Blue Cheese and Cranberry Bread

This baby was made for a magnificent Sunday brunch with friends.

It is rich and classy, perfectly combined mix of salty, sour and bready.

Ingredients

for the bread:

500 g flour

25 g fresh yeast

1 cup warm water

2 Tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp sugar

pepper to taste

for the filling:

300g hot blue cheese

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 Tbsp olive oil

Fist activate the yeast combining it with the sugar and a bit of water. Then mix the yeast with the other ingredients. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Let rest for at least 2 hours in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 200° C.

Once the dough has raised knead again and stretch it on al floured surface in a rectangle measuring about 40x20 cm.

Place the filling onto the rectangle then roll it starting from the short side.

Put it in a loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

Late Birthday Cake

Me and my friend Roberta made this beauty for Manuela's birthday. We were celebrating almost a week after her birthday, so we wanted to make amend in the right way. 

For the layers

300 g butter

300 g sugar

300 g eggs

300 g flour

For the filling

400 g cream cheese

3 Tbsp icing sugar

1/2 cup blueberry puree

for the frosting

500 ml cream

1 Tbsp icing sugar

1 fresh coconut, grated

Prepare the layers by beating butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the flour. Divide the batter into three 20 cm cake tins. Bake at 180° for 15 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake will come out clean.

Let cool.

Prepare the filling by mixing all the ingredients together.

Whip the cream with the sugar and set aside in the fridge.

Arrange the cake: put the first layer as a base. Spread 1/3 of the filling onto the first layer, cover with the second layer and repeat. Once the third layer is on top, mix the whipped cream with the remaining third of the filling. Cover the entire surface of the cake levelling well.

Arrange the grated fresh coconut over the frosting.

Refrigerate before eating.

Cactus Cupcakes

These are just cute and funny.

110 g butter, softened

110 g sugar

110 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

4 Tbsp cocoa

1 tsp chilli powder

70 g dark chocolate chunks

Put all the cupcakes ingedients together and beat them with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes.

Put the batter into 6 terracotta mini jar. Cook at 180 g for 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let cool and decorate with green sugar dought forming different kind of cactus.

Halva

Ingredients:

200 g sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cloves

juice of 1/2 lemon

250 g butter

350 g fine semolina

115 g walnuts 

Prepare the syrup: put 1 literwater, lemon juice, cimmanon, cloves and sugar in a saucepan and slowly bring to boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until it gets a syrupy consistency. Take off the heat. 

Melt the butter in a big saucepan, and cook it for 3-4 minutes, until its gets goldend (this passage is foundamental). Add semolina and continue cooking for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. It must become dark gold without burn. Add the walnuts, cook for 5 minutes and then take off the heat.

Paying much attention, pour the syrup onto the semolina. The mixture will thicken itself in the saucepan, so stir it vigorously until smooth and firm.

Put it in a greased tin and let cool in the fridge.

Lemon Curd and Blueberry Tart

Ingredients:

for the pastry:

250 g flour

125 g butter

1 egg

100 g sugar

for the lemon curd:

90 g butter, cold

2 eggs

1/2 cup lemon juice

125 g sugar

125 g cream cheese

250 g blueberries, for the topping

Preheat the oven to 180°.

Prepare the pastry: cut the butter into cubes, and work it into the flour and sugar until crumbly, without big lumps. Then add the egg and knead until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

Roll out the dought in a rectangle big enough to cover bottom and sides of your tart tin. Make holes on the base using a fork, cover with a sheet of packment paper and put some rise or been on it. Refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.

Bake for 10 minutes, then take off the paper and rise/beens and cook for another 5 minutes.

Let cool.

Meanwhile prepare the lemon curd. Put a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the butter, sugar, lemon juice and eggs. Cook stirring constantly until the curd thickens (about 15 minutes). Take off the heat, let cool, then add the cream cheese. Refrigerate.

Arrange the tart spreading the curd over the pastry shell. Put the blueberries.

And eat it :)

Ingredienti:

per la pasta frolla:

250 g farina

125 g burro

1 uovo

100 g zucchero

per la crema al limone:

90 g burro

2 uova

1/2 tazza succo di limone

125 g zucchero

125 g crema spalmabile

250 g mirtilli

Accendere il forno a 180°.

