Tag Archives: Dessert

Traditional Recipe: Torta Paradiso (Heaven Cake)

June 6, 2014Desserts, Traditional Recipes, VegetarianButter, Cake, Dessert, Genoa, Italian recipe, Light, Liguria, Pan di Spagna, Soft, Sponge Cake, TraditionalSerena @ foodfulife

This is a traditional dessert from Genoa, a very delicate, light and soft sponge cake that everybody loves! It reminds me of my childhood: at the time, my mother used to buy this cake from Panarello, one of the best and most famous posh bakeries in town. Panarello’s Torta Paradiso is truly amazing! If you ever come to visit Genoa, I strongly recommend that you try this cake in one of their shops.

This recipe was inspired by Panarello’s Torta Paradiso (and I assure you, it also gets very close to the real thing), which is slightly more elaborated and delicious than the old Genoese recipe. In the traditional recipe (and by traditional I mean the really old one), you would only use potato starch, the juice of a lemon, eggs, baking powder, sugar and finally, butter, but, only to grease the tin.

Torta Paradiso.

Ingredients

for a 28 cm in diameter cake

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 50 minutes

Medium/ Difficult

200 g (7.05 oz) butter, softened

200 g (7.05 oz) icing sugar (and a little more icing sugar to garnish the cake)

100 g (3.5 oz) manitoba flour

100 g (3.5 oz) potato starch

4 egg yolks

3 whole eggs

2 drops of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

a pinch of salt

a few drops of almond flavouring

Method.

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and put everything aside.

2. Sift together the flour, the potato starch and the baking powder.

3. Stir the softened butter with the sugar, the almond flavouring and the vanilla extract, until you get a creamy mixture. Then gradually add all the egg yolks into the mixture.

4. Also add the flour and the starch (but still very gradually). Mix everything well.

5. Beat all the egg whites with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of lemon juice, until stiff. Combine the egg whites into the mixture, stirring gently.

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° C (356 °F) for at least 50 minutes, using a greased baking dish (with 28 cm in diameter).

7. When the cake is completely cooled, garnish with plenty of icing sugar.

Torta Paradiso.

Media difficoltà

Preparazione: 20 minuti

Cottura: 50 minuti

Ingredienti

200 g di burro

200 g di zucchero a velo (e dello zucchero a velo in più per decorare)

100 g di farina manitoba

100 g di fecola di patate

4 tuorli d’uovo

3 uova intere

2 gocce di estratto di vaniglia

un cucchiaio di succo di limone

1 busta di lievito per dolci

un pizzico di sale

qualche goccia di aroma di mandorla

Metodo.

1. Separate gli albumi dai tuorli e mettete tutto da parte.

2. Setacciate e unite la farina alla fecola di patate con il lievito.

3. Amalgamate il burro con lo zucchero, l’aroma di mandorla e l’estratto di vaniglia, fino ad ottenere una crema omogenea. Poi, incorporate gradualmente tutti i tuorli d’uova all’impasto.

4. Aggiungete anche la farina e la fecola (sempre gradualmente). Amalgamate bene tutto.

5. A parte, montate tutti gli albumi a neve con un pizzico di sale e un cucchiaio di succo di limone. Unite gli albumi montati al composto, mescolando delicatamente dal basso verso l’alto.

6. Infornate a forno preriscaldato a 180° C per almeno 50 minuti, utilizzando una teglia imburrata (di 28 cm di diametro).

7. Quando la torta sarà completamente raffreddata, guarnite con abbondante zucchero a velo.

Mango Panna Cotta

May 17, 2014Desserts, Gluten-freeCream, Dairy, Dessert, Dolce al cucchiaio, Double cream, Easy, Food, Gluten-free, Honey, Italian cooking, Lemon essential oil, Lemon zest, Mango, Panna cotta, Recipe, Whipping creamSerena @ foodfulife

Panna cotta is one of the most appreciated Italian desserts and is well known all over the world. This amazing dessert is probably widely appreciated, not only for its wonderful velvety texture and delicate flavour but also for the simplicity of the preparation method. The traditional recipe is usually prepared with cream, sugar and vanilla pods and served with fruit, chocolate or caramel sauce. In addition to the traditional recipe, there are many variations which include different ingredients, in order to get more creative and complex flavour combinations (we have already prepared a double chocolate panna cotta, in a previous post).

