Bailey's Cheese Cake

I heart any sort of cheese cakes, of which there exist endless variations around the world, and this is one of the best I ever tried. Because I also heart the irish creme flavour. The topping part is really an optional (sour cream glaze and shaved white chocolate) if you are in a lazy mood, it tastes good enough without... but highly recommended!!

150g digestive biscuits
60g butter (room temperature)

500g mascarpone (room temperature)
160g sugar
2 large eggs, separated (room temperature)
50ml Baileys, or any high quality Irish Creme liqueur
a few drops of vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour
pinch of salt

200ml sour cream
powdered sugar
80g shaved white chocolate

Finely grind the biscuits in a processor. Add the butter, cut in small cubes and blend to make a bread crumb-like mixture.
Press the mixture onto the bottom of the 25-27cm spring pie form.
Chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.
In a large bowl whip together mascarpone and sugar until smooth.
Add the egg yolks and continue to whip.
Add the baileys and vanilla and whip further.
Add the flour and salt, more whipping--until the texture is completely smooth.
Whip the egg white until it peaks, then gently fold it into the mascarpone mixture.
Pour the batter into the pie form lined with the biscuit mixture.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the surface slightly colours and puffs up, and the centre is set.
Cool on a rack

whip together sour cream and powdered sugar until attain a desired consistency and smooth

When the cake is completely chilled spread the sour cream mixture on the surface.
Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Decorate the surface with shaved white chocolate.

Carrot-Nut Cake

Ever since I made a disaster with a carrot cake recipe about 6 years ago (the batter remained a complete goo with the surface burnt), I became very wary and reluctant to try and make another. No, I am not a very persistent type. However my partner accidentaly bought 2 packages of carrots and we are stuck with more carrots than we know what to do within a reasonable time frame, I finally decided to give another go at a cake. This idea is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe which has been slightly modified, and it came out perfect, to my surprise. As always, I can count on this bloke :-)

• 250g butter, softened
• 250g brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, separated
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 200g flour, sifted
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 80g chopped almonds (or hazelnuts)
• 80g walnuts, chopped
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 250g carrots, coarsely grated
• pinch of salt

for the icing:
• 250g mascarpone
• 85g icing sugar, or as much as it needed to attain a smooth consistency
• a few drops of vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Generously butter a 22cm square or round cake form.
Beat the butter and sugar together until it becomes frothy.
Beat in the egg yolks.
Add the orange zest and juice.
Stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
Add the nuts, spices and grated carrot and mix together well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then gently fold into the cake mix.
Scoop the mixture into the prepared cake form and cook in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes until golden and risen.
(toothpick check recommended, and make sure the toothpick comes out clean)
Leave the cake to cool in the form for 10 minutes, then turn it out on to a rack and leave for at least an hour.

Mix the icing ingredients together until smooth, and spread generously over the cake.

Apfeltaschen with walnuts

This is a quick, easy yet tasty variation from the traditional apple strudel, which requires a painstaking effort in making its proper pastry sheet. Lightly roasted walnuts gives additional flavour boost, but you can also substitute them with a handful of sultanas. This can be made in smaller sizes, bite sizes even, by cutting the pastry sheets in sections for party treats or get togethers, however I prefer making a larger log as it holds more filling this way :-) Addition of a big pile of whipped cream or ice cream will further enhance the enjoyment when serving!

Apfeltaschen with walnuts

1 sheet of puff pastry, 250-300g
2 firm fresh apples
20g butter
60g walnuts, roughly crushed
60g brown sugar
1tsp ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg(optional)

