Name: Gubana
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 15 h 20 min
Cuisine: Italian, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Ingredients: 70 g walnuts, roughly chopped; 70 g raisins; 50 g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped; 50 g pine nuts, lightly toasted; 100 g dry biscuits or amaretti, crushed; 60 ml dark rum; 1 lemon, finely grated zest; 1 orange, finely grated zest; 250 g 00 flour; 50 g strong bread flour; 5 g instant dry yeast; 100 ml whole milk, lukewarm; 1 large egg; 40 g unsalted butter, softened; 30 g granulated sugar; 30 ml grappa; 5 g fine sea salt; 1 egg white, lightly beaten; 15 g granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Gubana: wide hero view of the finished traditional dish

Prep45 minutes

Cook35 minutes

Total15 h 20 min

Yield10 slices

Jump to recipe ↓

The dish

About Gubana

Turismo FVG identifies Gubana with the Valli del Natisone and records it as a celebratory cake for Christmas, Easter, weddings and important occasions.

The regional recipe rests the nut-and-raisin filling overnight so the dried fruit, citrus and rum become evenly hydrated before it enters the dough.

The characteristic form comes from rolling the filled dough into a log and then coiling that log into a snail shape.

A moderate final bake is essential: the centre contains a heavy filling and must set without burning the enriched exterior.

Technique

Three things that matter

Rest the filling. An overnight rest gives the nuts, crumbs, raisins and aromatics time to bind instead of falling loose when rolled.
Proof fully. A rich dough rises more slowly than lean bread; volume and softness matter more than the clock.
Bake through the centre. The coil should be deeply golden while the internal crumb is set, not gummy around the filling.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Filling — prepare the night before

70 gwalnutsroughly chopped
70 graisins
50 ghazelnutstoasted and chopped
50 gpine nutslightly toasted
100 gdry biscuits or amaretticrushed
60 mldark rum
1lemonfinely grated zest
1orangefinely grated zest

Enriched dough

250 g00 flour
50 gstrong bread flour
5 ginstant dry yeast
100 mlwhole milklukewarm
1 largeegg
40 gunsalted buttersoftened
30 ggranulated sugar
30 mlgrappa
5 gfine sea salt

Finish

1egg whitelightly beaten
15 ggranulated sugarfor sprinkling

Step by step

Method

Prepare the filling and dough

Soak and combine the filling. Mix raisins, rum and citrus zest; fold in chopped walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts and biscuit crumbs. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The filling should be moist and cohesive rather than wet or crumbly.
Mix the enriched dough. Combine flours and yeast. Mix milk, egg, sugar, grappa and butter, then work into the flour; add salt once the dough begins to form.
The dough should become soft, smooth and slightly tacky.
Knead and first-proof. Knead 8–10 minutes, cover and leave warm for about 2–3 hours.
The dough should expand substantially and feel aerated, even if it has not exactly doubled.

Fill and shape

Roll the dough. Deflate gently and roll into a roughly 5 mm thick circle or broad rectangle.
Thickness should be even so the spiral bakes uniformly.
Spread the filling. Distribute the rested nut mixture in a thin, even layer, leaving a 2 cm clean edge.
No large dry pockets or pools of rum should remain.
Roll and coil. Roll tightly into a log, seal the edge, then coil the log into a snug spiral and transfer to the prepared tin.
The coil should hold together without squeezing filling from the seams.

Proof and bake

Second-proof. Cover and let the shaped cake rise for about 1½–2 hours.
The coil should look visibly puffy and the dough should spring back slowly when touched.
Glaze and start hot. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 200°C for 15 minutes.
The exterior should begin taking colour without darkening aggressively.
Finish and cool. Reduce to 180°C and bake 15–20 minutes more. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
The centre should be set and the cake should slice cleanly after cooling.

Practical guidance

Make-ahead

Preparing the filling the night before is traditional in the cited Turismo FVG method and makes shaping easier.

Serving

Gubana is often better after several hours or the next day, once the nut, citrus and spirit aromas settle through the crumb.

Alcohol

The filling traditionally uses rum and the dough may include grappa. For an alcohol-free interpretation, replace with orange juice while recognising that the aroma changes.

Troubleshooting

The filling leaks. It was too wet or the clean border was omitted. Add biscuit crumbs if needed and leave a sealing edge.
The cake is dense. The enriched dough was under-proofed. Wait for visible aeration rather than following time alone.
The crust darkens early. Shield loosely with foil during the lower-temperature phase while the centre finishes baking.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1 slice
Calories: approximately 390 kcal
Carbohydrates: 45 g
Protein: 8 g
Fat: 18 g
Fibre: 3 g
Sodium: 180 mg

Approximate values depend on the biscuits and alcohol used.

Allergens and food safety

Contains gluten, egg, milk and tree nuts; amaretti may also contain almonds.

Keep the overnight filling refrigerated.

Bake until the centre is set; cool before cutting so the hot dense filling does not tear the crumb.

FAQ

Where is Gubana from?

It is strongly associated with the Valli del Natisone in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Why rest the filling overnight?

It hydrates the raisins and crumbs and lets the nut-citrus-rum mixture become cohesive.

Why is it coiled?

The rolled log is wound into the characteristic snail-like spiral that gives Gubana its layered cross-section.

Final note

What matters most

Result: A deeply aromatic golden spiral with soft enriched crumb and a dense, evenly distributed nut-and-raisin filling.
Key: Rest the filling, give the rich dough enough proofing time and finish the bake gently enough to set the centre.