Milk liquor.

This is a liquor made in the South of italy, in a very small and not well-known abroad region called Molise.

You can drink it, I made and tried it but, according to me, it gives its best into cakes and cookies and sweets in general.

It's not difficult to believe, it's made of milk, lemon and vanilla so it gives your sweet a great flavour!

17 oz. whole milk

17 oz. pure liquor alcool

18 oz. granulated sugar

1/2 organic lemon

1 vanilla pod

In a big bottle or airtight container pour all the ingredients (open the vanilla pod and scratch the seeds).

Keep it for 15 days or more (even a month) in a dark place, shake it now and then.

Filter with a very fine sifter and pour in a bottle.

You will see the liquor stratified: the lighter part on the top, the cream on the bottom: it's ok, just shake before use.

Soon I'll post a recipe for cupcakes made with this liquor, honoring the region of Molise as I did with Sicily: stay tuned! 

Sicilian cupcakes.

I'm up to something on my Italian site: a "cupcakes project".

It's sort of challenge (with myself and contribution from friends and fans) to create twenty different cupcakes, each one to match one of the Regions of Italy for ingredients and traditions.

Probably you can't name many of these Regions, I can recall some of them to your memory: Tuscany, Lombardy, Liguria and Sicily are the most famous among foreigners I think.

I don't want to post all the cupcakes I'm going to make because it will be difficult for you to find all the ingredients but I made Sicilian ones thinking of Sicilian cannoli which are quite famous worldwide then I thought you would like to try them.

With this recipe you'll have 8 cupcakes.

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1 tbs Marsala wine (if you like)

1 egg

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 ts baking powder

1/3 cup melted butter

1 pinch of salt

3 tbs candied orange

milk as needed to make the dough creamy

Frosting:

1+1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese

1/3 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

8 candied cherries

Finely chop the candied orange, mix all the dry ingredients then add egg, butter, Marsala and milk enough to make the dough creamy.

Fill the muffin pan and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 F°.

Beat ricotta cheese with sugar with an elettric mixer untill fluffy then add chocolate chips and mix with a spoon.

If you want to use a sac-a-poche to spread the icing be sure to use a tip large enough to let the chocolate pass.

Yes I did the mistake if you're asking...

I had to cut the sac-a-poche and I had to use it without tip (you can see it from the photo...)

Add a candied cherry on top to decorate.

Ricotta cheese rolls.

Nice recipe for a light afternoon break, for a children party or even for a simple treat for the whole family without regrets.

2+1/3 cups all purpose flour

7 spoons skimmed milk

7 spoons seeds oil

3 spoons sugar

2 cups fresh ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla flavour

1 egg white

1/2 cup hazelnuts toasted and minced

1/2 dark chocolate drops

Mix ricotta cheese with milk, add sugar, salt, oil then the flour sifted with baking powder.

Knead untill you have a smooth loaf and let it rest into the fridge for about 1 hour.

Divide the dough in 2 parts, same size and with a rollpin spread them in a rectangular shape, spread the dough sheets with egg white, lightly whisked, then sprinkle with hazelnuts and chocolate drops.

Roll the two parts and cut each into slices about 1/2 inch tall.

Put them on a baking pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 356 F°.

When cold sprikle with icing sugar.

You can choose many other filling: cinnamon and apples, almonds and chocolate...Just chop them in tiny pieces!



Gluten-free chocolate cake.

This flourless cake is very very similar to a chocolate cake made in Ferrara (North of Italy) that's called "Tenerina" (softy cake) and made the first time in honour of Elena Petrovich from Montenegro, married to Vittorio Emanuele III and their tender love.
It's really really easy and everyone can make it but it's really good.

4-oz dark chocolate coarsely chopped

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Melt chocolate with butter into the microwave at low temperature mixing now and then, add sugar, mix untill warm then add eggs one at time mixing well.
Add vanilla extract and sifted cocoa, mix and pour into a slightly greased 8 inch pan.
Bake at 375 F° about 20-25 minutes, cake will remain short, soft and moist.
Serve at room temperature with a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar.

Yoghurt pudding with fruits of the forest ( Budino allo yogurt con frutti di bosco)

 Today is my sister's birthday and the recipe I'm going to post is her favourite dessert.
The photo shows my pudding, made last sunday to celebrate her birthday with the family.
You can serve it with forest fruits or chocolate or caramel or even plain: it's so beautiful so white and shiny!
In this photo I added blackberries, the mould used was a silicone mould.
For this pudding you need:

1 pound white sweet yoghurt

6 oz. milk cream

4 tablespoon sugar

1 oz. gelatine

forest fruits

Soften gelatine in a cup with a little water, drain it and melt on low fire adding yoghurt and sugar.
In a separate bowl whip cream untill it's well whipped then add slowly the yoghurt mixture.
Pour in the mould, beat lightly the mould on the table to avoid air bubbles and empty parts then store in fridge for at least 3-4 hours.
Serve with fresh forest fruits or any other topping you like: a nice idea is adding honey and nuts, as is often served greek yoghurt.

