almonds Archives - Very EATalian

Cantucci (Tuscan Biscotti)

October 12, 2016 By very EATalian 3 Comments

Isn’t it amusing when a word changes its meaning when used in a different country or culture? I can’t help but think of that GEICO spot that’s been running on TV, with kids playing in a backyard pool yelling “Marco!” ,”Polo!”, “Marco!”, “Polo!”; the baffled Italian explorer, with his chest deep in the water and dressed in 13th century clothes, desperately tries to make himself noticed: “Ragazzi, sono io Marco Polo!”. When I first saw it on TV, I was confused just like poor Marco Polo. I was able to get the humor, only after my husband explained the game to me. Now, every time I see it, I crack up!

Just like I was completely oblivious of the fact that the name of an Italian explorer was used for a game here in the States, I had no idea the Italian generic word “biscotti” was used abroad to indicate what in Italy we call Cantucci, a specific kind of cookie. In Italian, the word “biscotti” simply means “cookies”, i.e.: the general category of baked goods. Funny, right? Basically, the way English-speaking people use the word “biscotti” seems to be an unintended synecdoche for Italians. (Grammar geeks, correct me if I’m wrong). “Biscotti” also means “cooked twice” and refers to a baking technique that involves a “double-baking process” that yields crunchy and long-lasting baked goods….

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….

Torta Caprese: Gluten-free Chocolate Almond Cake

July 1, 2015 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

A couple of days ago I tried to make my husband’s birthday special with a little family celebration via Skype. I had everybody wear party hats and I drew a colorful poster as a background for our performance of a loud-and-out-of-tune Happy Birthday. Since I was at it, I also made a nice cake for the occasion. He loved the singing and the poster part. I’m pretty sure he hated me for showing him a cake he couldn’t eat.

Who makes a birthday cake for somebody when they can only see it and not taste it?

How painful, I know…But I’m a firm believer there’s no birthday without a cake…so I HAD to make it.

The cake I made was Torta Caprese and it’s hands down one of my favorite chocolate cakes. As the name suggests, this cake comes from the gorgeous Island of Capri, near Naples. Unlike most cakes, Torta Caprese has no flour but lots of ground almonds which give it a nice texture throughout. Also, there’s no baking powder in it – it’s leavened only by whipped egg whites. I read somewhere this recipe was created by mistake: the lack of flour was a complete accident made by a sleepy pastry chef. What a fortunate oversight! It’s at once light, rich, and moist…plus, chocolate and almonds are just made for each other.

This cake is definitely a no-frills cake and it’s so simple and delicious it perfectly stands on its own. All this cake begs for is a nice dusting of powdered sugar on top of its crispy and thin crust – a nice finishing touch to make it beautiful and elegant. If you really want to do something extra, have an espresso with it!

Here are the photos of the cake I made to ~~torture~~ celebrate my hubby!

[TANTI AUGURI, amoreeee!]

Torta Caprese - Gluten-free Chocolate Almond Cake

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

200 g (13 Tbsp + 1 tsp) butter, diced and softened
180 g (6.3 oz OR 1 scant cup) sugar (divided)
a pinch of salt
4 eggs
150 g (5.3 oz) dark chocolate
200 g (7 oz) almonds, toasted
powdered sugar

Instructions

Divide yolks from egg whites.
Cream softened butter with 140 g (2/3 cup) of sugar. Add salt and yolks, one at a time. Mix well to blend all the ingredients. Refrigerate the mixture.
Using a food processor, ground toasted almonds.
Preheat oven to 360 F (180 C).
Melt chocolate on a double boiler. Once melted, let it reach room temperature.
In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with the rest of the sugar to stiff peaks.
Add melted chocolate and ground almonds to butter mixture. Mix well. With a spatula, gently fold egg whites into mixture.
Pour batter into a greased 7-inch (18 cm) spring form pan and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool off. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Notes

The cake should be moist inside.

