Mixed Biscuits (again!)

Mix di biscotti

Considering the inordinate passion for the exquisite biscuits that comes out when you taste them for the first time, and then makes impossible to eat again those ones confectioned (except some rare qualities); as far as the daily request of my children "what have we got  today for dessert?" as we were in a pastry, I attempt more than one time to make different recipes of the same sweet. So it is for the biscuits, that I produce in great quantities and different qualities. This is a recipe I found out in a review during Christmas time. For the chaos of those days I was able to try them just yesterday! At the request of my friend Diana, who is more greedy than my children & Co.

Soft Lemon Tart

Yesterday afternoon on my way back home, it was raining cats and dogs, so I got inspired to make a very delicious and cuddy cake. Here is the recipe taken by "La Cucina Italiana"; it's long but very simple and believe me worthwhile!  



Lemon Tart

 

Whites Cake

White Cake

Sunday morning, the typical slowness in the last free hours before a new week starts... I try to concentrate on a movie, but it's impossible, I try then with a book, nothing to do.... it's too much difficult in these sunday hours with reduced consumption of neurons; I have taken to reading one...two...three recipes...till I get inspired and begin lazily to pull out first the flour from the cupboard then the balance, the oranges and the butter...that must be soften; thanks microwave I've abandoned my rolling pin to soften the butter!

Fougasse (French Bread)

Another book that enlighted me about baking the bread is the one of a French Author and from him I took this  easy but stunning recipe; I did it for the New Year's Eve.

The night before prepare a little dough with

• 300gr flour 
• 150gr water
• 2/3 g. brewer's yeast

mix all for few minutes and put it in a bowl greased with oil: cover with plastic wrap (leave all night locked in a cupboard).

The next morning mix

• 700 gr flour 0, 
• 1/2 liter of water
• 2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon of sugar 

Prehot oven to 230°

1. (now I use my wonderful Kenwood mixer) but until yesterday I did it by hand. After a few minutes, add the little dough you left in the cupboard, cover with plastic wrap and leave it for 1 hour. I always put in the oven a bit hot. After this time take the dough gently to not deflate it. Cover with flour the pastry board and cut the dough into four parts on the pastry board well floured. Slit each piece diagonally with a deep, precise cut and make other 2 or 3 cuts nearby; spread them with your fingers. Flour well the Fougasse sprinkle with the flour of yellow corn and bake on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when golden brown.

Fougasse

  

pizzaaaaaaa

pizzaaaaaaaa

Today is spring!

Even if it's not properly a sweet flavour..."la pizza" is my favourite "sweet sweet" taste, so let me write down this recipe taken from the French Richard Bertinet's book of bread. I know that pizza is Italian but in this book I found some interesting tips about it. Ie you have to weigh water becuase it's precise, you can easily use tap water ...  and add few flour to the dough even if very very sticky: it's worthy because when it 's cooked it's very light!

With this recipe I take part to the contest proposed by Babette chi l'ha detto che una rondine non fa primavera (Who told that one swallow does not make a summer). For me Spring is a feast and a feast means pizza! Here it is...

the (real) charge of the bloggers

Caris proposed this funny contest sotto il vestito blogger (under the dress blogger) answering to the article "the charge of the bloggers" appeared in an italian newspaper affaritaliani libero; the journalist provides her article with pictures of women cooking in bra and panties, with evening necklaces or even in a bikini.

biscuits filled with jam and chocolate

These biscuits make you think to English teatime, a green park, to Jane Austen's characters, perhaps Hethcliff!!

And it's simple to do!

Cake of the Princess

With this recipe i take part to the contest  francescav-chiama-italia in order to celebrate this important date  for my country, the dream of a united nation, the sense of belonging to our culture, language, and art as the trait-d'union throughout the centuries and the different governments: as our Roberto Benigni during his interesting lesson of history said: in order to make one's own dreams come true, you have to wake up! So here we are awake and present to honour what others before us delivered to us : our flag!

                                              

     

chocolate biscuits with cocoa beans (paul.a.young recipe)

With this recipe I take part to the contest julskitchen-se-tu-fossi-una-ricetta. (if you were a recipe, which recipe would you be?)

So if I was a recipe, I would ... I would be some chocolate biscuits. But not any chocolate biscuits, it's not accident that I've chosen a paul.a.young's recipe, one of the most famous chocolatier in the world.

paul.a.young

I would be these biscuits because I do very like chocolate in all its forms and creations. It's that taste, among different sweet things, that I even unconsciously seek, when I need something sweet to eat; and it satisfies me even in small quantity.