-peel, core and slice the apples into thin wedges
-in a skillet cook the walnuts in melted butter.
-after a minute or two add the apple slices, sugar and cinnamon, continue to cook until the mixture is lightly caramelized, tossing and mixing thoroughly. Apples need NOT be fully cooked, just well coated by the butter-walnut-sugar mixture. Let it cool to the room temperature. (it will be much more manageable to handle the filled pastry when the filling is sufficiently chilled)
-roll out the puff pastry sheet on a lightly greased baking tray (or lined with silicon sheet).
-pour out the apple mixture lengthwise at the centre of the pastry sheet, leaving unfilled about 3-4cm at the end.
-fold over the top and bottom left empty from the filling (to avoid the filling from spewing out).
-then fold over the both side towards the centre, at this point filling should be completely covered with the pastry.
-press rightly to secure, then turn quickly to bring the seamside at the bottom.
-with a sharp knife make several diagonal slits on the surface.
-if desired brush the beaten egg lightly & evenly over the surface.
-bake in the oven at 200°C for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Macadamia Oatmeal Crisps

Inspired by the highly addictive Havreflarn from Ikea Food section, this all butter thin crisp biscuits gear up their goodness yet another notch, with a generous addition of macadamia nuts. It's a good idea to make a multiple dose as they are sure to disappear very quickly!! However make sure to allow the room for each biscuits to spread when you bake them, as they need to be on the thin side and crunchy!

Macadamia Oatmeal Crisps

120g butter (softened at room temperature)
120g brown sugar
120g sugar
1 egg
a few drops of vanilla essence
135g all purpose flour
3g baking soda
a pinch of salt
70g rolled oat flakes
110g whole macadamia nuts, crushed

Preheat the oven to 175°C
Cream together the butter and 2 sugars.
Add the egg and vanilla, mix vigorously until smooth.
Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix in thoroughly.
Add the oat flakes and the crushed macadamia nuts, mix well to distribute them evenly.
On a lightly greased baking tray, drop small balls of the dough -- space them well and do not over crowd, as a dough ball of about the size of a wallnut will spread into about 8-9cm diametre.
Bake them for 10-12 minutes or until golden, let them cool down to the room temperature.

Ricotta Pumpkin Pie

Here is another seasonal, festive dessert, pumpkin pie :-) I added a wee bit of Italian touch using the ricotta instead of more traditional condensed milk, which also gives a distinct, rich flavour!! Nice choice for a dessert at a holiday gathering, as the touch of spice will also appeal to some of those people who are usually not particularly keen on sweets. Happy holidays everyone!!

Ricotta Pumpkin Pie

pasta frolla
2 cups pumpkin, cooked, well drained and mashed
150g dark brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
50ml pure maple syrup, corn syrup or light treacle
250g ricotta
3 eggs (or 2 large), beaten
several drops of vanilla essence

Prepare the pasta frolla as described.
Line it over a 25cm diametre pie form.

Cook the pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, spices, and syrup in a saucepan over moderate heat until thick, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the ricotta, eggs and vanilla essence, and cook over low heat for another 5 minutes, mixing/whipping vigorously at the same time. Let it cool down to lukewarm-room temp.
Pour into the pie form, and bake for 10 minutes at 200°C, and then at 175C° for 40-45 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Serve with generous heaping of whipped cream.

Ricciarelli

As the Christmas season is getting into its full swing, I would like to introduce a special Chrissy treat from Siena, Ricciarelli. It's a melt in your mouth, delicate, rich and soft "marzipan biscuit", for a slight modification you can use the orange zest instead of lemon. Do not try with the juice as it severely interferes with the delicate texture!! Every year we triple or quadruple this recipe and pump them out, it's always a surefire huge hit for the merry season!!

Ricciarelli (Siena, Tuscany)

1 egg white
250g (8,5oz) peeled almonds*
300g (10,5oz) sugar
a few drops of vanilla essence
a pinch of salt
20g (1 tbsp) honey
grated lemon zest from 1/2 of lemon
powdered sugar, as needed

*Almonds need to be peeled in order to obtain the very light colour. You may be able to find ground almonds at a specialty store or large supermarket, to skip the first process.

- In a food processor finely grind the almonds to fine granules (almost powder).
- In a bowl mix sugar and the almonds together.
- Beat eggwhite with vanilla and a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then pour it into the sugar/almond mixture, delicately blend them in with the rest of ingredients.
- Dust a flat working surface with plenty of powdered sugar, then roll out evenly the almond mixture upon to about 1-1,5cm (half inch) thickness.
with a sharp knife also dusted with powdered sugar, slice the dough into small diamond(or oval)shapes (about 6 x 3,5cm, or 2,5 inch x 1,5 inch more or less).