Adapted from Sale&Pepe: http://www.salepepe.it/ricette/dolci-dessert/torte-crostate/torte/torta-caprese/

Chocolate Frangipane Pear Tart

March 4, 2015 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

Last week I saw a pretty and colorful bag of pears at Trader Joe’s. The bag read “Rainbow Pears”. It was basically a mix of different kinds of small pears, including Red D’Anjou, Green D’Anjou, and Bosc. So pretty! I’m a total sucker for nice packaging and clever marketing, and, of course, I love pears. Needless to say, I drove off the Trader Joe’s parking lot with those pears in my grocery bag and the culinary part of my brain already in motion.

Pear and Chocolate. Of course! Such a glorious pairing. I’m not sure if it belongs to any particular cuisine (French, peut-être?), but it sure is a common combination in Italian desserts. The most common dessert that features these two delicious ingredients is Torta di Pere e Cioccolato, a chocolate cake with pieces of pears inside. It’s a really satisfying cake, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I wanted something that provided a variety of textures and would let me play a little more in the kitchen. I love tarts exactly for this reason and they are very, very popular in my family. So, after a bit of research and a lot of notes, I finally opted for a tart, filled with frangipane and topped with pear halves.

Frangipane is a common French filling for tarts, but as the names suggests, it’s originally from Italy. It’s a rich cream made of butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds. For my tart, I specifically used a chocolate frangipane recipe from one of the finest Italian pastry chefs, Luca Montersino. Both my mother and I have a “culinary crush” on him and together we often watched his cooking show on Italian TV. Not only he is great at what he does, he is also a gifted teacher and always provides the scientific explanations behind any of his creations.

So here’s my tart! I love how the pears, kept in their natural shape, provide a nice, rustic look that balances out the rest. This is a perfect dessert for chocolate lovers like me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

CHOCOLATE FRANGIPANE PEAR TART
Servings: 8 | Prep/Resting time: 1 hour and 20 min| Cook time: 40 min

NOTE: Conversions are approximate. I highly recommend the use of a digital scale and measure all ingredients in grams. It’s just easier and more precise!

INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Short Pastry Dough
150 g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
125 g (1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp) sugar
a pinch of salt
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
few drops of vanilla extract
250 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
15 g (2 Tbsp + 1 tsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
(optional) 1.5 g (1/2 tsp) baking powder

Chocolate Frangipane Filling (slightly adapted from Chef Luca Montersino’s recipe)
95 g (3.35 oz) blanched almonds
90 g (3.17 oz) brown sugar
95 g (3.35 oz) butter
105 g (3.7 oz) eggs
28 g (3 tbsp) rice flour
7 g (2 tsp) corn starch
10 g (1 Tbsp + 1 tsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
25 g (0.9 oz) amaretti cookies

2 pears
confectioners sugar

INSTRUCTIONS
[Chocolate Short Pastry dough/Crust]
1. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar and then add in a pinch of salt, the egg, the egg yolk, and a few drops of vanilla.
2. On a clean surface, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and add to the butter mixture. Knead briefly until you obtain a uniform, smooth dough. If too sticky, add a bit more flour.
3. Form a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

[Chocolate Frangipane Filling]
1. Grind almonds and sugar together to a fine powder.
2. Mix almond/sugar powder with butter, using a stand mixer. Slowly pour in the eggs. Add in the rice flour, the corn starch, and the cocoa powder. Finally, add finely crushed amaretti cookies. Refrigerate mixture in a bowl until short pastry dough is ready.

[Final assembly]
1. Turn oven to 375F.
2. Remove dough from fridge and roll it out in a disk by putting it in between 2 pieces of non-stick parchment paper until the dough is a little thinner than 1/4 inch (4 mm). Remove paper from the dough. Place dough inside a tart pan with removable bottom. Trim dough in excess from the tart pan borders.
3. Spread the frangipane inside the tart to cover the whole surface.
4. Cut the pears in half and remove seeds. Peel each pear and push pear halves cut-side down into the mixture.
5. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the frangipane has risen.
6. Remove tart from the oven and let it cool. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve.

Enjoy and buon appetito!

-Lisa