As Paddy’s Day is fast approaching, I thought of sharing a classic recipe: Irish coffee. You know I love my coffee and I generally have espresso (better yet, macchiato), but on a cold winter’s evening, I love to indulge with something more. Irish coffee is simply delicious and very easy to make. It is the…
Creamy Nutella Liqueur #nutelladay
Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso have declared February 5th “World Nutella Day 2014″ – “a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella”. Raise your hand if you like Nutella!!! If I had to ask this question in an Italian classroom… I would probably be surrounded by…
DELIZIA ALL’AMARETTO
If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, chances are you have already seen a picture of this cake. It was so delicious and it looked so pretty, that I couldn’t resist and gave everyone a sneak peek of it. We had if for our New Year lunch and it was very successful. It is…
JASMINE AND MANGO PANNA COTTA SHOOTERS
These panna cotta shooters are a very elegant and exotic dessert. I believe they would be the perfect dessert for any New Year’s Eve dinner party. When I smell jasmine, I am always brought back in time… you see, in the house I used to spend my summer holidays in Sicily, we had a beautiful…
SALTED CARAMEL PANNA COTTA
You know how much I love panna cotta, but what you may not know is that I consider it my “go to” dessert for when I have little time, but still want to impress my guests. You do need to make it in advance, but it comes together in 15 to 20 minutes. It is…
HOME-MADE MASCARPONE
Today I want to share a little secret with you: mascarpone is probably the easiest cheese to make at home. Really. Anyone can make it and it only requires 2 ingredients: cream and lemon juice. I usually buy mine at the grocery store, but I must confess I am not totally happy with the mascarpone…
PARMIGIANO REGGIANO PANNA COTTA
I know I know… I am sure you are thinking that I must have gone mad. Yes, Parmigiano Reggiano is a cheese and Yes again, Panna Cotta is (usually) a dessert. But hear me out. What is panna cotta made of? Basically, cream. To which we add flavours, milk (sometimes), gelatine and sugar. If you…
BAILEY’S MOUSSE
Happy Paddy’s Day everyone! Raise your hand if you love Bailey’s! I DO!!! I am not a very keen wine drinker (I know I know… very un-Italian…), but cocktails, sweet wines and sweet liquors are a different matter. And Bailey’s is one of my favourite… to drink and to cook with. That is why in…
CRÈME VIENNOISE CHOCOLAT
Today’s recipe is sinful. It is a chocoholic’s dream. So… my dream! While growing up in Italy, I would sometimes be treated to a “ready made” chocolate cream produced by a well known French company and it used to be my all time favourite snack! Well, this recipe is very close to that cream, only… it is better. …
TRUFFLE HONEY & VANILLA CRÈME BRÛLÉE
A little while ago, my husband and I went out to have dinner at a delightful restaurant called Chophouse. We ate really well and I was particularly impressed by their Wagyu Tartare with truffle aioli, pear, pine nuts & white soy dressing and by their Wagyu Striploin with harissa… divine! Also, I was pleasantly surprised…
WHITE CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA SHOOTERS WITH RASPBERRY COULIS
If you are not new on this site, you will know that I love all desserts that you can eat with a spoon: mousses, creams, trifles… and panna cotta! I also like individual servings and I have been making these panna cotta shooters for a while now. I often take them to friends’ houses for…
ITALIAN STYLE HOT CHOCOLATE WITH WHIPPED CREAM
Italian winters can be really cold. I miss the short days, cosy evenings and heart warming food that we used to have during those cold months. The truth is, it never gets that cold here. One of the special treats we would have in winter was hot chocolate. The Italian hot chocolate is creamy, thick and sinful. …
PISTACHIO AND CARDAMOM SEMIFREDDO WITH ROSE CREAM
Today I want to share with you the recipe for a special dessert. A few weeks ago, my friend Abeer from Cake Whiz asked me if I wanted to be a part of a special project she was working on for Christmas. She asked a few of her favourite bloggers to come up with a Christmas…
SOFT VANILLA & PINK SALT CARAMELS
I made these caramels to give away as presents for Christmas this year. I had wanted to try and make my own caramels for ages, but all the recipes I came across had corn syrup as one of the ingredients and I wasn’t very keen on it… especially since I have never seen it around…
HOME-MADE BAILEYS IRISH CREAM
Baileys is at the top of my list of favourite liquors. I love it plain or in cocktails… and I also use it to make sweets. I make a killer Baileys Ice Cream and I always recommend it to people who want an easy ice cream recipe that does not even require an ice cream…
Peppa Pig Muddy Puddle Cups
Bring giggles to little faces with Peppa Pig Muddy Puddle Cups. Creamy chocolate panna cotta, crumbly cookies, and sweet fizzy worms turn playtime in a cup into a tasty party treat. If you have ever seen an episode of Peppa Pig, you will know Peppa’s favourite game is jumping up and down in muddy puddles….