- Lay out a baking paper on the flat baking sheet/pan, place the ricciarelli and bake at 140°C/280°F for about 15 minutes, or take them out of the oven as soon as they take on a golden colour just slightly. This is crucial, watch them carefully as they need to remain very light in the colour and tender inside.
- Let it cool completely without touching. (while warm they are still very very soft, only when they are cool they would attain the right firmness.)

- Cover each ricciarelli generously with powdered sugar.

Homemade Pancakes

Here is a favourite treat for just about everyone, great for brunch, afternoon tea, late night snack or any time of the day when you feel peckish!! Contrary to the belief of many it doesn't require a special ready made mixture, it is just as simple making it totally from scratch!! While it IS a quick and easy recipe but it may take a bit of practice to get the hang of it, so I tried to explain step by step in detail, please don't be intimidated by the longish entry, the procedure is much simpler than it looks!!

If you can find a self rising flour, that would be the perfect pancake making flour. This type of flour has already a rising agent mixed in so your pancakes will puff up without fail!!

However, if you can't find it in stores don't despair, you can mix about 1,5 tea spoon of baking power into about a cup of regular all purpose flour for the same effect as well.
Make sure though, the baking power is well preserved and well within the expiration date, many people make the mistake of using the poorly preserved "dead" baking powder which surely leads to a disappointing result!!

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour (self rising, or all purpose + 1,5 tsp baking powder)
1 egg
2 tablespoon sugar
milk (preferably at room temperature)
juice of half lemon

Beat together all the ingredients, gradually adding the milk little by little, to bring the texture to a "muddy" consistency (not too dense not too liquid, it will be lighter than the regular cake batter, but not so liquid like the crepe batter)*. it's okay if it is not perfectly smooth and slightly lumpy.
Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes.
Lightly grease a hotplate or non-stick skillet and heat it.
Give a quick thorough stir to the mixture before start to cook it.
Drop about a ladleful (you can make it as small or as big as you want, but regular pancakes are usually about 10-15cm diametre).
Observe the pancake, after a while the bubbles start forming on the surface. When there are lots of bubbles all over and the edge of the batter start to dry, quickly flip it.
The side comes up should be nicely golden brown (not burnt), if the colour is still too pale, flip it back when the second side is fully cooked.
The other side should take much less time to colour. You can just raise the edge slightly with a spatula to check the colour/doneness.
When the both side is fully cooked, take off from the heat and repeat the procedure. (the first one usually takes the longest, as the hot-plate/skillet heats up more the cooking procedure gets quicker. If you are using a burner you may want to turn down the heat just a little when it starts to cook too quickly)

Enjoy the pancakes with
generous amount of butter plus
-pure maple syrup
-honey
-molasses
-fruit preserve/sauce
-nutella etc. etc.!!

Strawberry Millefoglie (Mille-Feuille)

Strawberry Millefoglie (Mille-feuille)

Using the ready made puff pastry sheets, this is a magical dessert that is very easy to make and looks and tastes absolutely fantastic!! Of course for a variation, you can try other fruit sauces, raspberry, blackberry or peaches also work very well. My recommendation also is to make some extra strawberry sauce, which will be always handy for ice cream, crepes, strawberry shortcakes etc!!

3 ready made puff pastry, about 20-22cm square*
*you can also cut the squares out of unbaked sheets, poke some holes on the surface with the fork and bake at 190-200° until golden brown.
custard (crema pasticcera), about 700ml see recipe at http://muchogustaio.blogspot.com/2009/07/crema-pasticcera-custard.html

strawberry sauce
500g strawberry, fresh or frozen
200g gelling sugar for jam (sugar with pectin added)
juice of 1/2 lemon
powdered gelatin, if needed

Prepare the custard. Let it chill.
Prepare the strawberry sauce, by roughly whipping the strawberries in a mixer, leaving them still a bit chunky. In a sauce pan heat up the strawberries, sugar and the lemon juice together, bring to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Stir often. If it is still too liquidy, mix in a tiny bit (half a teaspoonful or less) of powdered gelatin, stir well and let it dissolve and add to the cooking mixture, let it boil for another minute or so. Let it cool down.