Baked pineapple (Ananas al forno)

The " quick and easy recipes saga" continues: with this hot weather who wants to spend hours cooking between hot ovens, boiling pots and all the rest?

Baked pineapple is the perfect conclusion for a summer dinner, tasty but light, it's even tastyer (but less light :P) if you serve it with an ice-cream scoops or two.

For 4 serves you need:

1 pineapple

rhum

raw sugar

Clean the pineapple keeping off the skin, the two ends and the centre, slice it in 1/4 inches tall slices and put them on a baking tin.

Pour on each slice a spoon of rhum then sprinkle raw sugar on.

Put in the oven with the grill function for few minutes untill the sugar is getting caramelized.

Put in dishes with the ice-cream scoops and serve.

Ps. You can prepare pineapple the same way but on skrews, the presentation will be even more beautiful.

Rice crispies and Mars cake ( Torta al riso soffiato e Mars)

I suppose you well know what a Mars snack is.

To tell you the truth I can't find it tasty even if I'm fond of mou cream.

This cake is something that, according to me, only children can love...

But for their parties it's so useful because it's quick and can be stored for a long time, it doesn't need spoons, plates or forks and it's totally junk :P

You need:

6 mars snacks

8 1/2 oz. rice crispies (white or chocolate ones)

3 1/2 butter

Divide mars in little pieces, put in a pan with butter and let it melt "bagnomaria".

When butter and melted mars will be well amalgamated add rice crispies and mix, keeping on low heat always "bagnomaria".

Take a baking tin (better if it's one with border that can be opened), pour the mix and press well with a spoon or even hands.

Let it get cold at room temperature, before serving take it out of the tin and cut with a long knife in slices or squares or brills.

If you want to decor the cake put on the bottom of the cake tin coloured chocolate coriandoli then pour the mixture: they will remain sticked to the cake.

P.S. : I rember this recipe from my childhood, especially in birthday parties but I never did it personally.

On the web the measures vary a lot so try this one than seems to me a good proportion then adjust the recipe following your taste (more mars, less butter or whatever).

Giant homemade Oreos ( Biscotti al cioccolato accoppiati)

Oreos are sold in Italy too but not very loved.

I know that abroad, instead, they're really really appreciated, especially in the English-speaking world ( U.K., U.S.A. ...).

This is a funny and easy recipe to have really big kind of Oreo cookies, perfect for children and teen-ager parties but even for unformal meetings with friends maybe for a tv- movie night.

For 4 serves you need:

3 1/2 oz. dark chocolate

6 oz. all purpose flour

1 egg

2 oz. bitter cocoa powder

1 1/2 oz. butter

2 oz. sugar

1 oz. icing sugar

vanilla flavour

a sprinkle of salt

1 cup milk cream

Chop chocolate and let it melt "bagnomaria".

Mix butter with sugar very well then add vanilla flavour, egg and the melted chocolate.

Add then cocoa, flour and a sprinkle of salt; mix again untill you have a smooth dough.

Stretch it with a roll-pin in a layer of about 1/4 inch, if it's stitcky don't add flour but icing sugar.

With a cookie cutter round shaped or a glass cut biscuits in even number.

Put them on a buttered baking tin and cook for about 8 minutes in pre-heated oven at 345°F.

Let them get cold, then whip milk cream with icing sugar, spread whipped cream on a cookie then cover with another.

Put in fridge for at least 2 hours then serve cold.

P.S. If you want to give a spicy touch you can add at the cookie dough a generous sprinkle of red chili pepper powder.

It fits great!

For adults only ;)

Potato masher's cake with ricotta cheese ( Torta dello schiacciapatate con ricotta).

This recipe is easy peasy, quick and a sure success for any kind of meal, with family, friends, colleagues...

The cake in the photo misses of the last icing sugar sprinkle but I wanted to take the picture immediately :P

The potato masher I'm speaking about is like this (with big holes) :

You need for the shortcrust pastry:

10 1/2 oz. all purpose flour

5 1/5 oz. sugar

3 1/2 oz. butter

2 eggs

1 bag baking powder for cakes

For the stuffing:

25 oz. ricotta cheese

3 1/2 oz. sugar

Decoration:

dark chocolate chopped in irregular pieces

icing sugar

Mix all the ingredients to make the pastry and divide the loaf in two parts of the same wheight.

