Category: Italia

ANOTHER FAT TUESDAY IN TULIPLAND

And it’s 11 years of Carnival bakes! Time flies, but traditions last, like the one of spending some time over the Carnival weekend to bake some Carnival treats. And it has become also a tradition, this is the third year now, that my companion in these bakes is my sweet tooth Nederlander.

I know last year I propose to finally try some Dutch Carnival bakes for Fat Tuesday, but again, this period of the year is all but quiet on the work front, as it is my busy intensive teaching period. So, all I end up doing in the weekend is mostly… doing nothing.

Yet, traditions last if you keep going, so this year we opted for a simple yet effective and yummy (oven-baked, again as tradition) Carnival treat, the Ravioli di Carnevale or Carnival Ravioli. They are super simple because, if you don’t have much time or energy (like me) you can easily buy some puff pasty (or pasta sfoglia, for our Italian readers) and fill it in with some nice jam, and it’s done! If you have some time, more then welcome to make the puff pastry on your own 😉

RAVIOLI DI CARNEVALE

Ingredients (for 12 cupcakes)

a rectangular roll of puff pastry
your favorite jam (we use raspberry and apricot options)
1 egg
coloured sprinkles 

Prepare the ravioli

Unroll the puff pastry sheet and, using a knife, cut it into 5 cm squares. Place a teaspoon of jam on half of the squares, then cover them with the remaining pastry squares. Seal the ‘ravioli’ by pressing the edges with a fork to close them securely.

Decorate the ravioli

Brush the ravioli with the beaten egg and decorate as desired with colored sugar sprinkles.

Bake the ravioli

Bake in a preheated static oven at 180°C (356°F) for 20 minutes.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Down the memory lane:
Looking back at the past 11 years of Fat Tuesday FoodStories

10-YEAR MILESTONE: HAPPY BDAY AROMA DI CANNELLA!

And it’s 10 years around the Sun. Officially, yesterday.

Who knew, back in 2014, during that afternoon in Sweden, when I was drafting the first post of this blog that, 10 years forward in the future, I’d still be here, physically in another country, writing these food pages.

What can I say?

It has been quite a ride and I’m happy that, throughout the years, I could always find here a shelter for my long-lasting passion for cooking, and especially baking. Looking back, I can see how much has changed: From meticulous, step-by-step recipe posting to more relax writing and more attention to visuals. From being a fully Italian-written foodblog to a English-written one. From being located in Sweden as an Italian exchange master students to being a “Dutchie” resident (and for several years now, almost 10 there too…).

All linked together by a passion that I think will never fade away.

And as usual, the blog anniversary is the occasion for some good baking time, and this time a savory one, like I did back in 2017: no fish this time, but a nice (and very Italian) ricotta-spinach savory pie. Enjoy!

RICOTTA-SPINACH SAVORY PIE

Ingredients

1 roll of puff pastry (pasta sfoglia for the Italian friends, or bladerdeeg for the Dutchies)
250 gr ricotta
100 gr Parmesan cheese (grated)
250 gr spinach (if frozen; 500 gr if fresh)
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the filling

In a pan, cook the spinach until it is nice and soft (and defrosted, if you use the frozen ones). Once ready, squeeze the water out of the spinach to avoid a too soggy filling later.
Then, in a bowl, mix the spinach with the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, 1 egg, salt and pepper.

Prepare the pie

Roll out the puff pastry roll in a baking dish. Pour the filling in and roll the side of the cake towards the centre to create a nice crust. Brush with the remaining egg the crust so that, during baking, it will turn into a nice golden color.

Bake the pie and enjoy!

Bake the cake in pre-heated static oven, 180°, for 30 minutes until golden colored. Let it cool down before serving.

Down the memory lane:
Aroma di Cannella through the years

COMPLEANNO ITALIANO

After 8 years, this time I finally celebrated my birthday in Italy. I was never able to be back home for the special occasion since I moved to TulipLand, when I was very much younger. But this time being in the Bel Paese for my bday was also a very special family occasion as I was blessed by the greatest gift of becoming auntie on the same day. Happy to share the passing of years not alone anymore in the future!

