I used to think that Italian desserts were nothing special and only consisted of tiramisu and biscotti. Boy was I wrong! While I was in Tuscany last summer I sampled many delicious treats, from amaretto cookies in mascarpone cream, to molten chocolate cakes, and even a fresh fig tart. Lately I have been missing Italy, so I decided to bake some of the recipes that I brought back from my trip last year. The first recipe I tried was for a “Spicy Chocolate Tart”. I made a few modifications to it though, by adding chopped hazelnuts, milk chocolate instead of dark, vanilla extract instead of sweet wine, and I omitted the red pepper because I wasn’t sure if my family would like their chocolate spicy. The modifications resulted in a decedent and utterly delicious tart that had just the right amount of crunch from the hazelnuts and flavour and aroma from the vanilla. I served each slice with a dollop of cinnamon scented whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
The next dessert I made was an “Apple Cake with Crackly Meringue”. It turned out amazing! This is a layer cake that starts with a butter crust bottom, followed by an apple cake batter, and finally it is all topped off with crunchy meringue. I also made a few changes to this recipe by using buttermilk instead of regular milk, and omitting the lemon zest. Lastly, I added some cinnamon to the cake because I think apples and cinnamon go together perfectly.
While in Italy I tried to have gelato everyday. Lately I have been craving gelato so I made “Strawberry Vanilla Mascarpone Gelato” and added fresh strawberries to give it extra flavour and a nice colour. I don’t know what it is about making ice cream but I always get so excited to see it turn from a liquid to a solid. If you are not really into baking, but love to have home made desserts I would recommend you buy an ice cream maker. You can find them for a reasonable price and making your own ice cream is really so simple and fun!
Last night I decided to try out a recipe for an “Italian Strawberry Tart”. This recipe again was very simple and the only change I made was to use vanilla instead of amaretto liqueur. My mom is not a big fan of almonds so I always try to omit them, and anything with their flavour from my baking. The best part of this tart in my opinion was the mascarpone whipped cream. The addition of mascarpone took this whipped cream right over the edge and even helped it to hold its shape better. I am going to be putting mascarpone into my whipped cream from now on. If you don’t know what mascarpone cheese is, think of it as the Italians version of cream cheese. It is a lot denser than cream cheese though, and less sour in taste. You can find it at all Italian grocery stores and most regular stores.
Making all of these desserts really brought me back to Tuscany. If you can’t take a trip to Italy, making one of these delicious desserts is the next best thing!
Hazelnut Chocolate Tart
Ingredients
300 grams milk chocolate
125 grams butter
150 grams sugar
6 eggs separated
3 Tbsp Mexican Vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts (roasted)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a bain-marie. Whip the egg yolks with 100 grams of sugar until pale yellow in colour and you can make ribbons with the batter. Mix the melted chocolate into the yolk mixture and add the vanilla extract and chopped hazelnuts. Beat the egg whites and 50 grams of sugar until they are stiff. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and pour into a buttered and floured spring form pan. Bake for 30 mintues at 350°F and 10 minutes at 250°F. Allow to cook completely before removing from the pan. Dust with cocoa powder and serve at room temperature.
Apple Cake with Crackly Meringue
Ingredients
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 ounces cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
3/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 large apples, cut into small pieces (I used Macintosh but Granny Smith would also work well)
1 large egg white
pinch of salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease a 9 inch spring form pan. In a large bowl use a pastry cutter to cut together 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, cinnamon, butter, and salt until crumbly. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and press it into the bottom of the pan to form a crust. Make a well in the remaining crumbs and add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, baking powder and the remaining 3 Tbsp of flour. With a whisk blend the mixture well without incorporating the crumbs. With a spoon stir in the crumbs until well blended, but still lumpy. Fold in the apples and spread in the pan on top of the crust.
In a bowl beat the egg white until foamy. Beat in the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar and beat until the soft peak stage. Spread over top of the batter.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until cake tests done in the center.
Cool for 30 minutes and remove spring form sides to finish cooling.
Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.
Strawberry Mascarpone Gelato
Ingredients
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup honey
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 fresh vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cups finely chopped strawberries
Directions
Place cream, mascarpone, and honey into a medium saucepan. Add the vanilla bean seeds or vanilla bean paste. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium low heat, whisk until all the ingredients have dissolved and the mixture is hot and smooth. Remove from heat.
Place the mixture in a metal bowl and chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and follow manufactures instructions. When ice cream is finished remove from the ice cream maker and stir in the strawberries, transfer to a freezer safe container. Serve on its own or as a garnish for a cake or tart.
Italian Strawberry Tart
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp whole milk
2 pints strawberries (hulled and cut into slices)
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh whipped cream
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a spring form pan.
In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.
In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar together until pale yellow in colour and fluffy. Add the eggs and milk. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir by hand until everything is just combined, do not over mix.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Press the sliced strawberries lightly into the dough in a circular pattern of 4-5 rings.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
In a standing mixer combine the mascarpone, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and stiff peaks form.
Serve the tart at room temperature with a dollap of the mascarpone whipped cream. Enjoy!
Comments
wow, so many recipes, I don’t know where to start…. Well, maybe with the hazelnut chocolate tart
. Great photos, as always 