In this recipe, I added the mango pulp with a hint of lemon flavour, to celebrate the warm season. The result is an extremely velvety, exotic and charming dessert!

You’ll love it!!!

Tips.

1. To make a slightly lighter dessert you can replace 50 ml of whipping cream with 50 ml of whole milk.

2. It’s important to strain the mango puree well, because the mango pulp contains little hairy bits which can compromise the smoothness and texture of the dessert.

3. In this recipe, I added 1 tablespoon of honey, but half a tablespoon was actually enough for my taste. With half a tablespoon of honey you get a less sweet but more delicate panna cotta, which in my opinion, suits an adult taste best. You can taste the mixture with 1/2 tablespoon of honey and then decide whether you want to add more or not. For children, the preparation with a tablespoon of honey is perfect!

Mango Panna Cotta.

Preparation: 20 minute + 3 hours in the fridge

Easy

Ingredients

for 2 servings

150g (5.2 oz) mango (+ a few pieces of fresh mango)

1 tablespoon of honey

the zest of half a lemon (or 1 drop of lemon essential oil)

2 gelatine leaves

200 ml ( 6.76 us fl oz) whipping or double cream

a few mint leaves

Method

1. Leave the gelatine leaves to soak for about 10 minutes.

2. Pour the cream into a small saucepan with the honey and the lemon zest (or lemon essential oil). Cook over a moderate heat for a few minutes, until the cream is quite hot (but do not boil). Then add the gelatine leaves, stir very well and turn off the heat.

3. Peel the mango and cut it into pieces. Puree the fruit in a blender with the warm cream.

4. Using a strainer, pour the mixture into small one-portion pots and let cool. Then put the pots in the refrigerator to set for about 3 hours.

5. Serve the panna cotta with some fresh mango and a few mint leaves on top.

Panna Cotta al Mango.

Difficoltà: facile

Preparazione: 20 minuti + 3 ore nel frigorifero

Ingredienti

per 2 panne cotte

150 g di mango (+ qualche pezzo di mango da aggiungere alla fine, come guarnizione)

Scorza di mezzo limone (oppure 1 o 2 goccia di olio essenziale di limone)

1 cucchiaio di miele

2 fogli di colla di pesce

200 ml di panna

qualche foglia di menta

Metodo

1. Mettete a bagno, in acqua tiepida, i fogli di gelatina per 10 minuti.

2. Riscaldate la panna in un pentolino (a fuoco basso) con il miele e la scorza di limone (oppure l’olio essenziale di limone). Aggiungete la gelatina, mescolate per qualche minuto e spegnete il fuoco.

3. Togliete la buccia al mango, tagliatelo a pezzi e frullatelo bene insieme alla panna (ancora calda).

4. Usando un colino, filtrate la panna e versatela negli stampini. Lasciate raffreddare e poi mettete in frigorifero per 3 ore a rassodare.

5. Servite con dei pezzi di mango fresco e qualche foglia di menta.

Rich Chocolate Tart with Fresh Raspberries…Yes, but it’s different!

March 14, 2014Dairy-free, Desserts, Gluten-free, High-fibre Food, Vegan, VegetarianCake, Chocolate, Chocolate pastry, Dairy-free, Dark chocolate, Dark chocolate ganache, Dessert, Egg-free, Eggless, Flan, Food, Ganache vegana, Gluten-free, Healthy, Low carb, Tart, Vegan, VeganaSerena @ foodfulife

Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, with only a little refined sugar and absolutely delicious!!!!

I must admit I was a little bit sceptical about vegan desserts, I thought that without dairy products, desserts would just taste dull! So I decided to give it a try and make this vegan chocolate tart, because I usually like to try things before I make a judgement, especially when I am talking about recipes. I am glad to say that I was wrong! I might even dedicate an entire post to the lovely vegan chocolate ganache that I’ve made for this recipe, because I think it deserves a little place on its own in this blog and a few more words given over to it.

