Santa Cristina

For your Pastry combine, flour, butter and sugar and with the tips of your fingers mix until you make a crumble, then add your egg yolk, vanilla and water and gently but quickly mix your dough until it comes together, wrap in plastic film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30min.

Dice your apples into small cubes, (you can leave the skin on if you like) In a pan on medium heat, melt your butter and then add your diced apples and cook for a few minutes.
After a the apple starts to become slightly soft add your sugar and cook for a further 2 minutes until all the sugar has dissolved. Transfer the apples to a bowl and mix in the goats cheese, walnuts, honey and thyme. Mix all ingredients well then add your eggs.

Pre heat your oven to 180c, and grease 4 tart molds with non stick spray. Roll your pastry 2mm thick
and line your molds, trimming the edges. Cover with baking paper, and using some dried beans or small stones as weights, blind bake your pastry for 10min, then remove the weights and cook again for 5min to get a light golden color. Let you pastry base cool.

Fill in your apple and goat cheese mix, and then back for 15min or until the tart is set and has a nice golden top.

Allow to cool and serve with vanilla gelato or powdered sugar and of course a glass of Vin Santo.

Buon Appetito

PAN DI SPAGNA

WHIP EGG YOLKS, eggs and 450 GRAMS OF SUGAR. MEANWHILE, WHIP EGG WHITES AND 100 G OFSUGAR. COMBINE THE FLOUR WITH THE EGG MIXTURE, AND, LIGHTEN WITH THE WHIPPED WHITES. SPREAD on BAKING PAPER and bake at 240 °C for 5 MINUTES.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CREAM

BOIL THE CREAM, MILK, THEN ADD THE EGG YOLKS WITH SUGAR AND CORNSTARCH, COOK AS A CUSTARD, THEN REMOVE FROM HEAT. CHANGE CONTAINER, THEN ADD THE CHOCOLATE CHOPPED INTO SMALL PIECES.

BUTTER CREAM

WHIP THE BUTTER WITH THE SUGAR for 5 MINUTES THEN ADD MILK CHOCOLATE SLOWLY until THE CREAM IS COMPLETLY FORMED.

TO ASSEMBLE THE LOG:

SPREAD THE CHOCOLATE CREAM ON THE SPONGE CAKE.
USE PARCHMENT PAPER TO ROLL THE SPONGE CAKE INTO A SPIRAL TO FORM THE LOG. FREEZE FOR 1 HOUR. CUT OFF THE ENDS AND CUT THE LOG INTO TWO PARTS, ONE SHORTER AND ONE LONGER.
USE THE LONGER PART AS A BASE AND PLACE THE SHORTER PART ON TOP. DECORATE THE ENTIRE SURFACE WITH THE BUTTER CREAM, USING A PASTRY BAG WITH A STAR POINT. DUST WITH POWDERED SUGAR.

Start first by making the cream for your Tiramisu. Using a hand mixer, whip together the egg yolks and sugar, over double boil. (This is so you don't
cook the eggs but pasteurize them) You will need to keep mixing until the eggs and sugar are a pale yellow color and 3 times bigger in volume.
At this stage, fold through and mix in the Mascarpone. Keep your cream refrigerated until needed.

Trim and slice your Panettone into 2cm square slices. then using a rolling pin, gently roll your panettone into shape. Toast your Panettone until lightly
golden(180c in the oven) and set aside to cool. Mix together your Coffee, Baileys, Kahlua and water to create your coffee liquor mixture.
Now its time to bring your Tiramisu together. WIth a brush, lightly coat your toasted panettone with your coffee mixture and line the bottom of a medium deep
baking dish. Building layers like a lasagna, add a layer of cream, and keep building layers. Refrigerate for 2hrs until set. Chop your dark chocolate into
small shavings, portion and serve your Tiramisu then finish with a sprinkle of chocolate shavings.
Buon Appetito

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine sugar, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Add apples,blueberrues and raisins. Toss and combine well.
Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Dust the pastry lightly with flour. Roll you puff pastry lightly in one direction to form a 30cm x 40cm rectangle. With one short side facing you, spoon the apple mixture(remove any excess liquid otherwise your strudel will come out soft and soggy on the bottom) lengthways down one side of your pastry leaving a 2cm edge on one side, then roll your mixture over to cover and form your strudel. Press down on ends and trim away any excess dough. Place and transfer your roll seam side down on the baking tray.
Combine the eggs and whisk. Brush with the egg mixture over your strudel. Cut several 2cm-long slits, 2cm apart, into the top of the strudel and sprinkle some sugar over the top. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack lined with baking paper for 30 minutes to cool. Cut into portions and Dust with icing sugar then serve. (served with a little vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream reccomened)
Buon Appetito !!

Separate your egg yolks with the whites and place in separate bowls.
Add half of your sugar to the egg yolks and with an electric mixer, mix for 3 - 5 minutes so that your mixture has become pale yellow and tripled in volume.
Cream your mascarpone cheese in another bowl with a plastic spatula until soft and smooth then fold the mascarpone in with your yolks and sugar.

Melt the rest of your sugar with a touch of water to create a sugar syrup, and then mix your egg whites until soft peaks form, slowly adding your sugar syrup to create a kind of meringue. Now fold the meringue with the mascarpone gently until you have a smooth, light and balanced cream and place in the refrigerator.