Put one part in the potato masher, take a baking tin of about 10 inches diameter and press untill strands of pastry fall down.

Spread them quite evenly but don't worry if you see holes between the strands: the dough, rising, will close them.

Mix ricotta cheese with sugar then pour on the base of pastry's strands, put the other half of the loaf in the potato masher and cover ricotta with the same process, once again don't worry about holes :)

Heat the oven at about 345° F, before putting in the oven sprinkle icing sugar on top of the cake and add chocolate chops.

Bake for 45 minutes.

The result will be the one in the photo...Enjoy! :D

Extra-Virgin olive oil cake ( Torta all'olio d'oliva extravergine)

Problems with cholesterol?

Do you wan to to avoid animal fats or just to try something unusual?

This is a plain cake, perfect for breakfast, afternoon break or just to treat yourself and your family.

Please consider only extra-virgin olive oil for this cake: other oils aren't healthy enough to gain benefit from their use, expecially when they have to be cooked.

This recipe has a lemon flavor but you can choose to put some cocoa powder to half of the mixture then pour in the baking pan first the white mixture then the cocoa one and passing a pick to give the cake a marbled effect or add 3 apples chopped in tiny pieces.

You need:

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups of sugar

1 1/2 cups of milk

a sprinkle of salt

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 bag of baking powder

zest from one lemon (only the yellow part)

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

icing sugar to serve

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and the sugar.

When well blended add the oil, milk, lemon juice and zest and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the first mix to this mixture, and stir just until blended.

Pour into a baking pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes at 350° F or until a pick comes out clean.

Cool and remove from the pan.

Dust with powdered sugar.

You can serve with fresh fruit, egg custard, whipped cream or melted chocolate or eat it plain.

Granny cake ( Torta della nonna)

I've seen that "granny cake" in english means a pineapple cake: this is something else but I wanted to translate the Italian name literally.

This cake is one of my favourite, it's so easy, plain but rich in flavour and so "country" to see.

You need:

For the shortcrust pastry:

12 oz. all purpose flour

1 bag baking pownder

4 oz. butter

6 oz. sugar

1 egg

1 yolk

a sprinkle of salt

For the cream:

3 1/2 cups milk

peel of half a lemon

7 oz. sugar

8 yolks

1 1/2 oz. all purpose flour

1 vanilla pod (or vanilla aroma)

For the decoration:

pine kernel

icing sugar

Put milk, vanilla and lemon peel in a pan, put on medium heat.

In a bowl beat the yolks with sugar untill you have a foaming cream, then add flour and mix well.

Add hot milk to the yolk cream little by little, mixing then put the liquid again in the cooking pan and put on light heat mixing untill the cream become dense: at this point cook other 5 minutes then turn off fire.

Keep off vanilla pod and lemon peel.

Let it get cold.

Now knead shortcrust pastry: mix flour with baking powder, add soften butter and knead.

Add also egg, yolk, a salt sprinkle and sugar, knead again untill you have a a smooth dough loaf, close it in a clin film and let rest in fridge for at least one hour.

Stretch the shortcrust pastry on the bottom and sides (let some dough more out of the tin) of a round baking tin, prick the bottom with a fork, pour the cream, spread it well, cover with pine kernel, refold the plus of dough on the cake.

Put in hot oven at 345 F° for about 40 minutes, let it cold and cover with icing sugar.

Sweet pastries fried and sprinkled with icing sugar (Sfrappole - Chiacchiere - Cenci)

This is the most popular Carnival sweet here in Italy.

They're known with many different names from North to South, them most common is probably chiacchiere.

They're crunchy, fried, easy to prepare, really loved by children, perfect fot their parties.

You need:

2 oz. butter

12 oz. all purpose flour

2 eggs

1 vanilline bag

1 oz. icing sugar + some to sprinkle on top of sfrappole

milk as much as you need to knead well

frying oil

knead all the ingredients untill you have a smooth and elastic dough loaf.

Let it rests covered by a cleaned dishcloth for half an hour.

Spread the dough with a roll-pin, not very thin, about 1/8 inches and cut stripes of dough of about 4 X 1 inches and with them make "knots" (you can also let them plain or cut bigger squares).

Heat a pan with frying oil, when it's hot fry the dough pieces 3-4 a time, let them cool on blotting paper.

When cold put them on a tray and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Happy Carnival party!!

Tenerina cake (Torta tenerina)

It's Valentine's day period, everyone is looking for presents, flowers, chocolate.