Spread the custard generously over a sheet of puff pastry, then cover with another pastry sheet. repeat the procedure with the rest of the custard cream twice. Over the surface (should be the top layer of the custard) generously spread the strawberry sauce.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Caramelized Apple cake

There are many variations of apple cakes, this is one of our favourites!! Sort of an apple upside down cake, but the melt in your mouth buttery richness, and the hint of orange liqueur gives the extra classy touch to this memorable dessert!!

60g+100g butter
100g+160g sugar
60ml water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large firm apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
150g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 shot glass of Grand Marnier or similar orange liqueur + a bit more for brushing
some drops of vanilla


Butter a round non stick cake form about 22-24cm diametre. Lightly coat the form with sugar. (or silicon form, no coating necessary in this case)
Arrange the sliced apple pieces to cover the bottom of the cake form. (can be slightly overlapped)
Melt 60g butter in a skillet. Stir in 100g of sugar, 60ml water and cinnamon and bring to boil.
Beat together 160g sugar, egg yolks, eggs, Grand Marnier and vanilla in a bowl to blend. Gently stir in sifted dry ingredients.
Fold in 1/2 cup melted butter.
Pour the syrup over apples in pan, then the batter. Bake at 175°, about 40 minutes (do a toothpick check for doneness).
Cool the cake for some minutes. Brush bottom of cake with a bit of Grand Marnier.
Turn over the cake out onto a platter.

Baklava

Flaky, sinfully rich treat are widely enjoyed from the mediterranean to the mid-eastern countries, they are deeply integrated part of the culinary tradition equally in Greece, Lebanon and Turkey, with slight variations. One of the yummy options that are practised in some of the regions is to use pistacchio instead of walnuts, which is equally worthy to be experimented!

Ingredients:
500 gr. walnuts, or almond, or mixture of the two, coarsely chopped
60 gr. sugar
dash of cinnamon

1package Phyllo pastry (about 500g)
180g (or as needed butter) melted

Syrup
100 gr. sugar
300 ml water
2 cinnamon sticks
juice from 1/2 lemon, or a few dashes of orange flower water
100g honey

Butter the base and sides of a large, relatively shallow baking dish, rectangular or round.
Brush each layer of phyllo with melted butter and spread over the base of the baking dish. Carefully stack 4 layers.

Sprinkle evenly a thin layer of filling all over the surface.
Carefully stack 3 more layer of phyllo, then the filling, repeat the procedure until you finish with the ingredients, take care to finish with 2 layers of the phyllo.
Fold any excess pastry on either of the sides over the filling and brush it with butter, especially very generous at the top.


Trim any excess pastry with a small sharp knife, keeping in mind that it will also shrink.
Slit just the top layers of Phyllo carefully to make diamond shapes (or square).
At this point do not cut right down to the bottom.
This procedure will make cutting and lifting the pieces out, once it is cooked, much easier and efficient.
Lightly sprinkle a little water all over the surface and bake at 180°C for about 30minutes or the surface is evenly golden.


Meanwhile place the ingredients for syrup except the honey, in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let it immer for 6-8 minutes, add the honey and simmer for additional 5 minutes until it thickens slightly.
When the baklava is chilled carefully drizzle the hot (not boiling) syrup evenly over the surface.
Let it stand and absorb the syrup.


Important note!
If you have purchased a frozen package of the phyllo, it is essential on your part to think ahead, take the package out of the freezer the night before cooking and let it defrost gently and gradually in the fridge. If they get defrosted too quickly the texture will get sticky and too limp, and becomes unmanageable for the delicate treatment required for this recipe.

