Say it with cakes

Certosino

2008-01-08T14:47:00.001-08:00

This is tipical chrismas cake of my city: Ferrara (Italy)

Ingredients

Flour 1000g / 35 oz
Baking powder 16g /0.5 oz
Milk 300-400 ml
Sugar 400g / 14 oz
Currant 400g / 14 oz
Patty fruit 400g / 14 oz
Plum jam 400g / 14 oz
Cacoa 400g / 14 oz
Almonds (better with skin) 400g / 14 oz
Dark chocolate 1000g / 35 oz (about 100g / 3.5 oz every certosino)

Cooking

No pan (10 certosinos)
Oven 160°C / 330 F, static, central/bottom level
75-80 minutes

Procedure

Place currant into warm water ed let hydrate some minutes
Mix powders (flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa)
Add almonds, plum jam, patty fruit and currant
Mix very well
Add milk to make the mix wet and pasty (too much milk make the mix too soft and certosino wilt itself while cooking)
Mix very well (on a breadboard)
Cut and split into 10 parts
With every part make with hands a little dome (to work better grease your hand with a bit if oil)
Place every dome on a oven platen
Place in oven and bake (certosinos became very compact)
Let rest 7 or more days on a fresh and dry place
Glaze every certosino with about 100g / 3.5 oz of (melted) dark chocolate

Note

This recipe is for 10 certosinos, but is very simple to adapt it for any number of certosinos (with a base of 100g/3.5 oz of flour for every certosino ) (4 certosinos in these photes)
Every certosino can preserve a lot, even 2 months

Fruit jam pie

2007-12-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

This is a very classic cake: shortcrust pastry and fruit jam

Ingredients

Flour 250g / 9 oz
Sugar 100g / 3.5 oz
Salt
Butter 125g / 4.5 oz
Large eggs (yolks) 3
Fruit jam (any) 400g / 14 oz

Cooking

Round cake pan with 24 cm/ 10 inc diameter
Oven 180°C / 350F, static, central/bottom level
30 minutes

Procedure

Cut butter into medium pieces end let's soft a bit out of fridge
Mix butter and flour (mix with fingers but don't heat butter too much)
Mix yolks in a bowl and add to mix
Add sugar
Mix all and make a ball
Cover with a plastic wrap and place in fridge at least 30 minutes
Lay shortcrust pastry into pan (you can use a rolling pin) leaving a high border
Lay fruit jam on shortcrust base
Bake

Italian recipe

Banana muffin

2007-12-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Banana muffin, soft and delicius

Ingredients

Flour 250g / 9 oz
Sugar 150g / 5 oz
Salt
Vanilla powder (optional)
Baking powdef 16g / 0.5 oz
Large eges 2
Vegetagle oil 100ml
Milk 200ml
Banana 200g / 7 oz

Cooking

12 muffin pans
Oven 180°C / 330 F, static, central/bottom level
25 minutes

Procedure

Mix powders (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder)
Add the vegetable oil
Add eggs
Add milk
Mix wery well (the mix is very liquid)
Cut bananas into little cubes ad add to mix
Place into muffin pans and bake

Italian recipe

Chocolate glazed dark chocolate cake

2007-12-07T23:47:00.000-08:00

Recipe name and photo are absolutly clear: if you love the real chocolate (the dark chocolate) this cake if for you.

Ingredients

Flour 50g / 2 oz
Dark chocolate 200g / 7 oz
Sugar 200g / 7 oz
Butter 100g / 3.5 oz
Large eggs 4
Rhum 2 tablespoon (10 ml)
Glaze: dark chocolate 100g / 3.5 oz

Cooking

Round cake pan with 20-22 cm/ 8-9 inc diameter
Oven 160°C / 330F, static, central/bottom level
55 minutes

Procedure

Meld butter
Meld dark chocolate
Mix melded butter and melded chocolate
Add sugar ad mix
Add yolks one by one and mix
Add flour and mix
Add rhum and mix
Whip up very well egg whites and join to the mix
Mix very well, put into cake pan and bake
Make baked cake cold (take out cake from cake pan) at least 30-60 minutes
Meld chocolate
Glaze the cake with melded chocolate
Make glaze cold (it's better to keep in fridge some hours)

Italian version

Whipping cream sbrisolona

2007-12-06T23:32:00.000-08:00

This is my best cake (even equal to my best chocolate cake), it has no cocoa or chocolate, but served two or three hours after baked it's absolutely tasty

