Nutella Biscuits

Now that there was this delicious Nutella in the fridge, we had it on everything! One thing that the Italian family introduced me to was Nutella with Ricotta. It sounds really odd, but trust me this combination is amazing! Riccotta has a milky flavour so it is basically like having chocolate milk. 

In Italy, ricotta is a staple ingredient. Italians are as likely to have ricotta in their fridge as they are to have flour in the cupboard. Sadly, in England the Ricotta isn't up to the standard of the Italian, mainly because it isn't fresh. It even varies across Italy, when I was in Bari (which is in the south of Italy) the ricotta there was pure heaven - so good that you could eat it all by itself. 

However, moving away from ricotta and back to the subject in hand (I will expand on the many wondered things you can make with ricotta later). One of my favourite things to buy in a Panetteria,  are these round biscuits with Nutella (or jam inside - but why would you have jam if there was chocolate on offer!), and now that we had the Nutella in the fridge it was a good excuse to make my own. These biscuits are buttery and crumbly and utterly divine. I have also had these biscuits in a pastry cup shape filled with Nutella and then sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts. I had these one weekend in a little cafe in Monterosso (one of the Cinque Terre villages). Here's a picture of it. Yes, I've had some first to check it was good enough to be worthy of a photograph of course and not because I just couldn't wait to eat it! 

BISCOTTI SABLE CON NUTELLA 

Makes 9 biscuits 

Ingredients: 

For the Biscotti Sable: 

250g plain flour 

150g castor sugar

125g butter

2 tablespoons of milk

3 egg yolks 

A pinch of salt 

For the middle: 

About 200g of Nutella 

Method: 

1) To make the biscotti sable put all the ingredients into a food processor (put the flour in first as this helps to stop the wet ingredients sticking to the bottom and flour spraying everywhere). Whizz on a low speed until all the ingredients are combined and it comes together as a dough. 

2) Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the freezer for 15 minuites to chill it. This will help stop the cookies spreading when they are put in the oven.

3) Roll the dough out on a floured surface, to about a cm thick and cut out 5 cm circles. 

4) Place on a lined baking tray. Cut 2 cm holes out of the middle of half of the biscuits (these are to go on top). Place in the fridge again as the dough will have warmed up as you cut out the cookies, for 5 - 10 minuites. This is a good time to turn the oven (200C) on and let it heat up while the cookies are in the fridge. 

5) Put the cookies into the oven and cook for about 5 minuites. When the biscuits start to turn a golden colour, they are done.  By removing them this early from the oven, it means that they will still be crumblely when you bite into them. Cool. 

6) When they are cooled, spread Nutella on the biscuits without the holes in them. Make sure you go right to the edges so he filling can be seen when the biscuits are stuck together. Then place the biscuits with hole on top. Using a teaspoon fill the hole in the the biscuits with Nutella. Enjoy ! 

The Bucket List

I want to cry. I. Only. Have. Four. Weeks. Left. In. Italy. That's 28 days, 672 hours, 40,320 minutes and 2,419,200 seconds. Such a piccolino (really small) amount of time. But I have had an amazing 5 months and know that I must make the most out of these last 4 weeks. 

So with the depressing thought of how little time I have; I decided to make a bucket list. Mine consists of three main things 
1) Eat: croissants, foccacia, pasta, bread, basically anything Italian!
2) Visit as many places as possible (including Rome!)
3) Speak Italian at every opportunity

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night I was feeling a bit homesick, so I decided to bake one of favourite things - Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are so simple to make, yet so satisfying. Now the reason that I haven't talked about  this recipe on my blog before is because there is a minefield of opinions of how these cookies should be. There is the classic Nestle Chocolate Chip Recipe (anyone remember the friends episode where Monica tests multiple recipes to find her grandmother's old recipe and realises it was on the back of the Nestle packet?). But everybody has their own preference for how chocolate chip cookies should be: some like them soft, some like them chewy, others crunchy and others cakey. I like mine soft in the middle and chewy on the outside and definalty not crunchy. My favourite recipe is the New York Times recipe. This recipe is simply amazing - no more needs to be said! One tip though watch them very carefully in the oven, one minute too much and you have horrible crunchy cookies. Also the cookies are better if the dough is chilled however you can make them without chilling dough.