Smores

This is a classic outdoor favourite, particularly in North America, when they gather around a campfire. I suddenly thought of this when Cristiano found a bag of marshmallows in a supermarket and bought it out of curiosity. We have an indoor gas grill, so that was a perfect tool to toast the marshmallow after we had our grilled dinner, it turned out so well we ate 3 portions each :-p You can also use any gas burner if there is no campfire available!! It may take a few marshmallows for you to practise on to get the hang of roasting them evenly, but it's actually quite simple and easy, so don't panic if the first marshmallow doesn't roast well, uneven, or drop, you will get it quickly enough!

What you need

-twice the number of crunchy thin type biscuits* for the number of smores to be made.
*The original recipe calls for graham crackers, but since they are rarely found here in Italy I used the round oatmeal crisps from IkeaFood (Kakor Havreflarn).

-not too thick chocolate slabs, milk or semi-sweet depending on your preference.

-Marshmallows

-wooden skewers

What you do

Break up the chocolate slabs, lay the pieces in the middle of half of the biscuits.
Secure a marshmallow at the tip of the wooden skewer, insert it fully so there will be less risk of dropping while you are roasting them.
Hold the marshmallow just above the open fire, turning frequently until the surface turns golden.
Place the hot, coloured marshmallow on top of the chocolate/biscuit, place another biscuit on top and lightly press on it, carefully remove the skewer.
Give it some seconds and let the chocolate soften with the heat from the marshmallow.
Enjoy :-)

Curiosity about its name
Smores, or S'mores, is said to be a shortened form of "some more", as they were always enjoyed so enthusiastically and everyone would ask for "some more" --- becoming "s'more" while it is spoken hastily full mouthed with this sticky gooey treat. ;-)

Pasta Frolla (Tart base/Pie crust dough)

This is another essential recipe for dessert making, you can fill the shell with cream filling(crema pasticcera etc.), then top with fruit, nuts, chocolate chips or anything you fancy and you will have a lovely treat! Alternatively, this is also a basic sugar/butter biscuit recipe, you can make a little extra to be cutted with a special cutter, then coated with various glazes for a decoration on top.
You can also freeze the prepared dough in advance for your convenience!

Pasta Frolla

300g flour
100g cold butter or lard, or mixture.
100g sugar
1 egg

Pour the flour into a large bowl.
Beat the egg in a separate smaller bowl
Cut the butter in small cubes, or drop cold lard in little drops, rub them into flour until the mixture becomes like fine bread crumbs.
Add the sugar and beaten egg, knead vigorously until the ingredients are thoroughly blended in and attains a soft but compact, slightly crumbly texture.
Make into a ball, wrap in a plastic sheet and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.
On a smooth flat work surface roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Form the dough into desired size.
When you bake a larger pie, you can blind bake the crust to ensure a more even result. Prick some holes on the surface of the dough with a fork. Line with a wax paper, then spread loosely a single layer of dried beans (or you can obtain "pie pebbles" manufactured just for this purpose from a specialty shop) onto the surface, bake in the oven at about 200°C for 15minutes, or until the crust takes on a light colour (not too dark!).
The excess bits and pieces can be used for decorations on top, or baked into biscuits.

Crema Pasticcera (custard)

This is an essential recipe for any dessert making, so verstile and delicious as a filling for tarts, pies, cream puffs, crepes, doughnuts, base for ice cream, or as a dessert sauce...if you can manage not to eat it all with a spoon while you are making it!! :-D

1 heaped tbsp flour
100g sugar
4 yolks
500ml milk (room temperature)
a few drops of vanilla essence

Beat the york in a double boiler.
Add about 400ml of milk, sugar and vanilla, turn on the heat and whisk.
In a separate cup whisk the flour briskly in the remaining 100ml of milk until the flour is dissolved. Add into the double boiler. Mix well.
Heat the mixture on low heat, stirring often, until the cream thickens.

