Desserts & Sweets Archives - Page 3 of 6

Velvety Pistachio Spread

April 28, 2016 By very EATalian 5 Comments

Pistachio lovers of the world!!! You’re gonna want to bookmark this recipe. I’d dare to say this spread is as addictive and yummy as another more famous Italian spread (you know, the one that starts with “Nu” and ends with “tella”).

A couple of months ago I brought back home from Sicily a nice-sized bag of pistachios from Bronte…they were my #1 item on my shopping list, so I’ll let you imagine my happiness when I spotted them at the Ballarò market in Palermo. “Why so much fuss?” you may be asking. These pistachios are unique because they grow on lava rock at the foot of Mount Etna; the rich mineral soil and the Sicilian climate give them a uniquely intense and pleasant flavor and a bright green color. This is why they are sought after by chefs from all over the world.

When I got back home, I was dying to put them to use and, after much debate and research, I decided to recreate one of the most delicious sweet foods I tried during my time there: Crema di Pistacchio, i.e. a velvety pistachio spread, also commonly known as “Nutella di Pistacchio” (yep, I wasn’t joking earlier). I had it for the first time inside a croissant and it was RIDICULOUSLY good….

Tasting Frittelle in Venice

February 8, 2016 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

When I returned to Italy last June, I knew it would have been for a “short” time (1 year) so I made a promise to myself: I would try to do things that I always wanted to do here but that, for one reason or another, I never really managed to. I’m happy to announce that last week I was able to check off one item on this list: eating frittelle in Venice!

I kidnapped my cousin Sara early in the morning and we took the train to Venice for a serious frittelle-tasting expedition. Yes, my initial plan was to “pastry-shop hop” from the moment we arrived to the moment we left — I wanted to gather valuable documentation and build a pastry-shop itinerary to share on this blog! It was a great idea in theory…but I definitely over-estimated my ability to eat fried sweets in a 6-hour span. After the first two stops and four different kinds of (huge) frittelle, our bellies were asking for a truce. Our mission was declared unaccomplished shortly before lunch, when we decided to turn our day-trip into a more relaxed stroll around the city.
The first thing I noticed about Venetian frittelle was their size: I’d say they’re easily twice as big as the ones I’m used to eating at any pastry shop back home. Being a confection that’s especially made for this time of the year (Carnival), everybody wants them! When we walked into Pasticceria Tonolo, there was such a huge crowd I could barely see the spread of pastries on display. Pasticceria Tonolo is an institution in Venice and it’s been around since 1886. Although their frittelle con zabaione (a shell of fried dough containing zabaione custard) were quite good, my heart was conquered by their Fritoe Venexiane (the classic Venetian-style frittelle – i.e.: a fried dough ball with raisins). It was SO incredibly soft — after the first bite, Sara and I stared at each other in awe and said the same exact thing: “Che buona!!“.

The other pastry shop we visited was Rosa Salva. There, they make Venetian-style frittelle “the old way” – i.e., with a hole in the middle. I must say their appearance confused me as I initially thought they were apple fritters. We had them while they were still warm and, because of this, they were softer and very aromatic. I was surprised to find out their frittelle with chantilly cream also included raisins; what I thought it was over-kill turned out to be quite a delicious combo.

We then checked out the Rialto market (another check on my list!) which offered good photo opportunities. After that, we did the best thing you can do in Venice: get lost and discover new alleys hiding cute little shops or beautiful buildings (like Torre dei Boboli which I had never seen before). For lunch, we stopped at a very good and popular bacaro, All’Arco, and nibbled on some tasty fish-based cicchetti.

On our way back to the train station, we stopped at Pasticceria Tonolo again to get some more frittelle to bring home — it was even more crowded than in the morning and it didn’t seem like there was any shortage of Carnevale confections. God bless the frittelle-making elves working non-stop in the back of the shop!

If you have the opportunity to go to Venice during Carnevale, make sure you stop at one of the pastry shops I visited and have at least one warm and soft frittella. If you can’t make it to Venice during this time of the year, check out my mom’s recipe and make your very own frittelle! They’re also quite delicious and can be enjoyed from the comfort of your home. (;

Frittelle – Italian Carnival Fritters

February 7, 2016 By very EATalian 2 Comments

Carnevale is all about excess — it’s time to dress up in costume, throw coriandoli (confetti) in the air, and indulge in sweets of all sorts! Talking about sweets, our Carnival family tradition is to make enough fried confections (frittelle, castagnole, and crostoli) to feed 5 families (i.e.: us + aunts, uncles, and cousins)…so I’ll let you imagine the hustle and bustle going on in the kitchen during this frying marathon and the endless spread of goodies we always end up with.

For those who aren’t familiar with these typical Carnevale sweet confections, frittelle and castagnole are conceptually similar – they both come in a round shape and they’re typically fried. While castagnole are smaller and firmer to the bite, frittelle are bigger, softer and sometimes filled with different variations of delicious pastry cream (my favorite is Zabaione custard!). Also, what we call crostoli are called galani in Venice — they’re thin flaky sheets of pastry drenched in powdered sugar.

Last year, while I was in Florida, I made castagnole under the close supervision of my mom on Skype. This time around I’m lucky to be in Italy again and partake in the crazy preparations of Carnevale sweets in her kitchen. We made all the sweets listed above…and we’re probably not even done yet, since the last day of Carnevale is next (fat) Tuesday!

Here are her frittelle! They’re soft and relatively easy to make. I dare you to have just one.