Yesterday, I decided to make large American Style cookies as that is where this recipe originated and where I first made them (as I grew up in America). So I made really large cookies with chocolate chunks and ate them warm out of the oven with a glass of milk. Perfecto! However you could make them  'English Style', by making cakey cookies and be sure to eat them with a cup of tea! Or even 'Italian style' by making mini cookies which are perfect with an expresso, after a meal. So as I discovered these are a good bake that cross over the different cultures which are significant in my life; even though they are quintessentially American.

So which 'culture' cookies are you going to make? 

 New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe 

#NutellaLove (homemade of course!)

This morning the mom in my 'Italian family' made 'Nutella fatto in casa' (homemade Nutella). If like me, you are addicted to the stuff then you'll understand how happy I was! Also, it was very topical with my New Years Resolution of healthy eating as the homemade version is always better for you then the bought stuff. As well as being extremely scrummy, Nutella is so versatile that it goes with anything; toast, crepes, yoghurt, cupcakes, pancakes, ricotta (I'll return to this Italian delicacy later), cookies, ice cream, bread sticks, pastries, doughnuts, waffles, wraps, truffles and bagels to name a few. My favourite though is bagels with peanut butter and Nutella; the saltiness of the peanut butter and the chocolatly flavour of the Nutella is simply divine. 

Hazelnuts and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Would you have guess that hazelnuts were first combined with chocolate to make a cheaper chocolate during the war and not because of the amazing flavour combination? In the Piedamonte region of Italy, hazelnuts were in abundance (due to the favourable climate) and cocoa solids were very expensive to import and so one smart man decided to combine the two. Therefore less cocoa solids were used in production which make this type of chocolate more affordable for the general public. In Torino (Turin in English) a special chocolate treat is made called Gianduja (see picture below from a shop window when I was in Torino). When I was in Turin these chocolates were everywhere in their distinct upside down boat shape. Again these are extremely yummy to eat! The chocolate is so smooth and delicate like Nutella that it melts in your mouth - pure perfection! 

 

Making Nutella is so simple, that I don't know why I haven't done it before. Also, homemade Nutella is healthier as it doesn't use as much added oils that bought Nutella has to 'fluff' out the product. The base for the recipe is two simple ingredients: hazelnuts and chocolate. To enhance the flavour we toasted the hazelnuts and used dark chocolate to create a rich Nutella. But you can easily use milk chocolate and not roast the hazelnuts, depending on how you like your Nutella. 

Homemade Nutella Recipe 

Ingredients: 

100g dark chocolate 

50g hazelnuts 

60ml vegetable oil

80g brown sugar 

100g soya milk 

Method: 

1) Toast the hazelnuts under a grill for about 10 minuites. Mixing them every couple of minutes, to be careful they do not burn. Cool. 

2) Put the hazelnuts, sugar and chocolate in the food processor.  Whiz until fine crumb mixture is created. Make sure to scrap down the sides so there are no lumps in your Nutella. 

3) Add the soya milk and oil to the food processor bowl and whiz until it forms a paste. Again scraping down the sides, so everything is incorporated. 

4) Finally put the mixture into a banmarie* to melt all the chocolate and create the Nutella texture. 

5) Pour the mixture into jars, and leave to cool. Do not put in the fridge straight away as this will cause the mixture to curdle. Once cooled store in the fridge for up to a month but trust me it won't last that long!

*a banmarie is where you put a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water, making sure the water and the bottom if the bowl do not touch. This method is used with chocolate and sauces as it gives a gentile heat as to not burn the chocolate.  