I read everywhere of women and girls in search of chocolate treats for their men so I decidet to post the recipe of a very particoular cake, Tenerina cake.

It's a typical dessert from Ferrara city (not far from Bologna, I've got there my uncles and cousins, it's a little and quiet city, perfect for a slow kind of life, for bicycles, famous for the ferrarese bread).

This cake remains very short, humid: it's normal, it's quite a sort of brownie to tell the truth.

You need:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup all purpose flour

8 oz. dark chocolate

1 1/2 oz. milk

3 eggs

salt (a sprinkle)

Chop chocolate then melt it with milk "bagnomaria" (in a double saucepan).

In a bowl mix butter and sugar untill you obtain a cream then add 3 egg yolks and flour.

Let the chocolate getting warm then add to the cream mixing.

In a bowl apart whip the egg whites up with a sprinkle of salt (the egg whites should be at room temperature) then add them to the chocolate mixture mixing carefully and slowly.

Pour it in a buttered cake tin and cook for about 25 minutes at 300 F°.

When the cake is cold sprinkle with icing sugar, you can also make or buy a heart-shaped stencil and use it to decor the cake with sugar; you can serve it with whipped cream aside.

Fried custard (Crema fritta)

In Italy, douring Carnival period, there's the tradition of fried sweets: there are many, fried custard is a typical delight of Bologna and surroundings.

Often is served as side dish in a speciality called "fritto misto alla bolognese" (deep fried mix Bolognese style) with fried apples, courgettes, cauliflowers, carrots, onion rings and sometimes other ingredients.

It's a mix of sweet and salty flavours, anyway fried custard could be served alone as dessert.

You need:

4 1/2 oz. all purpose flour+ some to dust

2 1/4 cups of milk

5 eggs

3 1/2 oz. sugar

1 vanilla stick

breadcrumbs

frying oil

lemon peel

icing sugar

Open 3 eggs in a bowl, add sugar and beat untill the cream is foamy then add sieved flour and mix.

Put milk in a pan with cutted vanilla stick and lemon peel taking it near to boiling point.

Take off vanilla stick and lemon peel and pour milk in the egg cream slowly, little by little, mixing.

Cook the cream on light heat for 5 minutes mixing.

Soak a oven paper sheet then drain and cover a a baking thin.

Pour the cream in it and spread with a spatula untill you have a uniform layer of cream, about 1 inches thick.

Put the baking thin in the fridge for about 4 hours, it must be well solidified.

When it's ready, using a knife, cut the custard in diamond-shaped pieces about 2 x 2 inches, rinsing everytime the blade under cold water.

Open remaining eggs in another bowl and beat them lightly and in two different dishes put flour and breadcrumbs: flour costard pieces, pass them in the beated eggs then in breadcrumbs.

Heat a copius quantity of frying oil in a pan, when it's hot fry the custard turning the pieces untill the're gold and crispy.

Drip the pieces on blotting-paper and keep them warm, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

Caramel milk pudding (Creme Caramel)

This is a tasty, sweet and nourishing dessert, quite common in Italian homes and family restaurants.

It's seemingly a recipes that comes even from ancient Rome where it wasn't sweet, then in Middle Age it was prepared with honey.

Cristoforo Colombo took this recipes douring his journeys: probably it's because of this that creme caramel, with different names and variations is common and prepared in Latin America.

For 8 persons you need:

3 cups whole fresh milk

1 3/4 cups fresh cream

1 lemon

10 ounces sugar

10 yolks

2 eggs

1 sprinkle salt

Put in a capacious pan the yellow part of the lemon peel, milk and 4 1/2 ounces sugar.

Let it gently boil then continue cooking with very light heat, untill milk will be reducted to the half of the initial quantity more or less.

Put eggs in a bowl, add yolks, the salt sprinkles and 3 1/2 ounces of sugar, mix well without whipping.

Add cream little by little, then milk without lemon peel (filter it) then mixing.

Put a little less than 2 ounces of sugar in a little pan, add a couple of drops of lemon juice and a spoon of water.

Cook the sugar untill you have an amber caramel.

Pour the caramel into a pudding mould, spread it well on the bottom and on the walls.

Pour the mixture in the mould then transfer it into a baking tin with tall edges filled with hot water.

Put everything in the owen, cook for 1 hour and halfat low heat (275 F°), let it get cold, cover with kitchen foil, put the pudding in fridge for about 12 hours then pull out of shape (really easier if you use that new silikon moulds!)

Egg custard (Zabaglione or Zabaione)

Zabaione is a sweet egg custard very tasty, flavoured with Marsala wine.

It's often made douring Christmas holidays, when you spend time with friends and family.