Ingredients

Flour 350g / 12 oz
Zucchero 150g / 5 oz
Baking powder 16g / 0.5 oz
Salt
Grated peel of one lemon
Butter 150g / 5 oz
Large eggs 2 (one only egg white)
Whipping cream 0.5 l (milk 0.5, flour 50g / 2 oz, sugar 50g / 2 oz, yolks 2, one piece of lemon peel)

Cooking

Round cake pan with 28 cm/ 11 inc diameter
Oven 170°C / 340F, static, central/bottom level
40 minutes

Procedure

Mix powders (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder)
Add one egg and one yolk but don't mix
Cut butter into little cubes and add without mix
Don't mix but pinch and crumble the biggest parts
Keep the mix in fridge and prelare the whipping cream
Mix together milk, yolks, flour and sugar
Place in a boiler using a strainer (to keep out flour and sugar grain)
Add lemon peel
Cook the cream about 5 minutes to thicken (mix very well while cooking)
Take off lemon peel
Place one mix half into baking pan, then cover with whipping cream ad at last cover with the second mix half and bake

Italian version of this recipe

Sacher Torte

2007-12-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

If you love dark chocolate you have to love the classical Sacher Torte... there are a lot of recipes, this is the my one

Ingredients

Flour 150g / 5 oz
Zugar 150g / 5 oz
Butter 150g / 5 oz
Dark chocolate 150g / 5 oz
Large eggs 5
Baking powder 8g / 0.30 oz
Vanilla powder (optional)
Milk 25ml
Apricot jam 150g / 5 oz
Glaze (dark chocolate 100g / 3.5 oz, butter 25g / 1 oz, icing sugar 50g / 2 oz, water 2-3 tablespoons)

Cooking

Round cake pan with 20 cm/ 8 inc diameter
Oven 180°C / 350F, static, central/bottom level
40 minutes

Procedure

Let's soft the butter out of the fridge
Whip up wevy well the soften butter with sugar and vanilla powder
Add yolks one by one and mix
Meld the dark chocolate with milk and add to the mix
Whip up very well egg whites and join to the mix
Add flour and baking powder to the mix
Mix very well, put into cake pan and bake
Make baked cake cold (take out cake from cake pan) at least 30 minutes
Cut the cake into 3 discs
Spread apricot jam on all discs and pile up
Let's prepare glaze
Meld the dark chocolate with butter
Add icing sugar and water
Mix up very well
Glaze the cake
Make glaze cold (it's better to keep in fridge some hours)

Italian recipe

Apple cake

2007-12-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

This is a very simple apple cake, but simple doesn't mean not tasty...

Ingredients

Flour 300g / 10.5 oz
Sugar 200g / 7 oz
Baking powder 16g / 0.5 oz
Salt
Large eggs 2
Vegetable oil 100ml (melted butter 100g / 3.5 oz)
Peeled applea 500g / 18 oz
Milk 125 ml
Grated peel of ½ lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Coking

Round cake pan with 28 cm/ 11 inc diameter
Oven 180°C / 350F, static, central/bottom level
50 minutes

Procedure

Mix powders (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder)
Add the oil/melted butter
Add eggs
Add milk
Peel apples and cut in medium pieces
Mix very well
Place into pan and bake

Here the italian version of this recipe

Pistachio sbrisolona

2007-12-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

Sbrisolona is an italian name to describe a cake made of a lot of crumbs, it's a very particular cake, this version is with pistachios

Ingredients

White flour 180g / 6.5 oz
Durum wheat 100g / 3.5 oz
Sugar 120g / 4 oz
Butter 120g / 4 oz
Grated peel of one orange
Pistachios without shell 140g / 5 oz (with shell about 300g/10 oz)
Large eggs (yolks) 2

Cooking

Round cake pan with 28-30 cm/ 11-12inc diameter
Oven 160°C / 320F, static, central/bottom level
40 minutes

Procedure

Mince pistachios (not too fine and not too large) with a bit of sugar (one or two tablespoon)
Mix together white flour, durum wheat, sugar and then add minced pistachos
Add the grated peel of the orange
Cut the butter into little pieces
Add butter and yolks (but don't mix)
Don't mix but pinch and crumble the biggest parts
Place into pan and bake

Here the italian version of this recipe

Chocolate mousse

2007-12-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is my grandmother's classical recipe. It's not a baked cake but it belog to category good and chocolate thinks....