Firenza (Florence)

Firenza is one of the top 3 cities to visit in Italy, along with Rome and Venice. So it was a must to visit for me. I love visiting small villages and towns which are very authentic and Italian, without a tourist in sight. However, I also love big cities as they are really magical. Down every street there is something new and there is a lot of amazing architecture and historical sights in a small area. Florence is no exception to this with a treasure trove of Renaissance Art. 

So Friday night I read 'the bible' as I call it - The Lonely Planet Guide to Italy. I decided what I wanted to see and then looked up places to eat. Now I sound a bit like an OCD traveller who plans every moment of her trip, but I assure you I'm not! From experience I have discovered that if you don't do this you walk away from a place realising that you forgot to visit so and so or you end up walking around for hours trying to find somewhere decent, cheap and non touristy to eat lunch (sounds easy but trust me it isn't!). Being the budget traveller I am, I also looked up the cheapest way to get there; which was to train to Pisa and then take to the bus to Florence - saving me €2.90 each way! One last thing was to check the weather forecast - it said rain, rain and more rain. So I set out early Saturday morning, wearing wellies and a rain jacket with my trusty umbrella in hand (it has seen a lot of rain!), the bible in my backpack and a general itinerary in my head.  

Arriving in the city, the first thought in my mind was breakfast. I know this sounds awful as I was in an amazing city and the first thing I did was search for breakfast. But in my opinion part of visiting a new place is experiencing the cuisine of that area. And you can't appreciate a place if your tummy is rumbling away! I didn't have to search far luckily, as I had read about this fantastic little bakery a short walk from the station. Here I bought a delicious croissant filled with Nutella and it had melted chocolate on top - my idea of heaven as a  chocoholic - for only one euro. Interestingly, in Italy the croissants are a lot less buttery then the ones in France. One reason for this is that for Italians breakfast is a simple, on-the-go affair and therefore croissants are usually pre-filled with a custard cream so they can be bought and eaten straight away (with a cappuccino, of course) and therefore a buttery croissant would be too sweet. Whereas the French usually have theirs with butter and jam so a buttery croissant compliments this. It also goes back to the roots of Italian cooking as they don't use butter that much, with a preference for olive oil. 

Now that my tummy was satisfied, I retraced my steps back to the Santa Maria Novella Church and admired the beautiful marble facade. Linked to this church is an old pharmacy and perfumery (Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella), which was next on my list to visit. Inside it was amazing with different rooms for things like herboligist,  perfumery, soap, museum and tea shop, little had changed since 1612 when it was opened. I then headed off for the area across the river. I had read that this area was filled with little artists shops; making things from picture frames, to lampshades to jewerily. And I wasn't disappointed, there were some wonderful little shops and in many you could go in and see how they were making various things. 

Once again my tummy was rumbling - time for lunch! Another aupairing friend had told me about a fabulous, family run pizza shop, called Toto'Atto II.  Pizza is a must in Italy and even though I had eaten it for dinner the night before, I was still up for more! The restaurant was small with only about 4 tables and one side of the restaurant you could see the chef making the pizzas and there was also various different types of pizza displayed. You could choose one of the pizza slices that had been pre-made (and they popped it into the oven so it was pipping hot for you) or order a whole pizza which the chef would make for you right before your eyes. I opted for a slice of the vegetarian pizza and some fizzy water (beware that in Italy coke, fanta etc are extremely expensive at restaurants and fizzy water is the same price as still water) costing €4.50. A perfect lunch in my opinion - tasty, filly and cheap! 

Once again stuffed with food, it was time to hit the Uffizi Gallery and admire all the renaissance artwork. Personally, I don't find galleries and paintings that interesting, however the inside was spectacular; my favourite part was one hallway where the ceilings had intricate paintings, there were statues along one side and then large windows looking out onto the piazza on the other. Also, the roof (where the expensive cafe was gave beautiful views of the city). If like me your not that interested in painting I would go in for the amazing architecture - it only cost €3.25. With the rain still holding off, I then walked into the Piazza Della Signoria to see all the statues, including the famous David replica. 