If the double boiler is not available, you can
1. Layer a smaller sauce pan over the larger sauce pan filled with boiling water
or
2. Use a thick bottomed saucepan with extremely low heat, constantly stirring from the bottom, taking care not to have it boil over or burn at the bottom. (If the cream starts to get overheated take off the saucepan from the heat for some seconds)

Further tips

For a liquidier cream for making a sauce, reduce the amount of flour.

The cream can be further flavoured with real vanilla bean pod*, lemon or orange zest, cinnamon, cocoa powder, rum or amaretto.

*make a slit length wise on the pod, scrape out the seeds into the egg yolk at the beginning. Put the pod in as well, just as the cream begins to thicken, take out the pods.

Kodafa

Totally unique treat from the middle east, Kodafa is a special cake made with couscous, fresh cheese, pistacchi oozing with honey. A lovely idea when you are in the mood for something different, a new taste experience!! Visually it looks great, too!! :-D

Ingredients:

200g (7oz) Couscous
2 eggs
120g (4,5 oz) butter, melted
Pinch of salt

180g (6oz+) FRESH mozzarella, chopped
250g (8,5oz) ricotta
40g (1,5 oz) honey
1 tsp Cinnamon
A few drops of vanilla essence

For the syrup
180ml (6oz+) honey
100ml water
1 small package or 1 pinch of ground saffran
1tsp orange flower water (alternative, rose water)

30-40g (1,5oz circa) roughly crushed pistacchi for garnish

prepare the couscous following the direction. (for quick cooking ones, immerse in about 300ml of boiling water, cover and let it stand for at least 5 minutes, for this cake, a bit more)
Flake the cous cous well to get rid of big lumps.
In a good sized bowl, beat together the eggs and the melted butter, then mix in the couscous, blend together well.
In anoter large bowl, beat together the chopped mozzarella, ricotta, 40g of honey, cinnamon and vanilla, until the mixture become smooth and thickly creamy.
In a buttered cake pan (about 27cm/10-11inch) lay down the half of the couscous mixture evenly. Then cover with the cheese mixture, then top with the rest of the couscous, spreading it out evenly.
Bake it in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F for 20minutes. Let it cool.
In a small saucepan, mix the honey, saffran and water, let it boil for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and mix in the orange flower water.
Let the syrup cool slightly, then pour evenly over the cake. Garnish the top with pistacchi.

Pastiera Napoletana

Pastiera Napoletana (Campania)

This is a real traditional treat to celebrate Easter in Italy, however it is great for any special occasion :-) The key ingredient, cooked wheat grain is somewhat particular, in Italy ready-made (already cooked) wheat that comes in a jar is readily available in supermarkets, which will simplify the procedure. You may want to check out any grocery shops which deal with the imported Italian food items if possible. If such wheat grain can not be found, you may want to try with cooked barley or rice. (the result will be different but should be equally delicious, sort of a rice pudding pie...

The above picture is the last one we made the other day, we decided to make a monster one which measures up to 55cm (almost 2 ft)... :-D We doubled the ingredients but somehow we didn't have enough the crust dough, so the typical criss-cross pattern on the surface had to be sacrificed!! Nontheless it made many people quite happy!! :-D

Crust:
200g flour
150g lard or butter, or half/half
120g sugar
3 egg yolks
fresh orange zest from 1 orange

Filling:
1 cup whole-wheat grain
3 eggs, separated
1200ml milk
80g candied orange and lemon peel
1 teaspoon cinnamon
a few drops of vanilla essence
fresh lemon zest from 1 lemon
pinch of salt
500g ricotta (preferably di pecora/of sheep milk)
240g sugar
1 tbs. orange-flower water
30g butter


Prepare the filling: soak the grain for 2-3 days, changing the water every day.

Knead the flour, butter, sugar and eggs and orange zest together until smooth.
Make a ball of the dough and let it rest for half an hour or so.

Drain the wheat and boil with fresh water for 30 mins. Drain and put back in the pot with milk, cinnamon, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and 1 tbs. of sugar. Bring to a boil, lower and cook over low heat until the milk is absorbed.

