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Friday 27 June 2014

Lemon Curd and Blueberry Tart




Ingredients:

for the pastry:
250 g flour
125 g butter
1 egg
100 g sugar

for the lemon curd:
90 g butter, cold
2 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
125 g sugar
125 g cream cheese

250 g blueberries, for the topping

Preheat the oven to 180°.
Prepare the pastry: cut the butter into cubes, and work it into the flour and sugar until crumbly, without big lumps. Then add the egg and knead until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
Roll out the dought in a rectangle big enough to cover bottom and sides of your tart tin. Make holes on the base using a fork, cover with a sheet of packment paper and put some rise or been on it. Refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.
Bake for 10 minutes, then take off the paper and rise/beens and cook for another 5 minutes.
Let cool.

Meanwhile prepare the lemon curd. Put a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the butter, sugar, lemon juice and eggs. Cook stirring constantly until the curd thickens (about 15 minutes). Take off the heat, let cool, then add the cream cheese. Refrigerate.
Arrange the tart spreading the curd over the pastry shell. Put the blueberries.
And eat it :)


Ingredienti:

per la pasta frolla:
250 g farina
125 g burro
1 uovo
100 g zucchero

per la crema al limone:
90 g burro
2 uova
1/2 tazza succo di limone
125 g zucchero
125 g crema spalmabile

250 g mirtilli


Accendere il forno a 180°.
Preparare la pasta frolla unendo il burro freddo, tagliato a cubetti fino ad ottenere un composto sbriciolato, senza grumi. Unire l'uovo e impastare fino a che non è ben liscio ed elastico. Mettere in frigo per 30 minuti.
Stendere l'impasto a seconda delle dimensioni della teglia da crostata. Bucherellare la base con una forchetta, coprire tutto con un foglio di carta forno e adagiarvi sopra del riso/fagioli secchi. Mettere in frigo per almeno altri 30 minuti. Cuocere la pasta frolla per 10 minuti, togliere la carta e il riso/fagioli e cuocere altri 5 minuti. Far freddare completamente.
Nel frattempo preparare la crema. Cuocere a bagnomaria il burro, lo zucchero, il succo di limone e le uova per circa 15 minuti, o finchè non è ben assodato. Una volta bene freddo aggiungere la crema spalmabile.
Assemblare la crostata spalmando la crema sulla pasta frolla e decorare con i mirtilli.





Tuesday 24 June 2014

Citrus and Basil Cake

This is a particular cake. It's made with whole boiled citrus and food processed to obtain a puree.
The result is a very moist cake and very rich. It has a subtle bitter taste and a mild taste of basil, which add freshness.




Ingredients:

1 orange
2 lemons
1 lime
125 g butter
1 cup of sugar
5 eggs
2 cups of almond flour
1/2 cup of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup basil

sliced almonds, for decoration
sliced orange, lemon and lime, for decoration


Preheat the oven to 180°. Line the base of a 22 cm cake tin with packment paper.
Boil the orange, lemons and lime and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until moist.
Let cool, then chop the citrus roughly, removing the seeds. Process orange, lemons, lime, butter, sugar, eggs, almond flour, flour, baking powder and basil in a food processor, until smooth.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour.
Decorate.



Ingredienti:

1 arancia
2 limoni
1 lime
125 g burro
1 tazza di zucchero
5 uova
2 tazze di farina di mandorle
1/2 tazza di farina
1 cucchiaino di lievito
1 tazza di basilico


Riscaldare il forno a 180°. Foderare una tortiera di 22 cm con carta forno.
Mettere a bollire gli agrumi e cuocere per circa 10 minuti.
Far raffreddare, tagliare gli agrumi a pezzettoni, togliendo i semi. Mettere arancia, limoni, lime, burro, zucchero, farine, uova, lievito e basilico in un robot da cucina e amalgamare tutto fino ad ottenere un composto liscio ed omogeneo.
Versare l'impasto nella tortiera e cuocere per circa 1 ora.


Monday 16 June 2014

Timballo

    I made this beauty with my collegue Roberta. We cooked on Sunday morning and ate the timballo in the evening. It was delicious and rich. VERY rich.
You can choose different kind of pasta, but short one is the best.
A big applause to Roberta for the decorations, they gave the timballo an incredible baroque look.






Ingredients

for the brisée:

250 g butter, cold and cut into small cubes
500 g flour
2-3 Tbsp water
bread crumbs

For the filling:

300 g pasta
2 sausages
250 ml tomato sauce
2 eggplants
300 g provola cheese, chopped
4 boiled eggs, chopped
600 ml béchamel
2 Tbsp chopped onion
olive oil
salt
pepper
nutmeg


Prepare the brisée: combine the butter with the flour using your hands and fingertips. You have to obtain a crumbly mixture, trying not to leave any big chunks of butter. Add the water (add it if needed) and knead. Let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes if possible. Roll out 2/3 of the dought in a circle large enough to cover base and sides of a 24 cm cake tin.
Roll ou the other 1/3 of the dough into a circle that will be the top.
 Put in the fridge until further use.

Prepare the filling: Cut the eggplant into cubes and cook them with a little olive oil until soft and gold. 
Heat the olive oil, add the onion and cook until golden. Add the sausage, roughly chopped and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce. Cook for 15 minutes, let thicken. 
Mix well the pasta, the sauce and the béchamel, eggplants, cheese and eggs. Season to taste.
Put the pasta mixture over the pastry base and cover with the pastry top. 
Bake at 180° for about 1 hour.









Monday 9 June 2014

Half-a-cheesecake Crumble Cake

This is a cake I usually do when summer begins, when the berries are at their best.
It is an interesting cake, it is made by three different layers with different consistencies: crumbly, soft and rich.
Perfect for afternoon breaks outdoors.



Ingredients:

for the base:
100 g butter
2 eggs
100g sugar
150 g flour
1 tsp baking powder

for the cheese layer:
500 g ricotta
2 eggs, separated
100 g cherries (cut in half, without the pit)
100 g rasperries

for the crumble:
50 g butter
75 g flour
75 g sugar



Prepare the crumble first: cut the butter into small cubes, add it to flour and sugar and work them all together with your fingers, as quicker as you can. Create crumbles and chill in the fridge.

Then prapare the cheese layer: whisk together ricotta and egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until stiff and add them to the mixture. Set aside.

Finally prepare the base: beat together butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the flour sifted with baking powder.

Assemble the cake: but the base in a 20 cm cake tin, spread evenly, then add the ricotta mixture, arrange the cherries and rasperries over the cheese and cover all with the crumble.

Bake at 180° for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Let cool.



Ingredienti

per la base:
100 g burro
2 uova
100 g zucchero
150 g farina
1cucchiaino lievito

per lo strato di formaggio:
500 g ricotta
2 uova, tuorli e albumi separati
100 g ciliegie (denocciolate, tagliate a metà)
100 g lamponi

per il crumble:
50 g burro
75 g farina
75 g zucchero

Preparare prima il crumble, lavorando velocemente il burro (freddo) con farina e zucchero, con le dita, formando delle briciole. Tenere in frigo
Poi preparare lo strato di formaggio mescolando la ricotta con i tuorli e poi gli albumi montati a neve.
Infine preparare la base montando il burro con lo zucchero, unendo le uova uno alla volta. Aggiungere la farina setacciata con il lievito.
Per assemblare la torta mettere il composto della base sul fondo di una tortiera di 20 cm, distribuendolo bene, ricoprire con lo strato di ricotta, adagiarvi sopra le ciliege e i lamponi e coprire infine con il crumble.
Cuocere a 180° per 1 ora e 15 minuti.