Rudolph cake pops

Posted in Cakes by granellidizucchero

Almond and cinnamon cake pops

Ingredients:

– 80g of butter

– 110g of granulated sugar

– 1 egg

– 135g of flour

– 1 teaspoon of baking powder

– 80ml of milk

– 60g of almond meal

– 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

– Cake pops silicone mould (for 18 pieces)

For the chocolate coat:

– 100g of dark chocolate

– 100g of white chocolate

– Gel food coloring

Preheat the oven at 160°.

Beat the softened butter with the sugar until the mixture is creamy.

Add the egg and continue whisking. Add the flour with the baking powder, the cinnamon and the milk. Continue mixing until you have a creamy texture. Add the almond meal and mix. Fill the buttered cake pops mould and bake for 20 minutes at 160°.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool, remove form the mould and insert the stick into each cake pop.

Melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie. Melt also the white chocolate. Coat half of the cake pops with the dark chocolate and the other half with the white chocolate, decorate with gel food coloring and little branches.

Have a sweet Christmas time,

bon appétit

Anna

17Nov2013

Teddy in wonderland

Posted in Cakes by granellidizucchero

Chocolate cake pops

Ingredients:

-75g of dark chocolate

-55g of butter

-90g of granulated white sugar

-2 eggs

-10g of cocoa powder

-45g of flour

-60g of chocolate chips or nuts

-1/2 teaspoon of salt

-Cake pops silicone mould (for 18 pieces)

-1 egg white

-200 g of powdered sugar

-Food coloring

-Food decorations

Preheat oven to 180°.

Put the chocolate and the butter in a bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat when they are melted. Stir in the cocoa powder and the white granulated sugar. Next whisk in the eggs, one at time, beating well after each addiction. Finally, stir in the flour, the salt and the chocolate chips (or nuts).

Pour into the buttered cake pops mould and bake for about 25-30 minutes at 180°.

For the frosting: whisk the egg white, add the powdered sugar and the coloring while continuing to whisk.

Dip each cake pop in the frosting and decorate them as you whish. Let the icing dry.

Bon appétit,

Anna

10Oct2013

Choco garden

Posted in Cakes by granellidizucchero

Soufflé au chocolat

Ingredients:

– 100 g of powdered sugar

– 4 g of corn flour

– 30 g of flour

– 7 eggs (1 whole, 1 yolk and 6 egg whites)

– 60 ml of milk

– 75 ml of cream

– 75 g of dark chocolate

– 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

Take five 200 ml soufflé dishes, brush them with butter and tip a little cocoa powder in each dish.

To make the chocolate cream, mix 30 g of flour, 7 g of corn flour and 15 g of powdered sugar.

Put one egg yolk and a whole egg into a bowl, mix them well and add half of the flour mixture, blend, and tip in the rest of the flour mix.

Put 60 ml of milk and 15 ml of cream into a pan and bring them just to the boil, remove from the heat. Add 25 g of dark chocolate and beat until it is melted. Add to this chocolate mix the flour and yolks mixture. Cook this mixture over a low heath for 5 minutes, let it cool down and beat occasionally with a wire whisk.

Slowly warm 60 ml of cream to make the ganache. Just before it boils take off the heath and add 50 g of dark chocolate. Mix until it is melted and add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. Allow to cool.

Heath oven to 190°. Whisk 6 egg whites with an electric whisk and sprinkle in 85 g of powdered sugar while whisking.

Mix the ganche and the chocolate cream mixture in a large bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of whisked egg whites to the chocolate mixture. Carefully fold in a third of the rest, mix slowly, add another third of the whisked eggs, take care not to lose the volume and add fold in the last third.

Fill the soufflé dishes by three-quarters with the mixture and bang each dish on to the surface so the mixture fills the sides.

Bake the soufflés for 17 minutes in the preheated oven (190°).

Decore with cocoa powder and fresh flowers.

Bon appétit,

Anna

30Sep2013

It’s tea time!

Posted in Meringue by granellidizucchero

New recipes coming soon…..

Stay tuned,

Anna

20May2013

Matchstick cookies and… a curious cat!

Posted in Cookies by granellidizucchero

Matchstick cookies

Ingredients:

– 250g of flour

– 125g of butter

– 100g of sugar

– a pinch of salt

– 2 egg yolks

– lemon bark

For the decoration:

– 1 egg white

– a pinch of salt

– 130g powdered sugar

– food colouring

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend well until the cookie dough forms a ball. Put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. After that, roll it out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of about 3 mm, then cut out 7 cm long and 1 cm wide sticks.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and put the cookies on it. Bake at 155° for 16 minutes or until the cookies reach a ligth golden colour. Let them cool down.

