Pastafrolle

250 gr flour
150 gr confectioners sugar
150 gr butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of yeast
1 pinch of salt

Work together the ingredients and make a smooth dough. Shape dough into a ball and let rest covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for about 1 hour. Spread dough on the table with a rolling pin and cut out cookies. Bake cookies at 150° for 10-15 minutes, or until just lightly browned.

(Simile-)Cinnamon rolls

I am not a big fan of cinnamon but once in a while I crave for it. So one day I decided to experiment with my mom " brioche" recipe and make some cinnamon rolls instead of a big braided brioche.

600 gr flour
70 gr butter
1/4 liter milk
2 eggs
1 cube (~25gr) of fresh "pizza" yeast melted in warm milk with a teaspoon of sugar
 lemon zest
1 pinch of salt

I literally dump all the ingredients together into the bread machine and let the machine go for about 20 minutes. I guess you could also use a stand mixer for about 10 minutes and work the dough later by hand for another 10 minutes! Cover with a napkin and allow to rest for at least 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size in a warm place.
Now, you can either make a big braided brioche (quantities above are enough for two big ones) or many small rolls.

To make the cinnamon rolls:
Melt a stick of butter (~100 gr). Add couple of tablespoon of cinnamon powder to the butter. Make a roll with the dough. Make an incision with a knife and spread the cinnamon butter into the incision. Close the incision by pinching the dough and roll. Place on a baking sheet and brush with more butter. Cook in a pre-heated oven at about 150 degrees C for about 30-40 minutes.

This recipe was given to my mom by my cousins Marialuisa and Cristina!

Wild Strawberries and Cream Tart

This is absolutely my favorite tart! You can use any kind of fresh fruit and decorate it as you like! Even more delicious after a night in the fridge! We used to make it in Ispra with wild strawberries from our wild garden!

For the tart:
200 gr flour
100 gr butter
100 gr sugar
2 egg yolks
lemon zest
1 pinch of salt
1/2 packet yeast

Work together flour (with yeast and salt), butter, sugar until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix until the dough comes together. Dump on a well-floured board and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough and fit into a tart pan, prick the bottom of the shell all over with a fork. Line the tart shell with a piece of buttered aluminum foil, butter side down, and fill it with dried beans. Bake for about half an hour in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C. Set aside to cool.
You can also use this basic tart recipe to make jam tarts.

For the cream (crema pasticcera):
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoon sugar
1 full tablespoon fluor
1/4 liter milk

Beat the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer for 5 minutes, or until very thick. Add the flour. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens. When it comes to a boil cook it, whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard (this will avoid the formation of a thick crust) and let it cool.

Spread a thin film of jam onto the tart shell. Fill the tart shell with the pastry cream. Arrange the fruit decoratively on top of the cream. Pour transparent gelatin on top of fruit to preserve it fresh (follow placket instructions to make gelatin).

Tart and cream recipes are from my mom.

Cupcakes

I wanted to prepare something sweet for Tame's birthday to share with the other kids at the kindergarten. I found this very simple cupcake recipe here and gave it a try! Well, they came out great and the kids loved them! I got the sugar decorations at the supermarket and the muisjes directly from the Netherlands.

12 cupcakes:
120 gr butter at room temperature
120 gr flour
120 gr sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon yeast
1 packet vanilla sugar
Fresh lemon zest (1/2 lemon)
1 pinch of salt

Glaze:
4 tablespoons boiling water
200 gr confectioners sugar

Beat sugar and butter together until soft and creamy. Add eggs, salt, vanilla sugar and lemon zest. At last add flour and yeast. Beat the ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Divide the mixture between 12 muffin tins. Pre-heat oven at 160 °C and cook for about 20 minutes.
For the glaze: bring to boil some water and add 4 tablespoons to the powdered sugar. Beat vigorously untill smooth and shiny.

Pan di spagna

Pan di spagna is a beautiful sponge cake very simple and soft. I have filled it with crema pasticcera and strawberries and covered with freshly whipped cream. I made it for Tame's second birthday.

for the cake:
4 eggs
150 gr sugar
150 gr cornflour
1 packet of yeast
1 pinch of salt

Beat eggs and sugar together for sometime (at least 10 minutes with an electric mixer). Then add the cornflour and yeast. Pre-heat oven at 150 °C.  Cook for about 35-45 minutes till the cake is lightly golden brown and has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remember to not open the oven at least for the first half an hour. Let cool down and cut in half horizontally. Fill with crema pasticcera and fresh fruit or anything you like. Cover with freslhy whipped cream and decorate with fresh fruit.

This recipe was given to me about 15 years ago by friends of friends that had Sicilian roots and bakers in the family.

Inspired

I am starting a cooking blog. I like to cook and I'd like to share my cooking experiments with you.

Enjoy it!