So, today we are going to prepare a delicious mini chocolate tart with a lot of fresh raspberries on top! As a filling, I made a rich dark chocolate ganache. Usually, the chocolate ganache is prepared with heavy whipping cream or butter, I used rice milk instead and I thickened the sauce with a little cornstarch. The result is a velvety smooth chocolate filling that contains little refined sugar and is dairy-free.

This is an amazing vegan dessert that everyone can enjoy!

Rich Chocolate Tart with Fresh Raspberries

Ingredients

For the pastry

2-3 servings.

50 g (1.7 oz) skinless almonds (or hazelnuts, if you prefer)

60 g (2 oz) dark chocolate (organic, with 70% cocoa solids)

60 g (2 oz) rice flour

30 g (1 oz) of potato starch

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

2 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 tablespoon of agave syrup (or 1 tablespoon of honey, if you are not on a vegan diet)

a pinch of salt

For the dark chocolate ganache

60 g (2 oz) of dark chocolate (organic, 70 % cocoa)

100 ml (3.38 fl oz US, 0.175 pt UK) rice milk (replace with soya or almond milk, if you prefer)

1 tablespoon of agave syrup (or 2 tablespoon of honey, if you are not on a vegan diet)

1/2 a tablespoon of cornstarch

To garnish

100 g (3.5 oz) raspberries, fresh and washed

a few chocolate chips

Method.

For the pastry.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

1. In a double boiler (bain-marie), melt 60 g (2 oz) of dark chocolate.

2. Finely grind the almonds using a food processor, until you get a fine paste.

3. In a small bowl, sift the flour and the potato starch using a fine strainer. Then, mix in the melted chocolate, the almond paste, 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil and 1 tablespoon of agave syrup (or 1 tablespoon of honey).

4. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

5. Lightly grease the base of a small cake pan (15-17 cm or 6 – 7 inches of diameter) and bake at 170 ° C (338° F) for about 15 minutes.

For the chocolate ganache.

Preparation: 20 minutes

1. In a double boiler (or bain-marie), melt 60 g (2 oz) of dark chocolate.

2. In a small pan, heat 100 ml (3.38 fl oz US) of rice milk and add it (gradually and stirring) to the melted chocolate (both must be warm).

3. In another pan, mix 1/2 a tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of the chocolate mixture and stir well. Gradually add the rest of the chocolate mixture, then cook over a low heat and stir until the chocolate ganache has thickened (it will take only a few minutes).

4. Turn off the heat, add 1 tablespoon of agave syrup (or 2 tablespoon of honey) and mix well. Let cool.

To garnish.

Refrigeration: 30 minutes

1. Pour the chocolate ganache into the base of the tart, then put the cake in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

2. Garnish with plenty of raspberries and some chocolate chips.

Crostata di lamponi con ganache di cioccolato fondente.

Ingredienti

Per la base.

2-3 porzioni.

50 g di mandorle, senza pelle (oppure nocciole, se preferite)

60 g di farina di riso

30 g di fecola di patate

60 g di cioccolato fondente bio ( con 70% di cacao)

1/2 cucchiaino di lievito per torte

2 cucchiai di olio di semi di girasole

1 cucchiaio di sciroppo d’agave (oppure 1 cucchiaio di miele bio, se non seguite una dieta vegana)

un pizzico di sale

Per la ganache al cioccolato fondente

100 ml di latte di riso (oppure latte di mandorle, soia o latte normale)

1 cucchiaio di sciroppo d’agave (oppure 2 cucchiai di miele bio, se non seguite una dieta vegana)

60 g di cioccolato fondente bio (con 70% di cacao)

1/2 cucchiaio di amido di mais

Per guarnire

100 g di lamponi (freschi e ben lavati)

un po’ di scaglie di cioccolato per decorare

Preparazione.

Per la base.

1. Fate sciogliere 60 g di cioccolato fondente a bagnomaria.

2. Tritate molto finemente le mandorle usando un tritatutto.

3. In una terrina, setacciate la farina e la fecola di patate usando un colino molto fine. Aggiungete il cioccolato sciolto, la pasta di mandorle, il lievito per dolci, un pizzico di sale, due cucchiai d’olio di semi di girasole e 1 cucchiaio di sciroppo d’agave (oppure 1 cucchiaio di miele).