In the meanwhile prepare the frosting. Whip the egg white with a pinch of salt until it forms soft peaks. While continuously whipping the whites on hig speed, slowly add the powdered sugar and the food colouring and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Dunk the cookie tips in the coloured frosting.

Let the icing on your cookies dry for at least 2 hours.

Bon appétit,

Anna and Benni!

15May2013

SUN(ny)DAY breakfast

Posted in Meringue by granellidizucchero

Quick mini Pavlova

Ingredienti:

– 2 albumi

– 65g di zucchero a velo

– 1 cucchiaio di zucchero semolato

– 1/2 cucchiaio di succo di limone

– 200g di yogurt bianco

– fragole q.b

Procedimento:

Con uno sbattitore elettrico iniziare a montare i due albumi, quando diventano bianchi aggiungere il cucchiaio di zucchero semolato, sempre continuando a sbattere ad alta velocità. Dopo qualche minuto aggiungere anche il succo di limone, poco per volta. Quando gli albumi avranno raggiunto una consistenza abbastanza solida, aggiungere lo zucchero a velo, in più parti, sempre continuando a mixare gli albumi. Per ultimo aggiungere il 1/2 cucchiaio di bicarbonato.

Una volta raggiunta una consistenza ferma e lucida, versare il composto in una sac à poche con bocchetta larga e liscia. Foderare una teglia con carta da forno e formare dei cerchi con una specie di piccolo cratere nel centro. Infornare in forno presiscaldato a 130° per almeno 1 ora e mezza.

Una volta sfornate far raffreddare. Nel frattempo tagliare le fragole in piccoli cubetti. Versare un pò di yogurt al centro delle Pavlove e guarnire con le fragole.

Bon appétit,

Anna

13May2013

My first Liebster award!!!!!

Posted in Awards by granellidizucchero

Yuppppyy!!!! I’ve been nominated for the Liebster award!!!!!

I have to thank This Must Be The Plate, in particular Chiara, for this very SPECIAL surprise!!! It’s a big honour for me and for my young blog, which is only 3 months old! Grazie, grazie, grazie!!!

The Liebster award is a nice way for bloggers to recognize other bloggers with less than 200 followers. The rules are easy to follow: thank the blogger who nominated you, answer his/her 11 questions, share 11 facts about yourself, nominate your 11 favourite blogs, ask your nominees 11 questions and inform them about their nomination.

Here are my answers to This Must Be The Plate questions:

1) What is your number 1 breakfast? La colazione del campione?

Bread, jam (preferably of raspberry), a lot of butter and coffee 🙂

2) Do you listen to music while you are cooking? If yes, of which genre? Quando cucinate ascoltate musica? Se si, che tipo?

Usually I do not listen to music while cooking unless my neighbor turns up the volume too much.

3) In my kitchen I cannot renounce to….. Quale utensile non può mancare nella vostra cucina?

….my Lékué sac à poche (thank you Ivana) 🙂

4) Which is the best pastry in your town? La miglior pasticceria della vostra città?

Obviously my home! 🙂

5) Which is the most difficult recipe you tried to prepare? La ricetta più difficile con cui vi siete cimentati?

It is the Bouillabaisse fish soup.

6) When did you start cooking? Quando avete iniziato a cucinare?

Relatively late: during my Erasmus in 2011. I had no choice!!

7) Which is your best recipe? Revel your secret! Qual è la vostra ricetta migliore? Dateci il vostro segreto!

My macarons almost always achieve success, but I do not like to reveal secrets! 😉

8) What do you love about cooking? La cosa che vi piace di più del cucinare?

About cooking, especially about baking, I love the scent that emerges from the oven. Remember: “the scent of baked goods makes people nicer“.

9) Which is the reason why you decided to become a blogger? Cosa vi ha spinto ad iniziare un blog?

I decided to become a blogger because thinking that someone could make other people happy thanks to my recipes in simply amazing!

10) Which is the best Italian traditional dish? Qual è secondo voi il miglior piatto (dolce o salato) della tradizione italiana?

Artichokes “alla romana” … I love them!!!!

11) Which is your ideal menu? Il vostro menù ideale. (Sì, può anche essere solo a base di dolci!)

My ideal menu is composed by: scallops au gratin or mussels “alla scotadeo”, sea food spaghetti, oven baked sea bass with roasted potatoes and a warm chocolate and raspberry tartlet.