Beat the egg-whites until solid.
Beat ricotta, sugar and beat until creamy in a bowl. Add the yolks, the whole-wheat grain, diced candied fruits, lemon zest, and the orange-flower water. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Grease a 30cm baking pan and dust with sugar. Line with 3/4 of the pastry. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into strips. Arrange the strips over the filling in a criss-cross pattern. Brush the strips of dough with egg yolk. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and bake the cake for 1-1,5 hour, until the filling has set and the crust is golden brown.

Mascarpone-ricotta Cheesecake

After trying various cheesecake recipes, I am finally settled with this one as our winning recipe. It is extra delicious served with your choice of fruit sauce and whipped cream!

500g ricotta cheese
500g mascarpone
350g sugar
4eggs (or 3 large)
fresh lemon zest from 1 lemon
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
a few drops of vanilla essence
3tbsp corn flour
3tbsp flour
60g melted butter
200ml sour cream

Blend cheeses together. Fold in sugar. Mix in one egg at a time. Mix in the rest of ingredients and whip until smooth. Pour into greased, floured 28cm round cake form. Bake at 180C° for 1 hour. Turn off the oven, leave it for 2hours.

Pineapple Coconut Cream Pie

This came out as a real winning improvisation just the other day. I just love the combination of coconuts and Pineapple, perhaps the next time I will add a few drops of rum and make it into a "Pina Colada Pie"!! :-D

Ingredients: Pie shell

250g plain flour
120g butter, cubed, at room temperature
120g sugar
2 egg yolks (or 1 large egg yolk)
1 pinch of salt
(you can save some work by using a ready made puff pastry dough)

Ingredients: Coconut Custard

300ml whole milk
2 table spoon (generous heap) flour
140g sugar
4 egg yolks
300ml coconut milk
some drops of vanilla essence

half pineapple, or 1 baby pineapple

Pie shell

Work together the flour and butter, rubbing the butter into the flour until butter gets integrated to the flour. Make a well, and pour the sugar and yolks. Knead the dough, first carefully joining all the ingredients, then vigorously, until the texture becomes solid and smooth.
(Up to this part, it can be done in a electric mixer/food processor)

Wrap the dough and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Roll out the dough on a flat surface, divide the dough to roughly 6-4.
Take the 60% portion and stretch it with a rolling pin to fit into a round pie form (about 28cm/11 inch)*

Poke some holes on the dough spread on the bottom of the form with a fork.

Cover the surface with a wax paper, spread over some dried beans and blind bake it at about 190°C(375°F) for 10-15 minutes.**
Let it cool a little until it becomes manageable.

Stretch out the rest of the 40% dough, into a long ribbon form (easier if you make it into a few pieces), wrap around the side of the pie form to make the border, securing the joint with the baked shell bottom.
If you like using the end of a fork or butter knife, press around the edge to make a decorative pie shell pattern.

*I am not very good at handling a fully stretched pie dough, so I press out half way and then transfer it inside the pie shell, then stretch them into the edge with my fingers.

**If you are using a ready made puff pastry dough, cover the edges with aluminum foil to keep it from burning, or cut out just enough to make the side/edges to be attached after blind baking.

Cream

Mix the flour vigorously into the milk, until the flour is dissolved.
Put all the ingredients in a double boiler, heat it up, mixing constantly, until the cream thickens.

Remove the excess (outer skin, core) from the pineapple, and roughly chop it into small pieces.

Pour the cream evenly into the pie shell, then arrange the pineapple pieces on top to almost cover the surface.

Bake the pie in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for another 20-25 minutes, until the custard is fully cooked and the edge of the shell is golden brown.

Let cool, serve with a whipped cream.