And as usual, I couldn’t miss to prepare a bday cake (much simpler this time, but still a good success!), which revisits an all time favourite bday combination: pear and chocolate (for other bday cake celebrations on the theme, you can see my Swedish birthday post with the very first torta cioccolato e pere or a pie version of a few years later of my first Dutch bday).

So here for you TORTA 33, a Victoria sandwich sponge with pear jam and chocolate.

TORTA 33 (Victoria sandwich sponge with pear jam and chocolate)

Ingredients

For the Victoria Sandwich (baking tin 20 cm, the one in the picture is 25cm so multiply the ingredients by 1,56):
50 gr sunflower oil
125 gr nosugar unroasted almond milk
8 gr vanilla sugar
90 gr sugar
170 gr baking flour
10 gr baking powder
70 gr egg whites (about 2 eggs)
1 lemon zest
pinch of salt

For the filling & decorations:
250 gr pear jam 
50 gr dark chocolate
Powdered sugar (enough to cover the cake)
1 pear

Procedure

Prepare the the Victoria sandwich like I did here. 

While waiting for the cake to cool down, prepare some pear chips for the final decorations. Slice the pear finely and place the slices in a bowl with some water and lemon juice in the meantime while the oven heats up (180 – ventilated mode). Dry the slices with some kitchen paper before placing them in the baking tray, covered in parchment paper. Bake the pear slices for 30/40 minutes until they turn dry and start to crisp (it can take more, it depends on the oven).

Once the cake is cooled down completely, cut the cake horizontally in two parts. Soften 2 tbsp of jam in a bowl with 2 tbsp of hot water to turn it more liquid. Brush the liquid jam on the top of both the lower cake layer and upper cake for more moisture. 

Then, spread the jam on top of the lower cake, and add the chocolate finely chopped (keep 1-2 tbsp for final decorations). Add the other part of the cake and, when a bit before serving time, cover the whole cake with a thin layer of powdered sugar. Decorate with the pear slices and some chocolate chips. 

Buon compleanno!

Bday bakes over the years

Italo-Dutch Fat Tuesday Bakes

Hope the Italian friends won’t be mad at me after reading this post, but today I am going to say it: I baked the Carnival castagnole with hageslag, that is, with the codette di cioccolato or chocolate sprinkles.

I know, it might be because I have been living in TulipLand for almost 8 years now and I might have some influence from the Nederlander. Yet, when last Sunday, in occasion of Carnival baking plans for Fat Tuesday, he told me: Why don’t we cover the castagnole with hageslag? I seriously thought: it could work! And it did.

Let me perhaps take a few steps back and clarify two things: why castagnole and hageslag.

If you have been following me a little bit in the past years, you probably know that Fat Tuesday is quite a big event for Aroma di Cannella (for short explanation of why Fat Tuesday is so iconic, you can read this post, and more in the post carousel at the end of this page). And, as tradition calls, I spent some time over the past weekend (and not today, that is Fat Tuesday, because I had to work!) on doing some Carnival bakes. And this time, the first time, with my Nederlander.
I was looking for some easy baking that (very challenging) did not require frying. While scrolling the posts from past years, I thought I could try to replicate the castagnole di Carnevale that I made a few years back and, finally, write an English version of the recipe. I ended up, at the end, using another recipe (see below), yet, the final result was pretty nice and the dough turned out to be very versatile with various decorations.

And here we come to the hageslag part. If you are not from The Netherlands, you know hageslag or codette di cioccolato (chocolate spinkles) as a chocolate garnishment that you put on top of cookies and muffins. Well, in the Netherlands (and probably nowhere else in the world), people have it for breakfast (or even lunch, I can assure you!): take a slide of bread, spread butter on top and last sprinkle the hageslag. Yes indeed. Not our thing, right?

Going back to the Fat Tuesdat bakes, after baking the first batch of plain castagnole (the one in the center, in the photo below), I thought: how could we make the others a bit different? And the Nederlander answered: with hageslag!
I was surprised that, for once, he thought about chocolate sprinkles for their real use, that is, on sweets and bakes. So we did. And the castagnole turned out really nice and crunchy.

