I don’t know about you, but I always have ripe bananas on my bench top! My kids have this annoying habit of insisting that I buy bananas for them and then they don’t want to eat them. And I never learn… Anyhow, thank God for banana bread! I really like having a slice of it…
Eggless Chocolate Cake
Recently we celebrated my eldest daughter’s 9th birthday. We usually have a party at our place and I take care of the food (remember the Frozen theme?), but this year we had to do something a bit different. Due to my recent surgery, I was not able to organise the usual spread of food, so…
Cherry Frangipane Cake
It’s cake time! I made this Cherry Frangipane Cake in December (I know, I know… a LONG time ago!) for my mother’s birthday. It was amazing! My mother had brought me the recipe as a cut-out from an Italian magazine and it looked too good not to give it a go. It’s actually quite easy to…
Panforte di Siena
Today I’d like to share with you a traditional Christmas recipe from the beautiful Tuscan town of Siena: Panforte di Siena. Literally, panforte means “strong bread” which refers to its spicy flavour and it is a very ancient recipe. It appears that panforte was already made in the 1200’s and guess what? It used to…
Rapunzel Cake
My youngest daughter Georgia just turned 6. I usually organise a party at our place, but this year she asked for something different. She wanted to celebrate her birthday at the bowling and invite some of her friends. And so we did. All I had to do was to make the birthday cake. Like all…
Yogurt and Nutella Ciambellone
Today I want to share with you a classic Italian recipe: Yogurt and Nutella Ciambellone. Ciambellone literally means “big doughnut” and you can easily see why… It is a classic Italian cake and we usually eat it for breakfast. It is soft and moist and it is relatively healthier than other cakes as it does…
Rosette Cake
I made this cake for my eldest daughter’s birthday party. As she turned 8, she wanted something a little bit more “grown up” than the usual fondant cakes. The theme of the party was “high tea”, so I though that a Rosette Cake would do the trick. This was my first Rosette cake and my…
Victoria’s 8th Birthday
On the 16th my eldest daughter turned 8!!! I cannot believe it’s been 8 years already since the first time I got to hold her in my arms. She was so tiny! <3 And now she is turning into a beautiful girl. We love you so much princess and we are all very proud…
Torta di Mele della Nonna
Today’s recipe is literally called “Granny’s Apple Cake”, but it’s not my granny’s recipe. It is indeed, a very classic Italian style apple cake, one that my granny would have loved. I have a thing for apple cakes and pies. I find them really comforting. As it is the beginning of winter here in Australia (and…
Razzleberry Pie
The combination of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries plus a crumb topping makes for a scrumptious Razzleberry Pie! As you know, I am travelling at the moment, so I thought of asking some of my favourite food blogger friends to come over and share some of their amazing creations with all of you! I told you…
Migliaccio
Today is Mardis Gras… and in Italy it is the last day of Carnevale. Carnevale is one of the festivities I miss the most. As a child, I loved going around the streets in my town all dressed up, playing pranks and throwning coloured confetti at my friends. The best time of all was the…
Angelica Cake with Nutella
Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso have declared February 5th “World Nutella Day 2015″ – “a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella”. Raise your hand if you like Nutella!!! It’s got quite a few fans in my house! So, World Nutella Day is always awelcome around…
Vanilla Cupcakes with Jasmine Buttercream
I must admit that this is one of those recipes that came about by chance. Actually, it was created out of… leftovers. I once made my Lavender and Jasmine Macarons and did not use all the Jasmine buttercream. I had no intention of throwing it out and, even though the temptation was quite strong, I resisted…
Chocolate Cake with Zabaione
Hello and Happy New Year everyone! This is my first post for 2015 and to celebrate the beginning of a new year, it just had to be a dessert… and a chocolate one at that. This is a very easy and moist chocolate cake, made with very little flour. It is not too sweet, and…
Pandoro
Christmas in Italy means Panettone or Pandoro. There’s a huge rivalry between the supporters of these two traditional sweets and very often people who like one will tell you they dislike the other.
Paw Print Cupcakes
I made these Paw Print Cupcakes for my daughter’s 5th birthday party. The theme was “kittens”, as Georgia loves cats, so these cupcakes fitted the bill perfectly. Not only, they were also very easy to make and decorate and the results were excellent. I love how they look! I made some vanilla cupcakes as a…
Playful Kitten Cake
My youngest daughter loves animals and she has a true passion for cats. So, this year, she chose to have a Kitty Cat party to celebrate her 5th birthday. I had seen some Playful Kitten Cakes around the web before and I immediately decided to try my hands at one, as they perfectly fitted the…
Georgia’s 5th Birthday
On the 1st my youngest daughter turned 5!! I cannot believe she is 5 already and that in January she will be going to “big school”. Georgia is definitely ready for it… mum, not so much. She’s the baby of the house and seeing her grow up so fast is both amazing and scary. She…
Crespelle Cake with Broccoli
A few months ago, I shared with you the recipe for another Crespelle “cake” made with asparagus and I liked it so much that I decided to make it again using other vegetables. This time, it’s broccoli. I adore broccoli, it is one of my favourite vegetables. I have adapted a classic pairing of Italian cuisine…
Nutella and Mascarpone Pie
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. It is a great concept… each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a…
Orchid and Chocolate Cupcakes
If you have been following Manu’s Menu for a while, you would have noticed that the site got a bit of a make-over. I have been thinking about changing the look of my blog for a while, but never really took the plunge… until now. There are still a few issues to fix and I…
Condensed Milk and Coconut Cake
As you may know, my eldest daughter loves everything coconut at the moment, and she has a very sweet tooth (she took after her daddy in this). So she always wants something sweet in her school lunch box and I try to make something from scratch for her, so at least I know what she…
