VANILLA PASTRY CREAM - crema pasticcera

This is my mother's recipe for the pastry cream, which I usually use as a lining for fruit tarts or as a filling for layer cakes. With fresh vanilla it's simply delicious!

CROSTATA ALLE FRAGOLE - STRAWBERRY TART...with a secret

A good fruit tart- crostata alla frutta usually is filled with pastry cream - crema pasticcera.

But if you want something lighter, or you simple don't have time to prepare the pastry cream, try to substitute it with jam. You won't be disappointed.

The one I prepared was with strawberries, bananas and....kiwi jam (homemade by my mother).

CROSTATA ALLA MARMELLATA

I haven't been writing for a while, but in the meantime I have prepared a lot of dishes that I want to share with you.
Let's start with a traditional Italian tart: the crostata alla marmellata (jam tart).
This is what we say the traditional homemade cake par excellence. The crostata (tart) is a tasty and above all easy to prepare recipe that you can stuff with your favorite jam (even better if homemade).

This tart is characterized for its typical lozenge decoration, but let your imagination run wild and invent new patterns, for example using cookie-molds or creating new forms to be distributed on the surface of the tart (as for the one that I baked).

TIRAMISÚ ''IN LEGGEREZZA'' - light tiramisú

I love tiramisú and I could eat it almost every day. But, as you know, with its indulgent cream with mascarpone, eggs and sugar it is a very rich dessert (and a nasty friend if you are trying to lose weight).
I wanted thus to prepare a lighter version, to eat without regrets. Replacing mascarpone with the freshness of ricotta and yogurt, I had a very balanced light cream, both in taste and in consistency, that made my tiramisú as good as the original one.

TRONCHETTO DI NATALE - Christmas Log

A recipe to finish your Christmas lunch or dinner with an Italian dessert. The tronchetto di Natale is a very nice and attractive cake, that you can decorate according to your taste. 

I wish you all a Happy and Joyful Christmas with your family and friends!

CAKE WITH WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR AND DRIED FRUIT

When I came across this recipe online I immediately took out scale, bowls and mixer.

Of course, I made some changes: I reduced some ingredients (butter, sugar) and added new ones.

But what I found really interesting is the procedure. There are some tips that I will certainly adopt also in the future.

Here you find the recipe with my adjustments. If you want to see the original one, visit Il cucchiaio d'argento.

VANILLA POUND CAKE

What's easier than a pound cake? You can personalize it as you prefer, adding particular flavors or ingredients. Of course, my favorite is the vanilla pound cake! 

An easy and quick dessert, that you can eat as breakfast as well as a snack accompanied with a cup of tea. It's amazing spread with Nutella or, even better, with a home made raspberry jam.

APPLE STRUDEL

It's about time to enjoy the new apples of the season!

Apples are a perfect snack eaten row; but when used as an ingredient they can be transformed in delicious desserts! They combine perfectly with flavors such as cinnamon, vanilla, caramel. 

My favorite apple-dessert is, without any doubt, the strudel!

It's really easy to make and it contains only few simple ingredients that match magically with apples.

It smells wonderful (also your house will be surrounded by the aroma of cinnamon and apple) and tastes even better if dusted with icing sugar. Served still warm with vanilla ice-cream is....simply divine!

DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

Here is a perfect cake for all occasions: the Dark Chocolate Cake.

I love to call it torta cioccolatino, because its consistency is similar to that of chocolate pralines (cioccolatini): a humid, soft and creamy cake that melts in your mouth!

This easy and quick dessert is wonderful served at the end of a dinner with friends, or with a cup of tea. Even your partner won't certainly be disappointed if welcomed with this lovely cake after a long working day.

Though, I think that this is the perfect comfort food you desire in a cold and rainy day, when all what you need are cuddles and something really rich in chocolate (as I say in Italian: qualcosa di davvero cioccolatoso)...it'll warm up your soul!

TIRAMISÙ WITH PAVESINI...love at first taste!

The first recipe that I want to share with you is that of tiramisù.

This well known Italian dessert has played a fundamental role in my life. As a child, before discovering how beautiful it is to eat, I was the despair of my mother: I used to eat almost nothing and it was very difficult to feed me. Then she found out that I had a true passion for only two things: tiramisù and pumpkin gnocchi. As my mother usually says, I grew up with (or thanks to?) these two traditional Italian dishes.

Tiramisù has a very controversial history. Many Regions claim the creation of Tiramisù; however, its father was a chef working at the restaurant "Le Beccherie" in Treviso, a town near Venice, in the Region of Veneto.

There are different versions of tiramisù and many techniques to prepare it (everybody has his/her own).
The recipe you will find below is the one of my mother. It is really easy (you don't even need a scale) and lighter than the traditional one, because it uses pavesini instead of savoiardi (ladyfinger biscuits). Though, I can assure you that "my tiramisù" is very appreciated among all my friends...and not only!

One tip before starting: prepare your tiramisù in the morning and eat it the same day.  The fresher it is, the most you will enjoy it!