Wild Cherry & Amaretti Tart: a Recipe Is a Treasure

 

This tart recipe remained stuck on my recipe book for years, unused; I don't remember from what magazine I cut it out neither who the author is...the only thing I know is that this cake became one of my favourite since the day I first baked it! This tart (crostata, in italian!) is a delight for the palate and a pleasure for the eye because it is not only very delicious but also really pretty (isn't it?). And it needs to be said that it is also kind of magic because the decoration is created in the oven while the tart is being baked. I stuck a recipe and I found a small treasure.. 

WILD CHERRY & AMARETTI TART
For 8 servings or for a 26cm tart tin

For the sweet shortcrust pastry

300g Plain Flout (or the italian "00" type)
150g Unsalted butter (at room temperature)
120g Caster sugar
1 Egg (medium)
1 Yolk
1 Lemon (zest grated)
7-8g Baking powder

For the filling

150g Wild cherry jam
Amaretti biscuits

Maraschino

In a bowl mix flour and butter together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrums; add the sugar and lemon zest and mix together. Add the egg and the yolk and knead by hand for a couple of minutes until everything comes together and you have big crumbs. Compact the mixture into a ball and let rest for 30' or more in the fridge, Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll 2/3 of the pastry until 3-4 mm thick and line the tart tin with it. Spread the jam on the bottom, soak very quickly the amaretti in the maraschino liqueur and arrange them in a spiral starting from the centre. Roll the last third of the pastry, cover the amaretti layer with it and seal the edges very well. Bake for 40'.

As you can see the ingredients are very simple so the same old rule applies: they have to be high quality!!

A delicious smile, 

D.

Shortbread or Jenga?

Do you remember Jenga? :)

The recipe is by Trish Deseine from her very good book "Cooking with friends"; I slightly modified it just by adding some roasted hazelnuts. To be honest I am not a huge fan of shortbread but I found this one very delicious...crunchy but it melts in your mouth...a real treat!!!

HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

250g Salted butter
300g Plain flour
90g Sugar
200g Whole roasted hazelnuts

In a food processor chop the hazelnuts with the sugar until they are fine but with a little texture and put them in a big bowl. Again using the food processor, mix flour and butter together at maximum speed until the mixture resembles breadcrums and pour over the chopped hazelnutz. Knead by hand for a couple of minutes until everything comes together and you have big crumbs. Spread compacting it with your hands in a Swiss roll or round tin, lined with baking parchment, until 1 cm thick. Let rest for 30' or more in the fridge and meanwhile preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake for 50' until deep golden brown. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes and then cut into wedges (if round tin was used) or fingers (if a Swiss roll tin was used) and allow to cool completely before serving.

A crunchy smile,
D.

Alassio Kisses aka Baci di Alassio

I fell immediately in love with these kisses when I saw them in the March issue of Sale&Pepe (italian food magazine)....and like Baci di Dama (Lady kisses), they seem very easy-peasy to make but beware, their simple recipe could be tricky especially the first time...In fact, I managed to bake perfect kisses only at the third attempt!!! Luckily I am very stubborn and I don't throw in the towel easily because these little beauties are SUPER DIVINE...especially if they are "forgotten" in the tin for a couple of days!

As I told you the recipe itself is very easy and, with a few tricks, fool's proof so....give it a go!!

BACI di ALASSIO
Per 20 kisses

250g Whole hazelnuts, toasted
200g Caster sugar
25g Honey (preferably runny)
25g Cocoa powder
2 Egg whites (60-70g) (*)

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a mixer chop finely the hazelnuts with the sugar and put them in a big bowl. Sieve the cocoa powder on top and stir wells with a spoon. Add the honey and stir again. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and add a spoon at a time to the rest of the ingredients. This is the tricky step because the mixture has to be thik and firm for the kisses to hold their shape during baking (**). Therefore it is possible that it is not necessary to add all the egg whites. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and fill with the mixture a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Pipe the kisses in individual swirls the size of half a walnut. Bake for 10-12' in the middle shelf and when ready (they shoul have a crisp skin), take out the oven and allaw to cool on a wire rack. Sandwich together with a teaspoon of dark chocolate ganache. Keep in a tin for up to 15 days (even more). Their taste develop if left for at least a day in the tin.

GANACHE

75g Dark chocolate (50-70% cocoa), chopped
75g Double cream

Bring the cream to the boil and set aside. Add the chocolete and stir until it is melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Leave to cool for 2 hours (or until the ganache is firm and can be spooned).

(*) The original recipe does not specify the weight of the whites so I considered the weight of the white of a medium egg (about 35g).

(**) The mixture has the right consistency when it takes a little effort to pipe it on the bakig tray; If you think that the mixture is a bit too loose, try to leave the kisses (once formed) on the baking sheet overnight at room; in this way they should hold their shape while in the oven.

A smily kiss,
D.

Hazelnut Torte with Moscato Zabaglione

Here in the UK I usually buy cooking magazines to get more experienced about british food but this time on February issue of Good Food I was surprise when I found a recipe very very italian...actually the recipes were four...and all presented by Gary Rhodes. Gary spent 4 weeks travelling around Italy, my Bel Paese, collecting recipes for his latest series on the Good Food channel titled "Gary's flavours of Italy". After having tried this recipe and found it amazing, I am really looking forward to watch the first episode tomorrow (Wednwsday, 20th January 2010) and see what other recipes Gary is going to share with us!!!

This cake is extremely easy to make but very very good indeed; it is perfect as dessert after a nice Sunday luch or, without the zabaglione, as an afternoon tea cake or with a coffee in the morning.