In need of a snack after all the heavy afternoon of museums, I returned to the bakery from the morning and bought a delicious cherry and chocolate cake. With the rain still holding off, I grabbed a takeaway coffee from Arnold's and sat in the square of the church Santa Maria Novello. I munched away whilst people watching, with a lovely back drop of the church. Even though I'm in Italy, I still love to have a big American coffee and none of those mini cappuccinos (although they are value for money at a mere €1.30 in La Spezia). Also as I was in a city the price of a simple cappuccino is much higher ... One cafe I walked into was selling them at €5! I walked out if there quickly! 

With the sun setting I headed to the North of the city to visit the markets. I wandered around here and the Piazza Della Santissima Annuzista, where there is another beautiful church and the Hospital of the Innocent.  Finally I ended  at the 'Duomo'. Throughout the day I had seen the 'Duomo' popping up from behind buildings or peeking out down streets but now it was finally time to see the magnificent church and my was it magnificent! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

After overindulging during the Christmas season: January is the month for health. It is also the time for New Years Resolutions. According to Statistic Brain (http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/) 38% of Americans' New Year Resolutions are to do with 'weight related issues'. Not surprisingly, the number one New Years Resolution is to 'loose weight'. Like everyone else one of my New Years Resolutions is to do with 'weight related issues'. Although it's not 'loose weight', it's healthy and nutritious eating, which should help me to maintain and even loose a little Christmas weight. What's different about this year for me, is that I want to be part of the mere 39% of people (http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/) who actually keep their New Years Resolution! 

It is no wonder that the number one New Years Resolution is to 'loose weight' as everywhere you look there are advertisements, promotions, articles, stories encouraging people to loose weight, especially in January. It seems, it is more the media creating the image that January is the month to loose weight and create your ideal body image in doing so, then people actually deciding.  But then you get in to the chicken and egg dilemma: was it the media or people who first created this January phenomenon.  I firmly believe it was the media. The media uses so much airbrushing and people with perceived perfect bodies, that it rubs off on the public and means many people strive to have the perfect bodies and therefore go on crazy diets. This is especially heightened in January.  However, it should be more about improving your health with a healthy eating and exercise then going on radical 2/3/4/5/6 or however many week diets. 

So to undertake my New Years Resolution, I'm going to train to run 5km. This will help improve my general health and hopefully burn some excess calories. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and beneficial to prevent you snacking throughout the day on sugary things. So to start my New Year I'm going to improve my breakfasts. No more Italian breakfasts of hot chocolate, cookies or croissants (well accept for weekends ;) ), instead it's time for granola (homemade of course!). 

I understand that there's mixed feelings about whether granola is actually healthy or not. Some prefere muesli as a healthier option, as it isn't covered in sugar. But I assure you that my granola is still healthy! Instead of coating it in sugar or honey, I've used maple syrup (a natural sugar) and olive oil to help create the crispness. Besides from that there is no added sugar. 

The basic recipe is so simple that you can add whatever nuts, seeds or fruits you want to, to make it to your taste. Be creative and experiment with different flavour combinations such as cranberry and pecan, or almonds and pineapple. I've created a granola which is high in iron adding pumpkin seeds, almonds and apricots. The beauty of this breakfast is that you can tailor it to your health needs. 

The base is oats, flaxseed, sesame seeds and desiccated coconut and then add whatever else you desire. My favourite way to eat it is over yogurt with fresh fruit (see picture). 

NUALA'S LOW FAT AND HIGH IN IRON GRANOLA

Ingredients: 

4 cups rolled oats 

1/2 desiccated coconut 

1/4 flaxseed 

1/2 sesame seeds 

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup flaked almonds 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

3/4 apricots, cut into small chunks 

3 tablespoons maple syrup 

3 tablespoons olive oil

Method: 

1) Preheat oven to 180C. 

2) In a large bowl mix the oats, coconut, flaxseed, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flaked almonds and cinnamon. Next add the maple syrup and mix well until all ingredients are coated in it. 

3) On a large baking tray, brush olive oil. Pour mixture onto the baking tray and spread evenly. 