Eleven things about me:

– In my past life I was a squirrel

– I have an extra stomach for desserts 🙂

– I love French-style pastries

– My ideal travel: USA, West Coast trip, old cabriolet, The Heavy – Short change hero as background music and a lot of sun!!

– I’m a perfectionist

– I hate grasshoppers

– If I don’t eat breakfast I can’t start my day

– I love warm summertime evenings at the sea

– I could eat artichokes every day of the year

– I have dual citizenship: Austrian and Italian

– In my creations I like to abound with chocolate, cream and butter

My nominees for the Liebster Award are:

– Home sweet Bakery

– This Must Be The Plate (thank you again Chiara!!!)

– Vikalinka

– Real Simple Food

– On Sugar Mountain

– Kiki’s Küchenleben

– Food Equals Happy Me

– Cooking my Religion

– Spoony Cakes

– Dessertcrisis

– Last Night A Soufflé Saved My Life

Questions for the nominees:

– How is your passion for food born?

– Do you prefer to prepare salty or sweet dishes?

– What would you prepare for a candle light dinner?

– What is the ugliest dish you ate?

– Is there any dish you associate to a nice experience?

– Which is your favourite cocktail?

– Who is your favourite chef (or pastry chef)?

– Which is the most representative dish from your city (specify which city)?

– How do you recognize a good restaurant?

– Which spice do you consider indispensable in your kitchen?

– If you were a dessert, which one would you be and why?

Congratulations to all the nominees and enjoy the Liebster Award!!!!

Bon appétit,

Anna

26Apr2013

Strawberry surprise

Posted in Cupcakes by granellidizucchero

Chocolate strawberry cupcakes

Ingredienti:

Per l’impasto ho utilizzato la stessa ricetta e lo stesso procedimento dei raspberry chocolate cupcakes.

Per la decorazione:

– 15 fragole fresche medio/piccole

– 200g di cioccolato fondente

– 200 ml di panna

– 2 cucchiai di ricotta

Procedimento:

una volta sfornati e fatti raffreddare, creare un buco in mezzo ad ogni cupcake all’interno del quale inserire una fragola.

Preparare la crema per la decorazione facendo sciogliere 200g di cioccolato fondente a bagnomaria e versandovi al suo interno 200 ml di panna portata al limite del bollore. Mescolare per qualche minuto fino ad ottenere un composto cremoso e liscio. Aggiungere 2 cucchiai di ricotta e riporre il composto in frigo per 30 minuti.

Riempire una sac-à-poche con la crema al cioccolato e, usando una bocchetta piatta, creare delle spirali a forma di rosa. Servire a temperatura ambiente!

I cupcakes con la fragola all’interno si conservano in frigorifero per non più di 2 giorni!

Bon appétit!

Anna

13Apr2013

Champ en fleur

Posted in Cakes by granellidizucchero

Cheesecake violette-lavanda

Ingredienti:

– 200g di biscotti digestive

– 80g di burro fuso

– 1/2 limone

– 300g di Philadelphia

– 300g di ricotta

– 200g di zucchero

– 150g di panna

– 3 uova

– 40g di yogurt

– 1/2 cucchiaio di farina

– violette fresche

– sciroppo di lavanda

Far sciogliere il burro a fuoco basso. Spremere mezzo limone. Tritare i biscotti digestive ed utilizzarli per coprire il fondo di una tortiera da 24cm di diametro circa. Versare il burro fuso ed il succo di limone sui biscotti tritati e compattare bene.

Tritare 2 pugni vi violette fresche appena raccolte (senza stelo).

Mettere in una ciotola la Philadelphia, la ricotta, lo zucchero, la panna, lo yogurt, la farina, le uova e lo sciroppo di lavanda (circa 2 cucchiai). Unire le violette e mescolare il composto con uno sbattitore elettrico a bassa velocità.

Versare il composto sul fondo di biscotti.

Infornare a 160° per 55 minuti. A cottura ultimata far raffreddare la torta per 3 ore e successivamente riporre in frigorifero.

Prima di servire decorare la torta con violette candite (o altri fiori commestibili).

Per le violette candite:

– 2 pugni di violette appena raccolte

– 1 albume

– 1 cucchiaio di acqua

– 50 g di zucchero a velo

Lavare le violette (senza togliere lo stelo) e farle asciugare. Sbattere leggermente un albume, senza montarlo completamente ed aggiungere il cucchiaio d’acqua. Immergere le violette nell’albume, tenendole per lo stelo, e successivamente nello zucchero a velo, controllando che vengano coperte completamente. Farle asciugare su un pezzo di carta oleata per 2 giorni almeno.