Tag: Desserts

Befana desserts: alternative desserts to try – Gordon Ramsay’s version

The Befana festival closes the Christmas period with traditions and characteristic desserts. If you are passionate about food and wine and want to experience something different from the classic Christmas desserts, this article is for you. We offer you a selection of alternative desserts that combine international and local flavours, ideal for surprising your guests during the Epiphany celebrations.

A touch of internationality

Croquembouche, the French dessert recipe you will love

The croquembouche is an imposing tower of cream puffs, typical of French pastry making, which combines elegance and refined taste. Its spectacular structure and the delicate flavor of the stuffed cream puffs make it an ideal dessert to celebrate the Epiphany great styleadding a touch of French charm to your table.

Apple tarte tatin, the easy recipe to make at home

The apple tarte tatin, a classic of French cuisine, is an upside-down cake with candy apples. This dessert, simple but rich in flavour, is a perfect choice for those who want to combine the tradition of apples, a typically winter fruit, with an original and tasty preparation.

Creative and innovative desserts

Apple donuts, the recipe with very easy puff pastry

Apple donuts with puff pastry are a quick and delicious dessert, ideal for those looking for a simple but effective solution. The combination of apples and puff pastry creates a sweet, fragrant and lightperfect to accompany an afternoon tea or as a sweet end to a meal during the Epiphany celebration.

Meringue walnut cake, the easy recipe with a delicate flavour

Meringue walnut cake is a dessert with a delicate flavor and a rich texture. The combination of nuts and meringue creates an interesting contrast between crunchy and soft, making this dessert an excellent choice for those who want to offer their guests a unique and refined tasting experience.

Cannoncini with tiramisu, the perfect dessert-saving recipe for any occasion

Tiramisu cannoncini are a creative reinterpretation of the classic Italian dessert. These small desserts are perfect for those who want to end the meal with a touch of originality, combining the crunchiness of the cannoncini with the creaminess of the tiramisu. They are ideal for any occasion, especially for a novel Epiphany party.

These alternative desserts represent the perfect opportunity to explore new flavors and present your guests with original proposals during the Epiphany celebrations. Each dessert has been chosen not only for its unique flavor, but also for its ability to add a special and memorable touch to your festive table.

Bon appetit and happy Epiphany celebration!

Neapolitan Roccocò: Christmas desserts with the ancient medieval recipe with the secret of Neapolitan Pisto – Gordon Ramsay’s version

The Roccocos: The history of the Neapolitan Roccoco is nothing short of particular and has very ancient origins. Imagine having a time machine at your disposal and going back to the Middle Ages, precisely to the period in which Sancha of Aragon became the wife of King Robert of Anjou. Having become Duchess, she established a convent that could welcome and save prostitutes. The convent was located in Naples in the Maddalena area and therefore took the name of “Real Convento della Maddalena”. It was the nuns of the convent who invented the Roccocothe typical Christmas sweets with an ugly appearance but a surprising taste.

Round and made from almonds, their consistency is particularly hard. The name derives from the French “roccaille”, due to the shape that resembles a shell or the rocky consistency. It should not be forgotten that at the time relations between the Kingdom of Naples and France were excellent, which is why the nuns were influenced by a French term for the creation of the Rococo. But what characteristics must a Roccoco to be defined as a true Neapolitan rococo?

Very simple, it must be donut shaped, it must be hard and it must contain a special ingredient, the Neapolitan pisto. Don’t know what it is? No problem, I’ll explain it to you shortly. But first let’s dispel a myth. As already mentioned above, among the main characteristics of one of the Neapolitan desserts par excellence, there is the hard consistency.
There’s no point in clinging to recent news that offers a soft version. True Neapolitan rococo must be tough, or “tuost”. Precisely because of this characteristic they are also called “tooth breakers”, because a more risky bite could cause considerable damage to the teeth.

Once upon a time, in fact, Roccocos were soaked in a fortified wine to soften their consistency. Among the most used was, for example, Marsala. Today this custom has been lost and Rococo therefore remains hard and a little difficult to bite.

Roccocò: Here is the original recipe

Ingredients:

300 g of flour
150 g of toasted almonds
200 g of sugar
3 g of pisto
3 g of ammonia
peel of 1 orange
water to taste
1 pinch of salt
1 egg

Method:

Start by combining flour, sugar, orange peel and pisto (HERE IS THE RECIPE FOR THE ORIGINAL NEAPOLITAN PISTO) Dissolve a pinch of salt in warm water and add to the mixture until it becomes kneadable. Then add the coarsely crumbled almonds (if you want you can also use hazelnuts instead or in addition) and finally the ammonia. Divide the dough into pieces, first cut into cords using your hands and then into round donuts of more or less equal size.

