“Let’s make a Bussolà” When my grandmother thought about baking a cake, she certainly thought of bussolà.
Its name is deceiving: in Venice the Buranei are biscuits, which are prepared by giving them the shape of a donut or the shape of an S (but then they take the name of "Esse Buranei") while in Vicenza the Bussolà is a kneaded cake with the donut shape with simple ingredients and always present at home.
The dough smells of brewer’s yeast and butter, is rich in eggs and not sweet at all. It is so little sweet that it leaves a little displeasure when it is tasted for the first time: the dough is thick, consistent, it almost seems not to have risen well because the fat from the butter and eggs keep it firmly anchored to the ground. But the secret is there: it is a cake so not very soft because it lends itself very well to being soaked in coffee, milk or, for the bravest, in sweet wine, without crumbling and absorbing so much liquid that it explodes in the mouth at the first bite.
I remember it smelling of orange and lemon, and so I added when I prepared it. I remember it with so much sugar on the surface, so much that a part falls down and a part remains attached so provisionally on the walls that you are invited to detach grain by grain and insert it in your mouth secretly from the other people. I remember it dense, so much so that we children called it "hard", but it is not hard.
I remember it so good.
Melt the butter in a saucepan in a bain-marie or in the microwave and set aside to cool. Mix the brewer's yeast with the flour in a large bowl.
In another bowl, with a fork beat the eggs with the sugar, the grated citrus zests and a small pinch of salt: when they are well mixed, add the melted butter and grappa.
Knead for a long time, until a very smooth and elastic dough is obtained. Form a ball and let it rise covered with the inverted bowl for about an hour.
Now you can butter a donut cake tin. Pick up the dough, knead it only for the time necessary to form a long, thin roll and place it in the cake pan, closing the two edges: let it rise again for 30/45 minutes, covered.
In the meantime, turn the oven on 180 °, in static mode.
Before baking, brush with very little milk and sprinkle the surface of the cake with the granulated sugar generously. Cook for 40/45 minutes: if you do the toothpick test, check that it comes out dry and clean.
Serve warm or cold, but remember that containing brewer’s yeast it must be consumed within the next day otherwise it tends to harden: in that case, you can soak it even better in hot milk or dried wine.