You need:

4 egg yolks1/2 cup

sugar1/2 cup

Marsala wine (or Port or Madeira if you can't find Marsala)

Beat egg yolks until fluffy in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (this kind of cooking is called Bagnomaria).

Add sugar and beat again, then Marsala and beat.

Whisk over simmering water, until the cream thickens but don't let it boil, turn off the fire a little before.

Let the cream cool (room temperature) then serve in glass or glass bowls, decorate with biscuits, fresh fruit or/and whipped cream.

You can also use this cream to fill tarts, cakes or as a sauce for other sweets like Christmas cakes.

Chocolate salami dessert (Salame al cioccolato)

The shape it's the one of salami, it's served sliced like a salami...But it's not a real salami!^^

Today it's time for a chocolate delight, a sweet dessert easy to prepare, you can even involve children, for their joy!

I remember when I was little and I had the occasion to prepare it with my mum, I always had had a lot of fun!

Ingredients:

3 onces cocoa powder

1/2 once hazelnuts

3 1/2 onces sugar

2 1/2 onces butter

5 onces biscuits (plain ones)

1 egg + 1 yolk

icing sugar

Bake hazelnuts in the oven untill they're toasted (if they're not still), break them in little pieces.

Put biscuits in a plastic bag for food and crush them with a rollpin or something similar: they must be well broken but not completely pulverized.

Keep off the butter from fridge and let it getting soft.

Put in a bowl the egg and the yolk, mix them with sugar untill you have a smooth cream.

Add cocoa powder and butter and mix again very well.

Add hazelnuts and biscuit, mix untill everything is well amalgamated.

Pour the mixture on a big oven paper sheet, give it the shape of a big salami and put in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours.

Before serving keep off the paper and powder the dessert with icing sugar, then slice it and make your family and guests happy! ;)

Tiramisu' dessert (Tiramisu')

Tiramisu' is a very famous Italian dessert but it's quite new even on our tables.

It hasn't got a long history but, because of it's own great taste, everyone loves it.

Tiramisu’ can be prepared in advance and kept in the freezer.

Remember to remove it from the freezer enough time in advance to serve it cold but soft, not frozen.

Ingredients:

1 cup and half of espresso coffee

about 40 savoiardi biscuits (ladyfinger cookies)

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites, whipped

1 lb. mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup of sugar

cocoa powder or chocolate chips/ drops

1/2 cup of marsala wine (if you like, it's an optional, I never use it)

Prepare espresso and let it be cold (you can sugar it when it's hot and mix but I don't love very much too sweet desserts so I don't usually do it).

With a rubber spatula mash mascarpone cheese untill it's creamy, mix yolks and sugar untill sugar is melted and pour the mixture in the bowl with mascarpone.

Beat very well, untill everything is well mixed, if you want add marsala wine now.

Whip the whites and add them to mascarpone: fold the whipped whites in the cream mixing up and down (not round) gently.

Now take a glass container of about 12 X 8 inches, soak ladyfinger one at time and places them in a layer on the bottom of container.

Pour and spread half of the mascarpone cream over the cookies, repeat the step with a second layer of biscuits and top with the rest of the cream.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder or cover with chocolate chips (my favourite!).

Refrigerate for about 3-4 hours.

You can also choose individual servings in glass cups, here just put one layer of ladyfingers and then a generous quantity of cream, in this case 2 hours in the freezer are enough.

Peruvian coffee cream (Crema peruviana al caffè)

I must admit I've been so lazy!

This blog hasn't got an update since the end of april, big shame but I was very busy and a little bit not motivated beacuse of the very few visits.

But I have to say the same story was for my Italian blog and now it's quite appreciated!

Then I'm here to write again now and then, probably this will be the only update untill september because I'm ready to leave to Bangkok for my summer holiday.

You know it's an Italian kitchen blog, then you may ask why I post you a creamy dessert from Peru'...

Well I don't really know why this sweet is called peruvian but the ingredients fit perfectly the Italian taste and I found it on an Italian cooking newspaper! :)

Boil gently half a liter of milk with 3 1/2 oz. of sugar, a vanilla stick and ten whole coffee seeds.

Filter milk and let it get warm.

Caramel in a pan 2 1/2 oz. of sugar with half a glass of water, add 3 1/2 oz. of black chocolate and melt it well.

Wait untill this is almost cold then add the milk, 3 eggs and mix 'till you have a soft cream.

Put this cream in single servings bowls, put on a leak with a little water on the bottom the cook "bagnomaria" for about 30 minutes at medium temperature.

Serve it cold, with some chocolate coffee seeds on top.