Apple Crumbles

While I am a huge fan of anything sweet, I am unfortunately not a dessert whiz when it comes to preparing them, and I have some serious limitations. However this recipe is so easy and tasty, it is one of my go to "satisfying desserts for dummies" when we have guests on short notice, or any time I have some urgent craving!! It is indeed THAT easy!! Highly reccomended to anyone! :-D


Base:
4-6 (depending on the size) firm apples
80g brown sugar
10g flour (1tbsp)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
50g flour
70g sugar
70g butter
30g walnuts or almonds

Peel the apples, remove the core and slice them. (roughly 1/4, then 1/4 each of them)
In a bowl mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together and thoroughly coat the apples. Spread the apples evenly in a baking dish (about 20cm diametre).
In a mixer/food processor chop (not grind) the nuts.
Soften the butter, then combine with the flour, sugar and nuts.
Spread the butter mixture over the apples, then bake at 180°C for 30minutes circa, or the topping is golden brown.

Serve at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or warm with custard.

Connie's Fresh Apple Cake

This has become my favourite apple cake recipe in the last few years, but the credit goes to my friend Connie, whom I met at a cooking forum . The basic recipe was told by her, which I modified it in my own way just a bit. It is very simple to make, even I, who is quite pitiful at cake baking, manage to make this a success every time and it tastes absolutely gorgeous!!

Connie's Fresh Apple Cake

Ingredients:
2 eggs
200g sugar
2 tsps baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
a few drops of vanilla essence
250g flour
diced fresh apples (3-4 depending on the size of the apples)
60g butter, softened
80g chopped walnuts
*optional* unbroken, unchipped halved walnuts for decoration

FROSTING:
200g mascarpone (if unavailable you can use fresh spreadable creamy white cheese, quark or philadelphia type)
50g butter
a few drops of vanilla
enough powder sugar to make a suitable consistency for frosting

Directions:
Cream eggs and sugar. Add next 8 ingredients. Pour into a round greased pan, about 25cm diametre.
(at this point the mixture has very little moisture. However have no fear, the juice from the apples oozes out while the cake is cooking)
Bake at 175° for 45 minutes. Let it cool.

Cream together mascarpone, butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla, adding gradually the sugar, to the desired consistency(it must not be runny, pretty dense but manageable).
Spread thoroughly on the cake.

The cake may be spruced up with some halved walnuts on the surface, as in the above pic.. :-)

Tiramisu Piemontese

Tiramisu Piemontese (Piemonte)

To kick off MuchoGusto the blog with a style, I needed a very special recipe with an universal appeal, yet something typically Italian, and something SWEET. After racking my head over some tough choices, I picked Tiramisu for my starter, even though its a classic dessert!

I love desserts and many of my favourite foods are from this department, although my partner Cristiano is much more expert in baking... here is one recipe he taught me, one of the most celebrated italian desserts and and there is no baking required!! yum, yum!
There are several theories as to the origin of Tiramisu, but Cristiano found this recipe from a Piemontese (the region around Turin) cookbook years ago and proved to be a winner!
Tiramisu Piemontese

Ingredients:
700g/ 1,5 lb mascarpone
6 very fresh (essential!!) eggs (5 if eggs are particularly large)
100g / 3,5 oz sugar
half cup of Marsala wine
1 cup (circa, more if needed) freshly brewed coffee (not too strong, slightly diluted) or little more as needed.
600g / 1 lb + 5oz Savoiardi or lady fingers
pure cocoa powder unsweetened
sweetened cocoa powder


Instruction:

Separate eggs. Beat together yolks, sugar, wine and mascarpone until the mixture attains a smooth creamy texture.
Whip the eggwhite vigorously until it becomes solid. (do this patiently with "high energy", if it is not solid enough the end result will be soggy and soupy!)
Carefully fold in the whipped eggwhite into the mascarpone/york mixture, blend them well and evenly.

Mix 2 teaspoonful of sugar into the coffee, then pour in a container large enough to dip savoiardi/lady fingers comfortably. dip each pieces of biscuits into the coffee quickly, (wet the entire surface for a moment but not until it gets soggy all the way through) lay them neatly in one layer at the bottom of a large square/rectangular baking dish (or 2 medium).
pour half of the cream (mascarpone/egg mixture) evenly over the savoiardi, then sprinkle the sweetened cocoa powder to cover the surface.

Arrange another layer of savoiardi on top, repeat with the cream, then top it off with unsweetened pure cocoa powder.

Chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.