Ingredients

Butter 100g / 3.5 oz
Dark chocolate 120g / 4 oz
Icing sugar 75g / 2.5 oz
Large egges 4
Brandy or Rhum 1 tablespoon

Procedure

Let's soft the butter out of the fridge
Whip up the soften butter with icing sugar
Add yolks one by one and mix
Melt the bitter chocolate ad add to the mix
Whip up very well egg whites and join to the mix
Add brandy ot rhum and mix very well
Keep in fridge at least 4 hours

Italian version of this recipe

Yogurt and cocoa cake

2007-12-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yogurt makes this cake very very soft, and cocoa... cocoa is always cocoa... :-)

Ingredients

White flour 100g / 3.5 oz
White sugar 180g / 6.5 oz
Bitter cocoa 50g / 2 oz
Milk 1dl
Whiter natural yogurt 125ml
Large eggs 3
A bit of vanilla powder (optional)
Baking powder 4g /0.15 oz

Cooking

Round cake pan with 22-24 cm/ 8-9 inc diameter
Oven 180°C / 350F, static, central/bottom level
40 minutes

Procedure

Whip up sugar and eggs
Add cocoa and vanilla
Mix together yogurt and milk
Mix yogurt+milk with sugar+egg+cocoa
Add flour and baking powder anf mix very well
Place into pan and bake

Here the italian version of this recipe

Cocoa and chocolate cake

2007-12-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

It's a classical cocoa ring shaped cake, but I prefer cakes without the central hole...

Ingredients

Flour 450g / 16 oz
Bitter cacoa 50g / 2 oz
Sugar 200g / 7 oz
Baking powder 16g / 0.5 oz
Salt
Large eggs 2
Vegetable oil 100ml (melted butter 100g / 3.5 oz)
Milk 200ml
Dark chocolate 100g / 3.5 oz

Cooking

Round cake pan with 26-28 cm/ 10-11 inc diameter
Oven 180°C / 350F, static, central/bottom level
40 minutes

Procedure

Mix powders (flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking powder)
Add the oil/melted butter
Add eggs
Add the milk
Cut the dark chocolate (not too little pieces) and join it to the mix
Mix wery well
Place into pan and bake

Italian version of this recipe

Cocoa muffin

2007-12-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

After a simple recipe, let's apply the first fundamental rule: let's add cocoa!!!

Ingredients

White flour 220g / 8 oz
Sugar 125g / 4.5 oz
Bitter cocoa 40g / 1.5 oz
Salt
Baking powder 16g / 0.5 oz
Large egg 1
Vegetable oil/melted butter 60g / 2 oz
Grated peel of ½ orange
Milk 0,25 l

Cooking

12 muffin pans
Oven 160°C / 320 F, static, central/bottom level
20 minutes

Procedure

Mix powders (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cocoa)
Add the oil/melted butter
Add the egg
Add the grated orange speel
Add the milk
Mix wery well (the mix is very liquid)
Place into muffin pans and bake

Here the italian version of this recipe

Muffin

2007-11-20T12:21:00.000-08:00

Very simple recipe for light Muffin, ideal as base for more sophisticaded muffin.

Ingredients

White flour 250g / 9 oz
Zugar 125g / 4,5 oz
Salt
Baking powder 16g / 0,5 oz
Vegetable oil/melted butter 60g / 2 oz
Large egg 1
Grated peel of ½ orange
Milk 0,25 l

Cooking

12 muffin pans
Oven 160°C / 320 F, static, central/bottom level
20 minutes

Procedure

Mix powders (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder)
Add the oil/melted butter
Add the egg
Add the grated orange speel
Add the milk
Mix wery well (the mix is very liquid)
Place into muffin pans and bake

Here the italian recipe

Chocolate and hazelnut cake

2007-11-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

Chocolate and hazelnut, a classical pair for a compact and balanced cake.

Ingredients

White flour 250g / 9 oz
White sugar 250g / 9 oz
Salt
Bitter cocoa 50g / 2 oz
Butter 200g / 7 oz
Tosted hazelnuts (without shell) 150g / 5,5 oz
Dark chocolate 150g / 5,5 oz
Rhum 2 tablespoons / 4 cl
Large eggs 5
Honey 100g / 3,5 oz

Cooking

Round cake pan with 26 cm/ 10 inc diameter
Oven 180°C / 350F, static, central/bottom level
25 minutes

Procedure

Let's soft the butter out of the fridge
Whip up the soften butter with sugar
Add yolks one by one and mix
Mix together flour, cocoa and salt and join to butter/sugar/yolks cream
Mince hazelnuts a bit and join them to the mix
Cut the dark chocolate (not too little pieces) and join it to the mix
Add rhum and honey to the mix
Whip up very well egg whites and join to the mix
Mix very well, put into cake pan and bake

Here the italian version of this recipe