Sponge Cake

Ingredients for 22 cm baking pan:

7 eggs the closer to room temperature the better 

180 g sugar 

180 g flour 

30 g potato starch 

1/2 vanilla bean 

Preheat oven to 160° 

1. Sift the flour with potato starch and the vanilla's seeds. Mix well. In a separate bowl put the eggs with sugar and whisk them for about 10 minutes until you earn a very frothy cream, then add the flours and mix gently with a spatula, continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated. 

2. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared pan and gently beat it on the table to remove air bubbles. 

3. Bake for about 35 minutes or until nicely brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out dry. You can fill it with ganache, fruits, whipped cream, jam whatever you prefer.

chocolate tart

Chocolate and bitter orange jam, perfect!

For this tart the

INGREDIENTS  are: 

• 520 g flour
• 80 g bitter cocoa powder
• 300 g very soft butter
• 300 g sugar (half brown, half white)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 2 digestives
• grated lemon peel
• Bourbon Vanilla
• Salt

 

dark chocolate hearts (Luca Montersino's recipe)

There are some sweet things that can easily move us for their flavours and tastes as well as their rather perfect colours. These dark chocolate hearts are a clear example! Trust me!







INGREDIENTS                                                              

• 220 g butter
• 225 g sugar
• 100 g dark chocolate 66% 
• 100 g bitter cocoa powder
•   90 g potato starch
•   45 g W flour 00
•  325 g eggs (weight without shell)

Jam Tart

Several years ago I found out this recipe for jam tarts in the magazine "The Italian Kitchen" and I've never forgotten it. It is practically perfect, here are the ...

                


Ingredients

• 300 g flour
• 150 g soft unsalted butter
• 150 g sugar (half white, half brown)
• 1 egg
• grated lemon peel
• 2 amaretti or digestives
• 60 almands finely minced
• salt

METHOD


Preheat the oven to 190°


1. Sift the flour and make the fountain, put in the center the sugar, egg, the minced almonds, the lemon peel and a pinch of salt; melt these ingredients very well till you get a smooth paste. Leave it for 30' covered with greaseproof paper. If you are in a hurry put it in freezer for 10 minutes. 
2. After this time take the paste and work it few minutes to make it soft again (if necessary add a pinch of flour). Put the paste on a baking-pan, already covered with butter and flour (or if u prefer with greaseproof paper ), crumble over the 2 buiscuits, spread your favourite marmelade and garnish as you like with the left paste. 3. Cook it for about 50 minutes.

Here in this photo the quantities are double and then I decorate the tart with some caramel.

Frosted Plumcake

plumcake glassato

Given the fact that not all cakes come with the hole, and that we do not know why - is an alchemy, the temperature of the kitchen,  the aptitude and the mood of the clumsy pastry - the fact is that yesterday my children, who are great tasters and critics, have not like the pear and chocolate patty cakes "Mommy the acidity of the pears has ruined the great taste of cocoa!" I quote, help me! even in front of a panel of experts Ah yes criticisms are all right, but aims in the pride of candidate ratatouille I forcibly harnessed in the right mood as well as in my apron, and I decided

Julie / Meryl Streep in the film said "we should never justify for something that is not perfect!" and Massari "The courage to throw away an evil cake!" Between the two quotations I have chosen, in medias res, to face again and now, as after a fall from a horse, my plan of work! And here, a recipe I tested with an award from the variant right mood! The pride is cured, at least for today ....

Ingredients:

• 150 g of butter
• 250 g caster sugar
• 100 ml milk
• 50 g of whole milk yogurt
• 80 g cocoa powder
• 270 g flour 00
• 3 eggs
• 12 g baking powder
• 150 g chocolate chips
• 12 ml rum
• 150 g white chocolate



1. In a bowl fitted well the very soft butter with sugar and 25 grams of yogurt. It should be creamy.2. Add a little 'time  220 g of flour with cocoa, eggs, remaining milk and yogurt and mix everything thoroughly with a wooden spoon.3. A part in a bowl mix together the remaining flour (50g), yeast (sifted together) chocolate chips and rum. And add them to the mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon.4. Pour the mixture into a mold for plum-cake the size of 25x8 cm. Bake in preheated oven at 170 degrees for 45 'or so. Do the toothpick test. Let cool.5. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in microwave or double boiler, put on a plate and garnish with chocolate icing cooled. (Approximately 28 °).

The trick of the pastry (which is not me!): The chocolate chips are mixed with flour before being added to the mixture, because they do not precipitate at the bottom of the mold during the baking of the cake and instead remain suspended in the mixture.The color effect is guaranteed, because you know that the first sense to be called when we taste a sweet  is the view .... bon appetiiiit.

Serves: 8/10