4. Impastate bene e mettete in frigo per 15 minuti.

5. Ungete leggermente la base di una piccola teglia (15-16 cm di diametro) e infornate a 170° per 15 minuti.

Per la ganache al cioccolato.

1. Fate sciogliere 60 g di cioccolato fondente a bagnomaria.

2. Scaldate 100 ml di latte di riso in un pentolino e unitelo al cioccolato ancora caldo, mescolando bene.

3. In un altro pentolino, unite una piccola quantità di latte di riso al cioccolato con mezzo cucchiaio di amido di mais (mescolando energicamente). In modo molto graduale, aggiungete tutto il latte al cioccolato, poi fate rassodare la ganache sul fuoco a fiamma bassa, per qualche minuto (continuando a mescolare).

4. Spegnete il fuoco e aggiungete 1 cucchiaio di sciroppo d’agave (oppure 2 cucchiai di miele). Mescolate ancora, poi lasciate raffreddare.

Per guarnire.

1. Versate la crema sulla base della crostata e mettete in frigorifero per 30 minuti.

2. Guarnite con un doppio strato di lamponi e scaglie di cioccolato.

Gluten-free Valentine’s Day Menu

February 10, 2014Menus2 servings, Cooking, Dessert, Dinner, Food, Gluten-free, Healthy, Ideas, Light, Menu, Romantic, SAVOURY RECIPES, Valentine's daySerena @ foodfulife

Some ideas for a romantic dinner for two…

Steamed prawn and bell pepper kebabs (divide the ingredients by two to make 4 kebabs)

Salmon with rocket and oranges

Double chocolate panna cotta with caramel sauce (single serving to share)

Bavarian cream with chocolate caramel sauce

(divide by two the ingredients to make a 2-servings dessert, but make the sauce as indicated in the recipe because it’ s already a small quantity)

Delicious Plum Ice Cream With A Hint Of Cinnamon

July 22, 2013Desserts, Gluten-free, High-fibre Food, Low-fat RecipesBaking and Confections, Cinnamon, Cooking, Dessert, Desserts, Frozen, Gelato, Home, Ice cream, Mint, Photography, Plums, RecipeSerena @ foodfulife

In my parents’ garden there is a beautiful wild plum tree that every year gives us lots of fruit. These plums, however, are small, mushy and not very sweet. They not very good to eat but great for preparing jams, sauces and desserts. This week I’m going to prepare a really nice and delicate plum ice cream, enriched with a hint of cinnamon, a real treat!

Yellow plum ice cream with a hint of cinnamon.

Ingredients

Serves 4

500 g yellow plums, halved, pitted

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

150 g brown sugar

200 ml water

1 greek yogurt (170 g)

1 tablespoon honey

cinnamon to taste (optional)

Method.

1. Peel the plums carefully (the plums I’m using have a very thin skin, therefore I’m not going to peel them for this recipe).

2. Meanwhile, boil the water with sugar and let cool.

3. Puree the fruit in a food processor until smooth, then add the lemon juice, honey, corn starch, and finally the yogurt with cinnamon to the mixture.

4. Add the sugar syrup to the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

5. Place the mixture in the ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

6. Store in freezer. Top with some fresh mint and serve.

Gelato di prugne gialle alla cannella.

Ingredienti

Per 4 persone

500 g di prugne gialle

1 cucchiaio abbondante di amido di mais

il succo di 1/2 limone

150 g di zucchero di canna

200 ml di acqua

1 yogurt greco (175 g)

1 cucchiaio di miele

cannella q b (facoltativo)

Preparazione.

1. Lavate e asciugate le prugne, quindi togliete la buccia e il nocciolo (qui io uso delle prugne con la buccia sottilissima e non la tolgo).

2. A parte, fate bollire l’acqua con lo zucchero e lasciate raffreddare.

3. Frullate la frutta fino ad ottenere una crema, poi aggiungete il limone, il miele, l’amido di mais e lo yogurt con le cannella.