Mix your vin santo and coffee together to make a dipping liquid for you cantuccini biscuits. Crush your cantuccini into small crumbles and now your ready to build the teramisu.

In a serving glass, spoon a layer of mascarpone cream, then mix your cantuccini crumbles with the vin santo and coffee ( don't let your cantuccini stay in the liquid too long other wise it will go soft and mushy, you want to keep some texture and crunch) spoon a layer of biscuits and then one more layer of cream, finnish on top with a few crumbles and dust with coco powder and serve.
Buon appetito

Make a mound with the flour, sugar, almonds, vanilla and baking powder; add the eggs and the egg yolk and mix with hands. When well combined, make small loaves and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cut into the typical diagonal biscotti shape and return to the oven until toasted.

First you have to stop your self from eating all the strawberries before you make your Panna Cotta, so i suggest buying some extra to have on the side to snack on. Wash and clean your strawberries, then slice them all and put into a bowl. Add your powdered sugar and mix until the sugar is dissolved ( the strawberries will release a lot of moisture) this process allows also to extract the natural sweetness of the strawberries and by then tasting them you can decide to add more sugar or not. Let it rest in the fridge for 15min.
In Cold water soak your gelatin leaves until soft.
In a pot, bring your Cream and Milk to a simmer, don't boil your cream (you run the risk of burning it) just bring it to a simmer, where you can see steam forming. Remove the seeds from the vanilla pod and place in your cream, including the pod (this gives more flavor) Take your strawberries and pure them into a sauce and mix with your cooked cream. Add your gelatin leaves and stir until dissolved.
With a fine sieve, strain your strawberry cream to remove the seeds, and any un undissolved gelatin, this will ensure your panna cotta has a delicate smooth texture.
Pour your mixture in to aluminum moulds or a ramekin and leave in the fridge for 2 -3 hrs.

Once set, remove from the mold and serve with fresh strawberries and vanilla gelato.
Buon Appetito

  This is just so easy !!  Place all the ingredients in a bowl once measured out and mix well with a wooden spoon until the mixture is combined and creamy.Pre heat your oven to 180c, then coat muffin tins with non stick cooking spray (i use the disposable aluminum ones)Put two table spoons of your cake mixture into each tin, making sure its around 3\4 full, this allows enough room for the cake to rise.  Place all your tins on a baking tray and cook for 25min.  Your carrot cake should be dark golden in colour, but check witha cooking needle to make sure it is cooked in the centre.  Leave to cool !!For the Frosting Cream, remove your cream cheese 30min prior form the fridge to soften at room temperature.  Then mix together the powdered sugar to form a smooth cream.  Zest half your orange, and a touch of its juice and mix together with the cream, with one sprig of thyme, remove the leave and combine with your cream.Once your cake is cool, this should take around 2hrs,  spread on your Orange and Thyme cream cheese and serve.If you like you can add some mixed caramelized nuts or walnuts, also even a short bread biscuit.Buon Appetito

Peel and chop the shallots fine and sauté in butter until soft and golden also add your anchovies until dissolved.  Slice your liver, add to the pan and brown it lightly but still pink inside.  Drizzle your Vin Santo and let it evaporate. Separately soak the gelatine in cold water until soft. Blend the liver mixture and pass through a fine sive. Dissolve your gelatine in the liver mixture over a very low heat and allow to cool.  Whip the cream and fold into the prepared mixture. Crush the toast and finely chop the figs, combining both and season with white pepper. Line a pan with parchment paper and add the fig mixture, press it down using a rolling pin to a thickness of 4mm.  Pour over the liver mixture and let it rest in the fridge until the pate has set. Scoop out the inside of your figs (the ones left for the sauce) once again you can use dried if you can get fresh.  Place in a small pot with your red wine and sugar and cook until the sugar is dissolved, the figs are soft and the wine has reduced by half and is a sweet sauce that coats your spoon. Remove your pate from the fridge, cut with a ring mould and garnish with fresh thyme your red wine fig sauce and serve. Buon Appetito.

 
Mix the brewer’s yeast in the warm water, and then mix it with the flour, 4 tbs of sugar, olive oil, and a pinch of salt, until you get smooth dough. Set in a warm and covered place to rise for an hour, this is called proofing. Cut the dough in two parts, one a little larger to create the bottom of the Schiaccia con Uva. With your hands, flatten the bottom dough in a quite thin layer, and set it on an aluminium oven pan with high sides, taking care to let the dough overflow the pan. Fill the pan with the washed grapes, then sprinkle 2 tbs of sugar on top, the 2 tbs of olive oil. Now fold the overflowing dough on top of the grapes, then flatten the remaining dough with your hands and cover up the grapes completely. Using your fingers, lightly tap the top layer without puncturing it to create small indents and make the dough adhere to the grapes.
Set the remainder grapes on top of the schiaccia and sprinkle with the leftover sugar and olive oil. Set in the already heated oven for an hour to cook at 180 C or 356 F.
Let the Schiacciata cool and serve, this dish is just amazing, with the lightness of the bread, to the sweetness of the grapes, but my favourite part is the little crunch you get from the seeds, it is a dish that embodies, warmth and comfort, history and tradition.