PAPPARDELLE WITH RADICCHIO AND SPECK
Radicchio (pronounced rah-DEE-kee-oh) is a chicory very specific to certain areas of Northern Italy, especially Veneto. There are a few varieties, but Chioggia (the round kind) and Treviso (the elongated kind) are the most common. I have only ever seen Treviso in Sydney, so that’s what I have used for this recipe, but the round variety…
QUICHE LORRAINE
Today I am going to share the recipe for a Quiche Lorraine. I am saying A Quiche Lorraine because there are many variations of this classic French dish and I am not claiming this to be THE traditional one. Actually, it looks like the original Quiche Lorraine did not have any milk or cheese in…
VANILLA PANNA COTTA WITH PASSION FRUIT COULIS
Today’s recipe is a delicious twist on a classic Italian dessert. The base is a simple and evergreen vanilla panna cotta (a great addition to any home chef skill set), but I think the passion fruit coulis on the top is the best part and it gives it a very exotic touch. I also love…
CRÈME BRÛLÉE
Today I want to share with you the recipe of a popular French dessert: crème brûlée. It is one of those dishes that should be in every food lover cookbook as it is a classic, simple yet sophisticated dish that pleases everyone. I personally love it and it is one of my husband’s weaknesses. I…
PARMIGIANO REGGIANO GELATO
Today I want to share with you a recipe that may sound unusual, but it is one of the best appetisers I have eaten in a looong time: gelato made with Parmigiano Reggiano! It is very easy to make, yet it is very fancy… it is one of those dishes that I love serving at…
BLUE BORAGE HONEY ICE CREAM WITH HONEY GLAZED WALNUTS
If you have been following my blog for some time, you will know that a little over a year ago, my family and I went to New Zealand’s north island for a short holiday. During our trip, we came across a great little shop that sold all kinds of honey and honey products: Huka Honey…
PEACH AND ALMOND TRIFLE
Today’s recipe is another “spur of the moment” kind of recipe. I made it a while ago and forgot all about it, until today when I was organising my archive. I actually made it to finish up some of the crema pasticcera, cream and pan di spagna that I had left over from making my…
MINI CHEESECAKE CUPCAKES
I love cheesecake… who doesn’t? I have made my share of no-bake cheesecakes, but to tell you the truth, I still have to make a baked cheesecake at home. Don’t ask me why, but baking a cheesecake always intimidated me. After making these little gems though, I think I am going to have to bake myself…
PAVLOVA
The last recipe from my “Come have some Aussie tucker, mate!” party is the Pavlova recipe. I kept the best for last… I have to warn you. It is not an easy dessert to make and mine did not come out perfect either, as it did crack a bit. Luckily the taste was not affected…
TORTA MIMOSA – MIMOSA CAKE
Tomorrow, March 8th, we celebrate International Woman’s Day, a day to honour women around the world for their accomplishments and to remember those who still need empowerment! What celebration would it be without a cake?? In Italy, men usually gift the women in their lives mimosa flowers for this special occasion. Mimosa has become the…
EASY MERINGUE PIE – MERINGATA VELOCE
Yesterday was my birthday! YAY! Well… usually my husband buys me a chocolate cake from my favourite patisserie in town, but this year he was working in the other side of town and there was no way he could get there in time. So, I made myself a very quick but delicious birthday cake as…