And after such inspiration, we baked the third batch with pistachio crumbles. My favorite!

Recipe (castagnole di Carnevale)

For the dought (about 40 pieces)

1 egg
100 gr sugar
8 gr vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract)
40 ml sunflower oil (or equivalent of butter)
1 orange zest and 2 tbsp of its juice
8 gr baking powder

For decorations

Icing sugar
4 tbs Hageslag (chocolate sprinkles)
4 tbs Pistachio crumble

Procedure

1- Mix the sugars with the egg, oil, orange zest and juice.
2- Add the dry ingredient and mix the ingredients a bit with a spoon. Then, start kneading the dought with your hands: it will turn crumbly first and then you should be able to make it compact, like a cookie dough. Also, it should be sticky.
3- Divide the dough in pieces of 10 gr each and roll them into a rounded shape (the castagnola, the name derives from castagna, or chestnut, because of the shape).

For the plain castagnole (middle, photo): place them in a silicon baking tin for small, round pastries (diameter 3.5) or in an oven-tray, covered it baking paper. Cook in pre-heated over (ventilated) at 170° and bake for 11-12 minutes.

For the hageslag castagnole (right side, photo): put the chocolate sprinkles on a plate and roll the castagnole on the sprinkles, so that they adhere to the dough. Place them in a silicon baking tin for small, round pastries (diameter 3.5) or in an oven-tray, covered it baking paper. Cook in pre-heated over (ventilated) at 170° and bake for 11-12 minutes.

For the pistachio castagnole (left side, photo) put the pistachio crumble on a plate and roll the castagnole on the crumble, so that the crumble adheres to the dough. Place them in a silicon baking tin for small, round pastries (diameter 3.5) or in an oven-tray, covered it baking paper. Cook in pre-heated over (ventilated) at 170° and bake for 11-12 minutes.

Buon Carnevale!

Down the memory lane:
Looking back at the past 9 years of Fat Tuesday FoodStories

CHOCOLATE-PISTACHIO CREAM MUFFINS

Better later, than never! I’m back 🎉 with one ingredient that has become a dear one to me on the past 3-4 years: pistachio 💚

CHOCOLATE-PISTACHIO CREAM MUFFINS

Instarecipe

Ingredients (for 12muffins)
2 eggs 
150 gr baking flour
75 gr butter
150 gr sugar
75 ml milk
8 gr baking powder
35 gr cocoa powder
12 tsp pistachio cream
50 gr pistachios + some extra for decoration

Procedure

Mix the soft butter with the sugar with a mixer, and then add one egg each time.
In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and the baking powder; add them to the dough of sugar, butter and eggs, and mix. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk until smooth. Finally, add the finely chopped pistachios. 
Fill the muffins silicon cups with 1tbs dough, then add 1 tsp of pistachio cream, and add 1 tbs so to cover the cream. Last sprinkle some pistachios (you can chop them in bigger pieces) on the top of the muffins. Bake the muffins in pre-heated static oven, 180°, for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

PASTA AL PESTO DI PISTACCHI

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Sicily for the wedding of two friends and, as a pistachio lover, I had my dose of pistachio-based food 😋 and I couldn’t resist to stop by a small supermarket and get some fresh, grained pistachio, and some pistachio pesto. So the other night, while still holiday-ing in Italy but back North at my fam’s, I decided to make a nice pasta dish with the pistachio pesto 💚 Add some tomatoes 🍅 and cheese 🧀, and you have a perfect summer treat. Super simple and super yummy 🤤

InstaRecipe (for 2 people)

You need:
160 gr penne
200 gr cocktail tomatoes (diced)
3/4 tbs of pistachio pesto
olive oil
Grana Padano cheese or Parmesan to taste

Procedure

In a big pot, heat the water for the pasta. Cook the penne as per package instructions.
In the meantime, in a pan cook the tomatoes with some olive oil until soft. When ready, pour the pasta in the pan with pesto, and some extra olive oil if needed. Stir well for a couple of minutes. Serve with some grated Grana Padano cheese or Parmesan.

Buon appetito!