If you want, you can use some whole almonds pto decorate its surface. Used the beaten egg to brush the top of the Roccoco and make them so shiny and of their typical brownish color. Then cook in a preheated oven at 180° for about 25 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Original recipe for Neapolitan Christmas desserts (step by step) – Gordon Ramsay’s version

THE Raffioli (Raffiuoli) are gods Christmas sweets typical of Neapolitan tradition. It’s about soft cakes low from oval shape similar to Sponge cake ; brushstrokes of jam And covered with white icing Made of sugar, water and lemon juice. A goodness that was born in 1700 by the Benedictine nuns of the Convent of San Gregorio Armeno to Naples; who created these sweet ravioli(hence the name would derive ‘Raffioli’ (in Neapolitan ‘Raffiuoli’); getting inspired right to fresh pasta ravioli typical of Northern Italy. In the month of December they are depopulated in every pastry shop in Campania and how tradition rules; they come served And give yourself away For Christmas And New Year’s together with the better known Struffoli, the spicy Roccocò, the Mostaccioli and the Susamielli! If you want too prepare them at home ; today for you Raffioli recipe with all the Advice illustrated with step by step photos to make them happen like those of the best Neapolitan pastry shops.

Like any regional recipe they exist different variationsincluding the delicious ones Raffiuoli ‘a Cassata’ filled with ricotta And chocolate chips and subsequently frosted; so called because they are reminiscent of the Sicilian Cassata. In this case I give you the Original recipe of the Classic simple raffioli of my family. A simple preparation which requires a bit of be careful for some passages: including mounting eggs well so that during cooking they bases are softbeing a dough without yeast. Then the precise formation of the scraps. The secret for a pastry shop result it is in the glazing double, so that appears white And thick beyond that Crisp to the bite e meltable! In the process you will find the tricks!
Excellent the next day when all the flavors have settled in and come through perfectly dry! Ideal as dessert at the end of the mealYes they keep for many days and for this reason they are also perfect for package as a tasty gift together with almond paste!

Raffioli recipe

PREPARATION TIMES

Preparation	Cooking	Total
30 minutes + icing drying time	30 minutes	1h

Ingredients

Quantity for 20 pieces
For the basics: 2 eggs 60 g of sugar 60 g of flour vanilla For the icing:

Quantity for 20 pieces

For the basics:

2 eggs

60 g of sugar

60 g of flour

vanilla

For the icing:

Method

How to make raffioli

First of all, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla for 10 minutes until the mixture has quadrupled in volume.

Then fold in the flour gently from bottom to top with a spatula, so as not to dismantle the mixture. It must be very frothy and dense.

Then use a disposable piping bag, cut it into 1 cm and form oval cakes, about 7 cm long, directly on a baking tray lined with baking paper. At least 5 – 6 cm away from each other because they tend to swell during cooking:

how to make raffioli

This operation is very important to be precise, so if you are not familiar with it I will leave you a trick! which is the same for making Macarons.

First of all drawn with a pencil on the baking paper oval shapesI will be easy to get the perfect shape!

Finally, cook in the oven, one tray at a time at 180° in a very hot static oven for about 12 – 15 minutes. Check without opening that they are well swollen, otherwise leave a few more minutes.

Then take them out of the oven, remove from the mold and leave to cool completely on a wire rack, while you complete the rest.

How to glaze Raffioli

Only when they are very cold, mix sugar with filtered lemon juice little by little.

The icing must be smooth, fluid and full-bodied. Add hot water only if necessary to dissolve.

Then brush the surface of your raffioli with the previously sifted jam, creating a layer of a few millimetres.

Finally, dip each slice completely into the icing, then lift it from the base with a spatula or fork and place on a wire rack: glaze the raffioli

Proceed in this way for all your desserts and leave the first round of icing to dry completely for about 2 hours

Then proceed to frost again, reviving your frosting with one – two drops of hot water, without overdoing it otherwise it will liquefy.

Finally let it dry completely before serving.

Here are yours ready Raffioli

raffioli

They keep perfectly for 10 days, in a glass or tin box. After the first 3 days, place in the fridge and serve at room temperature.