4) Cook for 30 minutes until golden. Every 10 minutes turn the mixture, so it is evenly cooked. 

5) Remove from oven and cool for 10-20 minutes.     

Italy

It's been a while I know .... But I'm back!

So I've finished my a-levels this summer and have a place at university, but I am taking a Gap Year before heading to university. So at the moment I'm living in Italy and working as an aupair.

I've been out there for 3 months already and seen so many beautiful places, met amazing people and best of all tasted incredible food. Through living and working within a family I am getting to experience Italian culture (and cuisine) first hand. The mom in the family has taught me multiple Italian recipes and the grandmother is a ledginary cook!

So Italy is known for its legendary food; in particular pizza, pasta and coffee. So here's my round up of where I've had the best of each of these during my travels .... 

So far the best PIZZA that I have tasted was in Florence in this cute little family run pizza shop. It was made with sourdough, so the crusts were gooey and the base crispy - just how I like it. The topping was classic tomato sauce and then rocket, mozerella and tomatoes as well, but the freshness and flavour was AMAZING! I might just have to go back to florence to eat this amazing pizza again! 

There's a joke with the family I live with as they know how obsessed I am with pesto PASTA. In the north of La Spezia there is a little fresh pasta shop, where the grandmother bought pasta from and then made homemade pesto to go on top! It was delicious especially with the toasted pine nuts sprinkled ontop. I would eat this for the rest of my life! Where I am is near Genova, which is the home of pesto. Interestingly a lot of people make the pesto without garlic which is a million times nicer! After eating pesto without garlic you appreciate the flavours more and they come through more clearly and subtly. Whereas with garlic it overpowers the pesto. So never again will I be eating pesto made with garlic! 

COFFEE - where to start? Thinking through the last 3 months I haven't tasted a coffee which has been bad. Some coffees stood out move then others due to the design on top (drizzled chocolate or shapes like hearts) or it was made with funky flavours (like the Nutella coffee (below) I had - where Nutella was put around the edge of the glass, then a double shot of espresso and finally whipped cream and a biscuit on top). In La Spezia there is one cafe that I love as the coffee is cheap (€1.30) and then they drizzle melted chocolate on top - heaven! 

The Tick of a Clock

Tick . . . tock . . . tick . . .  tock . . . tick . . . tock . . . tick . . .  tock  . . . tick . . .

Wow! How has time passed so quickly? How have I not managed to post in sooo long? I am completely overwhelmed with the lack of time in my life - hence why I haven't posted in yonks!

tock . . . tick . . .  tock . . . tick . . . tock . . . tick . . .  tock . . . tick . . .

After being absent for so long, I feel disconnected from the blogger world. So now I need  your help to reconnect. I am asking you (the kind readers of my blog . . . ) to help me come up with a new baking project for me to undertake. I am open to any ideas just through them my way!

tock . . . tick . . .  tock . . . tick . . . tock . . . tick . . .  tock  . . . tick . . . tock.

Sponge Creations

Today I was inspired by the scorching spring sun to go back to basics and experiment with flavours. Although it is exciting trying out a new recipe or method, sometimes it is fun to go back to basics and experiment with traditional flavours.
The 'baiscs' for this recipe was a sponge cake. I cooked the sponge cake in a square tin which allowed me to cut out different shapes and designs of mini sponge cakes. I decided to focus on 4 traditional flavours; lemon, chocolate, coffee and Victoria Sponge.

Firstly I focused on making a good sponge cake. Many people would argue that a 'basic' sponge cake in an all-in-one sponge cake, but I believe that the best way to make a sponge cake is through the creaming method.

CLICK HERE to see recipe (but emit the cocoa powder and cook in a 30cm rectangular tin)

Flavours:





Lemon Kisses



LEMON: For some people (me included!) lemon can come across as quites bitter and strong. So for this one I decided to make small bite size 'Lemon Kisses'. I cut little hearts out of the sponge using a heart shaped cookie cutter and then pipped the middle with some lemon curd.