Frittelle - Italian Carnival fritters

Author: Very EATalian

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients

5.3 oz (150 g) raisins
3 medium eggs
5.3 oz (150 g) granulated sugar (+ more for final dusting)
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml) grappa (or rum)
3.5 g (half packet) active dry yeast
2 big apples, grated
a generous pinch of salt
the zest of 1 big orange
17.6 oz (500 g) flour, sifted
peanut oil

Instructions

Soak raisins in water for about 20 minutes. Then, let them drain in a colander and lightly dust them with flour.
Lightly beat eggs inside a bowl. Add sugar and mix well.
Add milk and grappa (or rum). Add yeast and let it dissolve in the liquid mixture.
Add grated apples, orange zest, and salt. Gradually add sifted flour and mix well. Cover and let it rest for an hour.
Add lightly floured raisins to the mixture and stir to distribute them evenly in the batter.
Heat peanut oil in a medium steel pot. The temperature of the oil should be between 160°-170°C (320°-340° F). Using your finger, release a spoonful of batter into the oil (be careful not to burn yourself!). Repeat. Cook frittelle in small batches and do not overcrowd the pan.
Rotate frittelle often to ensure even cooking. When they have reached a brown/golden color and they're completely cooked through, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb the oil in excess. Sprinkle granulated sugar on them while they're still hot.

Gluten-free Red Berry Almond Buckwheat Cake

January 21, 2016 By very EATalian 3 Comments

One of the many things I learned from my American husband is that cakes are eaten differently here in Italy than overseas. No matter how hard I tried, I’ve never been able to make him eat a piece of cake for breakfast.

Cakes are eaten more casually here, I guess. A piece of cake can surely be enjoyed as dessert at the end of a meal, but Italians also like to have it with caffè latte or espresso as part of their sweet breakfast. Lots of people still love to bake their own cakes and it’s totally OK for kids to eat a piece for their afternoon “merenda” as it’s considered a healthier option than other processed snacks.

It’s worth saying that Italian cakes don’t usually feature frosting or icing and, for this reason, they look quite simple and rustic. This red berry almond buckwheat cake is the perfect example of a rustic Italian cake…It’s wholesome, without too many frills, and still very yummy. You’ve got almond bits for a bit of crunchiness and red berry jam for a nice fresh and slightly acidic touch.

Needless to say, I had a piece for breakfast (:

5.0 from 1 reviews

Red Berry Almond Buckwheat Cake [ Torta al Grano Saraceno con Mandorle e Mirtilli Rossi ]

Author: Very EATalian

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

200 g (7 oz or 14 Tbsp) butter, softened
200 g (7 oz or 1 cup) granulated sugar
5 eggs (divided)
200 g (7 oz or 1⅔ cup) buckwheat flour
200 g (7 oz) almonds, chopped finely
1 Tbsp baking powder
Redberry (or lingonberry) jam
powdered sugar
(optional) chopped almonds for garnish
(optional) candied orange slices

Instructions

Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Turn oven to 360° F.
Mix softened butter with about ½ of the sugar until you obtain a cream without any lumps. Add yolks and mix well, until well combined.
Whip egg whites to firm peaks and set aside.
Add flour, baking powder and almonds to the mixture and mix well. Add remaining sugar and gently fold in the mixture the whipped egg whites.
Pour batter into your springform pan and cook for 50 minutes.
Let cake cool and cut in half. Fill with jam and dust with powdered sugar. If you like, sprinkle chopped almonds and arrange few candied orange slices on top.

Pinza Veneta – Holiday Cornmeal Cake from Veneto

January 6, 2016 By very EATalian 2 Comments

Here in Italy the holiday season is officially closing with today’s Epiphany festivities and tomorrow people will start taking down their Christmas decorations (if it was up to me, I’d keep’em up all year long!). Today, my family and I will enjoy the pinza leftovers from last night’s Panevin and get together to play boardgames.

As I mentioned in my previous post, pinza is a rustic cake made with polenta flour (which is a bit coarser than cornmeal) and wheat flour and it’s filled with dried fruit such as raisins, figs, dates and flavored with grappa, fennel seeds and orange zest. My mom and my aunt always get together to make it and they take turns mixing the ingredients in the pot, as the dough is quite thick and dense (like polenta!). Since both of them have bad shoulders, I normally step in and help them with the mixing. This time I carefully observed how they make it and …

Quick Panettone Muffins

December 24, 2015 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

If you’re still trying to figure out what dessert to make for Christmas, you should consider these delicious mini-panettone muffins. Not only are they easy and quick to make, they’re also super cute!

These little guys are a “cheat” and miniature version of panettone, the Italian traditional Christmas (sweet) bread. No leavening is required. Although their texture will remind you more of a cake, their flavor is definitely similar to the panettone’s….

Soft Torrone: Italian Christmas Nougat Candy

December 21, 2015 By very EATalian 2 Comments

For those who haven’t experienced torrone before, you are in for a treat.Torrone is SUPER yummy and definitely one of the most traditional Christmas treats in Italy. It wouldn’t feel like Christmas, if we didn’t finish dinner cutting a big bar of torrone into small pieces so the whole family could enjoy it. When I was a kid, I regularly found a bunch of delicious little torrone bars (torroncini) in my Christmas stocking along with chocolate coins wrapped in golden foil and a pack of cigarette-shaped chocolate candies (…so wrong, I know).

Torrone is pretty much a white nougat, i.e. a mixture of honey, sugar, whipped egg whites and toasted nuts, all held together by sheets of flavorless wafer paper. It can vary in consistency, shape, thickness, and flavor. This recipe is for a soft and chewy torrone — it’s loaded with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, and pistachios, with small bits of candied orange….