corne paste



corn pastes



It's for me now  definitely established that even though I often repeat to me "what are you doing" " with all these sweetes don't you have strange ideas into your head..., what do you want to do, where do you want to get...Despite this I find myself in my room, my favourite place, my kitchen as driven by a force outside me, not even thinking about, I find myself there in front of my jars, recipes making a mess like Edward Scissorhands, zic zac all cuts and scratches and then beautiful things come out. So it often happens to me, and then maybe for my my passion for running I know that the sense is not where to go but enjoy the journay: and by the way this is a real pleasure for me! So it was this morning, despite the fever season, just the kids at school. breakfast, snacks etc...everything out of me, I am suddenly finding myself  in ecstasy among my beloved pots and pans, inspired by a recipe that certainly no could not wait to be done. Corn pastes are a shortbread cookie typical of the area of Cuneo in Piemonte, it was produced industrially but with disappointing results, so much so that it has been written in the Slow Food list to protect the craft product. Here they are....
    

in oven......

For about 40 pastries (cookies)

• 200 g of weak flour
• 200 g yellow corn flour
• 200 g butter
• 200 g honey
• 25 g egg yolks
• 60 g eggs
• 3,75 baking powder
• 1 boubon vanilla bean
• 1 g salt

 Method:
Preheat oven at 170°

Mix softened butter with the honey  using a mixer fitted with beaters or a planet with the leaf. After obtaining a smooth cream add the eggs, egg yolks, mix again and add the vanilla seeds exctracted from pods and salt. Complete with flour and baking powder sifted together. Let rest in refrigerator for 2 hours or 10 minutes in the freezer and then roll it out to obtain a sheet half an inch thick  and cut into discs with the pastry rings.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  


corn pastes



chocolate cupcakes with nuts

On Saturday for dinner I made fast and delicious cakes.

Dolcetti al cioccolato e noci

Ingredients for about 8 / 10 cupcakes:

• 100g of dark chocolate
• 150g of butter
• 3 eggs
• 250 g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 100g of flour 00
• 100g of walnuts kernels
• Walnuts kernerls to decorate

Method:

1. Break the chocolate and melt together with the butter in a small saucepan in a water bath over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous.

2. Remove from heat, let cool and stir in the eggs, caster sugar, icing sugar and vanilla, sifted flour and walnuts chopped in a food processor. Pour the mixture into 8 small molds, even the silicone mold is fine, previously buttered.

3- Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes at 150 degrees. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes in the oven   before removing them.

4. Put the cupcakes on the plate and sprinkle them with powdered sugar; decorate each with Walnut kernels.

chocolate cheesecake with raspberries

With this recipe I take part in the contest of the blog of Sayuri Dolci dal Mondo!

cheesecake

I had never liked cheese cake because in my mind the cheese was part of the salty things; but when I tasted it for the first time in London years ago (even if its birthplace is New York, but has Greek origins!) I fell in love, its flavour brings me immediately to London in one of those coffee shops, where I feel in the exact center of the world. So in my passion for pastry I've tried it even in more than one version.
Voilà the recipe....

Serves 6

• 250 g biscuits
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 100 g butter

For the cream 

• 300 g dark chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 100 g icing sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 500 g of ricotta cheese
• salt

To decorate:

• icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam
• chocolate chips
• chocolate little decorations
• raspberries

Preheat oven at 180°

1. Prepare the base of the cake with chopped biscuits, sugar and melted butter. Grease a mold in 24 cm diameter (preferably a hinged) pour the mixture pressing well to form a layer 1/2 cm thick.

2. For the filling, melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a water bath over low flame.

3. Shell the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites; beat the first with icing sugar and the seeds of the vanilla bean, until it becomes a creamy white.

4. Add the ricotta cheese, one tablespoon at a time, add the melted chocolate stirring constantly. Whip the whites until stiff with a pinch of salt, pour them gently stirring from bottom to top in the chocolate mixture and pour everything into the mold.

5. Bake the cheese cake for 1 hour, let cool. Unmold in the serving plate, spread a thin layer of jam over the entire cake, decorate the sides and the topping of the cake with chocolate chips, raspberries and mint leaves.

 

raspberry bavarians

                                 

With this recipe I participate to un-anno-ammodomio-marzo
It's very easy and refreshing.





If you prefer you can simply use strawberries instead of raspberries.

Serves 8.

• 12 g gelatin sheets
• 400 g raspberries
• 150 g sugar
• 1 lemon
• 5 dl fresh cream
• icing sugar for the molds

to finish

• chopped almonds
• mint leaves

1. Soften the gelatin sheets in cold water for 15 minutes, then squeeze and set aside.

2. Puree the raspberries in a blender (keep, however 100g for garnish) with sugar and lemon juice. Dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan with a little hot water and then add it to the raspberry sauce.

3. Whip the very cold cream and incorporate gently to the mixture of raspberries. Sprinkle with powdered sugar 8 small molds, pour the chopped almonds in the bottom and then the raspberries mixture. Put in the fridge to harden for at least 3 hours.

4. Dip the bavarians for few seconds in hot water and put on the serving platters, decorate with raspberries, mint leaves and sprinkle with cocoa powder.