Victoria Sponge

VICTORIA SPONGE: Always a delicious classic! It is universally agreed that a Victoria Sponge includes strawberry / raspberry jam but what you put with it is what is up for debate. Some believe nothing, others whipped cream and others a butter cream. I personally love whipped cream and raspberry jam!








Chocolate and Raspberry



CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY: Here I tried something different. Once I had cut squares out of the tray bake, using a pointed knife I scooped out the middle and placed frozen raspberries in the middle. As the raspberries defrosted they seeped into the middle of the cake, creating a gooey raspberry centre. I topped this with a rich chocolate ganache, whipped cream and then some chocolate shavings.





Coffee Cake



COFFEE CAKE: Another classic. I filled the middle of the cakes with a coffee butter cream (to make this add liquid coffee to plain butter cream). To create the marble effect I drizzled instant coffee over the warm sponge. It did give the cake quite a strong coffee flavour which wasn't desired but the cakes did look pretty good!

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Well, Santa did bring me The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. What an amazing cookery book! I love the all the inspiring mouthwatering pictures of cupcakes, cakes, whoppie pies and cookies. And finally I have had a chance to make something out of it. I didn't get to get any further then the first recipe in the book before I realised that I really wanted to make the Tiramisu Cupcakes.

Tiramisu is originally an Italian dessert made with ladyfingers dipped coffee, which are layered between a marscarpone and egg mixture. The Hummingbird bakery have transformed it into a cupcakes. How these cupcakes work is the base is a plain vanilla cupcake. Then the centre of the cupcake is cut out and a coffee syrup is poured in. Next the hole is filled with coffee marscarpone icing and the top covered in this too. Finally the cupcake is dusted with cocoa powder. Yum Yum!

The thing that intrigued me the most about this recipe is the order in which the ingredients are added to make the cupcakes. Firstly the butter, sugar and dry ingredients are creamed together then the wet ingredients poured in. This is like the way you would make a muffin with the separation of dry and wet ingredients but the butter is creamed into the dry ingredient at the beginning. Whatever the science behind this recipe, it works and produces beautifully light and fluffy cupcakes.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Makes 6 large cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the sponge:
40g unsalted butter

140g Castor sugar

120g plain flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

120ml whole milk

For the soaking syrup:

125ml strong coffee

2 tablespoons coffee essence (I used the Camp chicory and coffee essence)

3 tablespoon Castor sugar

For the filling and frosting:
200g marscarpone cheese
2 tablespoon coffee essence
150ml double cream
15g icing sugar
Cocoa powder for dusting

Method:

1. Preheat oven to C190 and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.
2. Place the butter, sugar, flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and beat at a low speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
3. Pour the milk into a jug and add the egg. Whisk together with a fork. Slowly pour 2/3 of the wet mixture into the dry mixture whilst beating at a low speed. Then stop the whisk and scrap down the sides to check all the ingredients are incorporated before adding the final amount of wet ingredients. Beat until just combined being careful not to over beat.
4. Divide the mixture evenly between the 6 cupcakes cases and bake in the preheated oven for 18 - 20 minutes. Leave to cool completely before icing.
5. Meanwhile to make the soaking syrup add all the ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil. Keep the mixture boiling slowly until it has reduced by half. Take off the heat and leave to cool. It should turn into a thick slightly runny mixture, once cooled.
6. To make the icing place the marscapone and coffee essence in the bowl of an electric whisk and beat together. Then add the icing sugar and double cream. Beat until the mixture forms soft peaks.
7. To construct the cupcakes use a small sharp knife to cut out a small hole from the centre of the cupcakes; about 2 cm in diameter and 1 -2 cm deep depending on the depth of the cupcakes. Make sure the hole is only as deep as 2/3 of the cupcakes.
8. Pour about one teaspoon of the sugar syrup into the centre of the cupcakes.
9. Next fill the centre of the cupcakes with the icing mixture before icing the top of the cupcakes with it.
10. To finish dust with cocoa powder.