HAZELNUT TORTE
Serve 8

100g Butter, melted and cooled
140g Hazelnuts, roasted
140g Plain flour
1tsp Bakig powder
140g Caster sugar
2 Mediun eggs
100ml Single cream
Icing sugar for dusting

Heat oven at 180°C and grease a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. In a food processor grind the hazelnuts with the sugar until they are fine but with a little texture. Add chopped hazelnts to a bowl and sieve over the flour and the baking powder. Add the eggs, cream and melted butter and stir until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 35-40' until well risen and golder (a skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean). Remove the cake form the tin and leave to cool on a rack. Dust with icing sugar and serve as it is or with the zabaglione.

MOSCATO ZABAGLIONE
Serves 6

4 Egg yolks
100g Caster sugar
250ml Moscato wine

Place a large bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the yolks and wisk lightly before adding the sugar and wine. Wisk vigorously until think, pale and smooth and the bubbles have almost disappeared. Pour into glasses or small cups and serve on their own or with the cake.

I hope you like it....

A big smile,
D.

Chocolate Special: Apricot & Ginger Chocolate Loaf

Here I am with the second episode! After the warm chocolare tart, here the recipe of this loaf cake...still by Pierre Hermè...still taken from his book "Chocolate Desserts".

APRICOT & GINGER CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE

180gr Plain flour
40gr Cocoa powder
1 Tsp Baking powder
125gr Dried apricots, cut into small chunks
165gr Sugar
140gr Almond Past (*)
4 Large eggs, at room temperature
150gr Whole milk, at room temperature
70gr Plain Chocolate,cut into small chunks
55gr Stem ginger, cut into small chunks
180gr BurroUnsalted butter, melted and cooled

(*) These are the ingredients of the original recipe. For those of you who read from the US, you can get the almond paste in any supermarket where it is sold in cans under the Solo label. Here in England, I couldn't find it so I decided that the 140gr required could be replaced by 70gr sugar and 70gr ground almonds.
So the ingredients with my little variation are:

180gr Plain flour
40gr Cocoa powder
1 Tsp Baking powder
125gr Dried apricots, cut into small chunks
200gr Sugar (165gr + 70gr = 235gr, but I decreased it)
70-80gr Ground almonds
4 Large eggs, at room temperature
150gr Whole milk
70gr Plain chocolate, cut into small chunks
55gr Stem ginger, cut into small chunks
180gr Unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and butter a 9x5x3-inch (22-24cm) loaf tin. In a bowl sift together flour, cocoa and baking powder and set the mixture aside. Bring about 1 cup (250gr) water to the boil, pull from the heat, add the apricots and soak for 1 minute, time enough for them to soften and plump. Drain and dry the apricots with paper towels; set aside.
Put the sugar and ground almonds in another bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating with an electric whisk on medium speed for 2 minutes after each addition. Increase the speed to high and beat the egg, sugar, almond mixture for 8-10 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the milk, mixing until combined, and then the sifted dry ingredients beating until the batter is homogenous. Working with a large rubber spatula fold in the apricot, the chocolate and the ginger chunks, and then gently fold the melted butter. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a slender knife inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the cake appear to bake too quickly, cover it loosely with kitchen foil for the last 20-30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes before unmoulding it. Cool the cake to room temperature on the rack.

Wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature, the cake will remain moist for at least 5 days.

I cut some 1.5cm thick slices (as Hermè himself says, this isn't a sweet to cut into slivers) with a flower cookie cutter and...
Come on, be patient for a little longer and you will know what this is all about!!!!!
The remaining cake was eaten in no time at all becuase it was FAN-TA-STIC!!!

A soft chocosmile,
Diletta

PS. Diletta beat Pierre, 1-0! Why? Because the picture of this cake in his book shows the apricot and ginger chunks all sunk to the bottom while in my case they are evenly distributed...and I have got a proof:

My secret? I dusted with ground almonds the apricot, ginger and chocolate chunks before adding them to the batter...or maybe I was just lucky!!!

Banana&Coconut Muffins

When I got back home I was pretty tired and I didn't feel like cooking at all...but in my fruit basket there were 3 very ripe bananas (almost too ripe if I can say) and so I said to myself: "You'd better do something asap or you'll end up throwing them away"..Since I don't like wasting my food I decided to make some muffins: good, easy and quick! I found some coconut in my flour cupboard and without thinking too much I chucked it in the batter...et volià banana & coconut muffins...very very tropical!!
I used gluten free flour and xanthan gum as for the Lemon&Blueberry Muffone (=Big Muffin) and the result was really perfect!

BANANA&COCONUT MUFFINS
Makes 11-12 standard size

290gr Gluten free flour
1 ½ tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Xanthan gum
110gr Light brown sugar
3 Well-ripened bananas (about 320gr when peeled)
60gr Dessicated coconut (*)
1 Egg 130 mL Milk (**)
85gr Butter, melted (or 90ml vegetable oil)

(*) If you don't like coconut or you want vary, you can add 60-85gr choppend walnuts or plain chocolate chips.
(**) You can substitute it with water or a mix of milk and water.

Prepare muffin tin and preheat oven to 190-200°C. In a large bowl, sift together: flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and xanthan gum. Add coconut (or chocolate chips, if using). In another bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher until puréed. Stir in egg, milk/water and butter/oil. Pour all the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir just until batter is evenly mixed but still lumpy. No dry flour should be visible (add walnuts during final strokes, if using). Spoon into tins, sprinkle with some coconut and bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are lightly browned and spring back when pressed gently.

I couldn't resist and I tried a really tiny piece of a still warm muffin and these muffins turned out to be one of the best ones I ever made!

A tropical smile,
Diletta

PS. They don't need to be necessarily gluten free. You can make them using 280-290gr plain flour.