4. Aggiungete anche lo sciroppo e mescolate bene.

5. Mettete il composto nella gelatiera e seguite le istruzioni.

6. Una volta fatto, potete conservare il gelato nel congelatore o servirlo direttamente nelle coppette con due foglie di menta.

Deliciously soft bavarian cream with chocolate-caramel sauce.

March 23, 2013Desserts, Gluten-free, VegetarianBavarese, Bavarian, Budino, Caramel, Chocolate, Cioccolato, Cook, Crema, Custard, Dessert, Desserts, Dolce al cucchiaio, Food, Home, Recipe, Sauce, Walnuts, Whipped creamSerena @ foodfulife

A few nights ago I had a couple of friends round for dinner, it was a special occasion, so I prepared a simple and delicious dessert recipe. I made a soft vanilla bavarian cream which I divided into individual portions and garnished with chocolate-caramel sauce and a few toasted walnuts. This dessert is very easy to prepare, very satisfying and deliciously creamy. A bavarian cream is basically a rich but delicate custard, blended with gelatin to have a light and airy texture. The chocolate sauce served with walnuts adds crunchiness and flavour to the cream. We spent a wonderful evening and the dessert was fully appreciated…

Bavarian cream with chocolate-caramel sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 4

250 ml (8.45 fl. oz) whipping cream

150 ml (5 fl. oz) milk

50 g (1.76 oz) sugar

2 gelatin leaves (5 g)

2 egg yolks

2 drops vanilla extract

For the chocolate-caramel sauce

100 g (3.52 oz) brown sugar

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

6 toasted walnuts (toast the unshelled walnuts in the oven on a tray for 5 minutes at 190°C, 374 °F)

1 teaspoon of dark rum

100 ml (3.38 fl.oz) of milk

Preparation method.

1. Soften the gelatin in warm water for 10 minutes.

2. In a saucepan, work the eggs with the sugar until creamy. Gradually add hot milk and the vanilla extract, stirring on low heat.

3. Drain the gelatin, melt into the creamy mixture and continue to stir on low heat for about ten minutes (do not boil). Let cool. Stir the whipped cream very gently into the mixture.

4. Pour the dessert into molds and put in the refrigerator to set for at least 3 hours.

Preparation of the caramel sauce.

1. Pour the sugar (100 g) with the cocoa powder into the milk (100 ml), add some rum and stir. Melt the sugar at a low heat and cook until the sauce has thickened.

2. Garnish the bavarian cream with a few toasted walnuts and serve with the chocolate-caramel sauce.

Crema bavarese con salsa di caramello al cacao.

Ingredienti

per 4 porzioni

250 ml di panna da montare

150 ml di latte

50 g di zucchero

2 fogli di colla di pesce (5 g)

2 tuorli d’uovo

due gocce di estratto di vaniglia

Per la crema di caramello al cacao

100 g di zucchero di canna

1 cucchiaino di cacao

1 cucchiaino di rum scuro

100 ml di latte

qualche noce tostata per guarnire

Preparazione della crema.

1. Fate ammorbidire la colla di pesce in acqua tiepida per 10 minuti. In un pentolino, lavorate le uova con lo zucchero fino a creare una crema spumosa.

2. Continuando a mescolare, allungate gradualmente il composto con del latte bollente. Aggiungete l’estratto di vaniglia e fate cuocere per dieci minuti a fiamma molto bassa.

3. Scolate bene la colla di pesce e fatela sciogliere nel latte ( continuando a mescolare). Spegnete il fuoco e lasciate raffreddare.

4. Unite la panna montata al composto, mescolando delicatamente dal basso verso l’alto. Versate la crema negli stampi e mettetela nel frigorifero a solidificare per almeno 3 ore.

Preparazione del caramello.

1. Versate lo zucchero (100 g) con il cacao e un cucchiaino di rum in 100 ml di latte. Fate sciogliere lo zucchero a fiamma bassa e fate ritirare fino ad ottenere una salsa densa. Lasciate raffreddare.

2. Servite la crema bavarese con la salsa di caramello al cacao e guarnite con qualche noce (fatta leggermente tostare prima) sopra.