Preparare la pasta frolla unendo il burro freddo, tagliato a cubetti fino ad ottenere un composto sbriciolato, senza grumi. Unire l'uovo e impastare fino a che non è ben liscio ed elastico. Mettere in frigo per 30 minuti.

Stendere l'impasto a seconda delle dimensioni della teglia da crostata. Bucherellare la base con una forchetta, coprire tutto con un foglio di carta forno e adagiarvi sopra del riso/fagioli secchi. Mettere in frigo per almeno altri 30 minuti. Cuocere la pasta frolla per 10 minuti, togliere la carta e il riso/fagioli e cuocere altri 5 minuti. Far freddare completamente.

Nel frattempo preparare la crema. Cuocere a bagnomaria il burro, lo zucchero, il succo di limone e le uova per circa 15 minuti, o finchè non è ben assodato. Una volta bene freddo aggiungere la crema spalmabile.

Assemblare la crostata spalmando la crema sulla pasta frolla e decorare con i mirtilli.

Citrus and Basil Cake

This is a particular cake. It's made with whole boiled citrus and food processed to obtain a puree.

The result is a very moist cake and very rich. It has a subtle bitter taste and a mild taste of basil, which add freshness.

Ingredients:

1 orange

2 lemons

1 lime

125 g butter

1 cup of sugar

5 eggs

2 cups of almond flour

1/2 cup of flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup basil

sliced almonds, for decoration

sliced orange, lemon and lime, for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180°. Line the base of a 22 cm cake tin with packment paper.

Boil the orange, lemons and lime and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until moist.

Let cool, then chop the citrus roughly, removing the seeds. Process orange, lemons, lime, butter, sugar, eggs, almond flour, flour, baking powder and basil in a food processor, until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour.

Decorate.

Ingredienti:

1 arancia

2 limoni

1 lime

125 g burro

1 tazza di zucchero

5 uova

2 tazze di farina di mandorle

1/2 tazza di farina

1 cucchiaino di lievito

1 tazza di basilico

Riscaldare il forno a 180°. Foderare una tortiera di 22 cm con carta forno.

Mettere a bollire gli agrumi e cuocere per circa 10 minuti.

Far raffreddare, tagliare gli agrumi a pezzettoni, togliendo i semi. Mettere arancia, limoni, lime, burro, zucchero, farine, uova, lievito e basilico in un robot da cucina e amalgamare tutto fino ad ottenere un composto liscio ed omogeneo.

Versare l'impasto nella tortiera e cuocere per circa 1 ora.

Timballo

    I made this beauty with my collegue Roberta. We cooked on Sunday morning and ate the timballo in the evening. It was delicious and rich. VERY rich.

You can choose different kind of pasta, but short one is the best.

A big applause to Roberta for the decorations, they gave the timballo an incredible baroque look.

Ingredients

for the brisée:

250 g butter, cold and cut into small cubes

500 g flour

2-3 Tbsp water

bread crumbs

For the filling:

300 g pasta

2 sausages

250 ml tomato sauce

2 eggplants

300 g provola cheese, chopped

4 boiled eggs, chopped

600 ml béchamel

2 Tbsp chopped onion

olive oil

salt

pepper

nutmeg

Prepare the brisée: combine the butter with the flour using your hands and fingertips. You have to obtain a crumbly mixture, trying not to leave any big chunks of butter. Add the water (add it if needed) and knead. Let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes if possible. Roll out 2/3 of the dought in a circle large enough to cover base and sides of a 24 cm cake tin.

Roll ou the other 1/3 of the dough into a circle that will be the top.

 Put in the fridge until further use.

Prepare the filling: Cut the eggplant into cubes and cook them with a little olive oil until soft and gold. 

Heat the olive oil, add the onion and cook until golden. Add the sausage, roughly chopped and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce. Cook for 15 minutes, let thicken. 

Mix well the pasta, the sauce and the béchamel, eggplants, cheese and eggs. Season to taste.

Put the pasta mixture over the pastry base and cover with the pastry top. 

Bake at 180° for about 1 hour.