I think I might have said this already, but growing up I never liked berries. The berries you find in Italy are often too sour for my taste buds, so I never enjoyed eating them (well, apart from the times I would actually pick them on the mountains… but that’s another story!). So I was…
SCONES
Oh no, this is not an Italian recipe. In fact, scones are unknown in Italy. A few weeks ago, I went out for high tea (again, something not Italian at all) with some girl friends (they were Italian though! ;-)) and among all sorts of yummy goodies, they served us scones with cream & strawberries…
RUM, DATE AND PECAN ICE CREAM – THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB
And it is time again for the “Secret recipe club” reveal! I am sure you all know what the club is about, but for the few of you who still don’t know about it, here goes a brief explanation. Each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in…
DARK CHOCOLATE AND MACADAMIA NUT BROWNIES
This is obviously not a typical Italian recipe and, unlike many of you, I haven’t grown up eating and baking brownies. I have discovered them relatively late in life, but it was “love at first bite”. And how could it not be? I adore chocolate! After eating them once, I tried to find a recipe…
CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND COOKIES
My mom often used to make these cookies for me when I was a child. I used to love them… but is there a child who does not like chocolate cookies? I don’t think so. But these are special, as the almond meal gives them a little extra flavour. Besides, they are really easy and…
HALLOWEEN TREATS
I must admit I have never celebrated Halloween before moving to Australia. When I was a child, we did not have Halloween in Italy. We used to celebrate the 2nd of November which is “All Souls Day” (or “il giorno dei morti” as we call it). That’s the day we remember our loved ones who…
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN TEA CAKES – THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB
Another month has passed and it is time again for the “Secret recipe club” reveal! I am sure everyone knows what the club is about, but for the few of you who still don’t know about it, here goes a brief explanation. Each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe…
ROSEWATER, CARDAMOM AND PISTACHIO CAKE – GUEST POST FROM DIVYA OF FLAVOUR FIESTA
As you probably know, I am enjoying some well-deserved R&R with my family and have organized a few guest posts for Manu’s Menu to leave you all in great company while I am gone. This is the last guest post for now as I will be back very soon, but I am already thinking of…
Matcha Ice Cream (Green Tea Ice Cream)
With earthy matcha, sweet cream, and a smooth frozen finish, Matcha Ice Cream scoops like a dream and melts slowly into a delicate green tea sweetness.
PINEAPPLE SORBET
I bought a beautiful pineapple to make Salmon with pomegranate molasses glaze and had more than half left. It had a fantastic aroma, but was a little on the sour side, so I thought of making something I had never made before: sorbet. I have made ice cream many times, but had never tried to…
TAHITIAN LIME MOUSSE SHOOTERS – THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB
This is the second month I am participating in the “Secret recipe club” and I LOVE it! It is a great concept… each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in turn someone else will be assigned your blog. All you have to do is choose a recipe,…
LEMON MERINGUE PIE – MERINGATA AL LIMONE
This is a more fruity version of the classic meringue pie, which I will surely make later on. Being that it is summer for most people in the world, I thought of sharing my recipe for a lemon meringue pie, which is definitely more refreshing in taste. This pie also brings back very happy memories…
PIADINE WITH SWEET FILLINGS
Some time ago I shared with you my friend Marco’s recipe for piadine. They are a fantastic bread-like street food from Romagna in Italy, filled with all sorts of yummy goodies. I shared with you the recipe of a savory piadina filled with stracchino, prosciutto slices and rocket salad and I can tell you that…
QUICK AND EASY BLUEBERRY TRIFLE
This is a very easy dessert recipe that can be prepared in a matter of minutes. The thing is it looks very nice and elaborate, so it will impress anyone you serve it to. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect dessert? After having prepared an entree, a main and a side dish and having spent…
GELATO DI CASTAGNE – CHESTNUT ICE CREAM
This is one of those recipes that I sometimes create on the spur of the moment because I do not want to waste something that I have left over from another recipe. Don’t these kinds of recipes often turn out terrific? I had some sweet chestnut infused milk left over from making Mont Blanc and…
MONTE BIANCO – MONT BLANC
This is the recipe of a dessert that is quite popular both in France and Italy. In fact, the 2 nations share a border and the highest mountain in Europe (Monte Bianco/Mont Blanc) which gives the name to this dessert made with chestnuts, whipped cream and chocolate. Its shape reminds of a mountain covered in…
Semifreddo al Torroncino
Cold, creamy semifreddo with crunchy torrone, finished with warm chocolate sauce, makes Semifreddo al Torroncino with Hot Chocolate Sauce satisfying from the first spoonful.
TORRONE MORBIDO E TORRONCINI AL CIOCCOLATO – CHOCOLATE COVERED HONEY AND MIXED NUT NOUGAT
Torrone is one of the most popular sweets eaten in Italy for Christmas. It never fails to make its appearance on our Christmas table. It comes in many variations… it can be hard as a rock, soft and chewy, plain, covered in chocolate, flavoured with fruits, almond based, hazelnut based… you name it. I had…
GINGERBREAD MEN
These are definitely not Italian traditional cookies, but I have always loved them and I have made them every Christmas since moving to Australia (my girls leave some on a plate for Santa to eat on Christmas Eve along with a glass of milk…). I guess you could say it’s an “acquired” tradition in our…
KRAPFEN – MY GUEST POST AT BIG FAT BAKER
Today I am guest posting over at Erin’s blog: Big Fat Baker. I am so happy and honoured to be her guest! I love her site, don’t you all? Make sure you visit it now if you haven’t yet as you will find so many delicious dessert ideas! I always make sure to visit it…
FOODBUZZ 24×24: CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Since I moved to Australia from Italy 5 years ago I haven’t gotten used to the “reversed” seasons yet. For someone who has spent the majority of her life in the Northern hemisphere where it is summer in July and winter in December, I have to live with the seasons reversed and believe me, it…
ORANGE AND CHOCOLATE FLAVOURED MARZIPAN BALLS
This is another amazing marzipan based treat. You find these sweets in the medieval mountain top town of Erice, in Sicily, a town that is renowned for its almond based sweets. Since discovering Maria Grammatico’s recipe book, I have been making all her amazing sweets, one after the other. If you follow this blog, you…
CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY MINI CUPCAKES
I have only recently discovered the “world of cupcakes”. I had never eaten one before moving to Australia and I had not made any up until a month ago when I made my Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes for the first time. Victoria adores cupcakes: she cannot resist them! Whenever she sees them at a party,…
VICTORIA’S 4TH BIRTHDAY
As many of you know, these last few days have been quite hectic for me as I have been organising my eldest daughter’s birthday. Victoria turned 4 on July 16th and we had a nice and quite family day. We hid her birthday presents and she had fun finding them and opening them. She loved…
TRIPLE SALTED CARAMEL CUPCAKES AND THE GIVEAWAY WINNER
I must admit it: I am officially in love with salted caramel! I have discovered only recently and now it is on the top of my “sweet treats” list! As always when I like something, I have to find a recipe to make it at home so that I can have it whenever I feel…
ADRIANO ZUMBO – MACARONS REVIEW
A couple of weeks ago I started a section on reviews. If you have missed the first review of the series, make sure to check it out as it was about some of the best pizza in Sydney at Caffe’ Moretti. Today I am changing topic: no pizza, no Italian food at all. Since I…
QUINCE JELLY MACARONS AND MY FIRST GIVEAWAY
After making cotognata I had some left over “quince water” in which I had cooked the quinces… that liquid makes some fantastic quince jelly! But I did not want to eat the jelly by itself… I wanted to make something unique to celebrate a special occasion, but more on that later. What’s more special than…








































