bake, King Arthur Gluten Free 1:1. It has rice, sorghum and tapioca, but for a grain-free option you can use Cassava, or a mix of Coconut and Almond flours.

DIRECTIONS

Turn on the oven at 358° F / 180° C.

Combine all the ingredients together in the order they were listed.

I put the lemon juice at last with the baking powder to activate it and make the cake fluffier.

You can top it off with coconut powdered sugar (coconut sugar powdered in a food processor) or coconut whipped cream.

I hope it will bring you and your family, the same warm hug I received when the kitchen started smelling of lemon and fond memories.