Tag: Sweet

Charcoal Sweet Recipe – Italian Cuisine – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients

500 g caster sugar
120 g icing sugar
egg white
lemon juice

Duration: 30 min

Level: Easy

Dose: 600 people

For the sweet charcoal recipe, dissolve the granulated sugar in 250 g of water in a saucepan, mix until it boils and let it continue to boil for 2-3 minutes without stirring. In the meantime, line a pan with triple the volume of granulated sugar with parchment paper.

Separately mix the icing sugar with a spoonful of egg white and a few drops of lemon juice to obtain a smooth glaze. Check the temperature of the granulated sugar syrup with the thermometer: when it has reached 142 ° C, add the glaze, stirring constantly from the center of the saucepan to the edges. In a few seconds the mixture will begin to swell.

Pour it immediately into the pan lined with parchment paper: the volume will double, then collapse crystallizing in a compound similar to rock. Be careful because the sugar, even if it seems cold, is actually very hot inside. Wait 10 minutes, then turn the sugar block onto a sheet of parchment paper and break it into pieces.

Roscón de Reyes: sweet King of Spain – Italian Cuisine

Roscón de Reyes is a dessert typical of the Spanish Christmas holidays. Simple or filled with cream, this sweet bread that smells of butter and orange blossom is a must for the Epiphany breakfast. And in the dough it also hides a surprise!

Some dishes, especially traditional dishes, have an enormous evocative power. They don't just talk about ingredients, but about people, stories, traditions. The Roscón de Reyes it's a age-old dessert, which in Spain is now the protagonist of the entire holiday season.
Eggs, butter and orange blossom water are some of its ingredients. The result is one big donut, a dough similar to a brioche, covered with candied fruit, laminated almonds and granulated sugar.
Simple or cut in half and seasoned with cream, cream and sweet truffle, marzipan, cream yema quemada or whatever comes to mind from an inspired pastry chef, this cake never fails Spanish tables the morning of January 6. It is accompanied with a cup of hot chocolate, surrounded by friends and family. The joy for newly discarded gifts (in Spain it is traditional to exchange gifts on Epiphany day) does the rest.

The magical powers of the Roscón de Reyes

The funniest feature of this dessert with a high sentimental content is that it hides one in the dough surprise it's a dried fava bean. The reason for this peculiarity must be sought in history. Or in stories.
According to some, the origin of the Roscón de Reyes dates back to Roman times, specifically to the Saturnalia, the celebrations that took place between 17 and 23 of December in honor of Saturn, god of agriculture. These are the days that coincide with the winter solstice and the end of work in the field and those that allow us to glimpse, shortly thereafter, even the end of the darkest and coldest days of the year. The light after the darkness.
During the celebrations, cakes were prepared in whose dough a dried bean was hidden. The slave who was lucky enough to find her stopped being a slave to become the "king of the party" for a day.
Juan. H. Sampelayo, in his book 'Gastronomía española', moved the origin of the Roscón de Reyes to the France of Henry III, between 1574 and 1589. He says that the king's pastry chefs used to cook a huge donut hiding, of new !, a fava bean in the dough. The diner who was lucky enough to find her turned into a king and could give "orders to ministers and advice to ambassadors". In this way, the Roscón would arrive directly on the table of the first Bourbon King, Philip V in the eighteenth century and from him to the other Spanish kings. In this sense, el Roscón de Reyes would be a close relative of the French Galette des Rois.
With the passage of time, however, the broad bean she has lost her "magical powers" and has been replaced by one little surprise: a figurine, a tiny toy, a key ring (of what we might find in the chocolate egg).
Those who, when cutting a slice of Roscón, find the surprise, become the "king of the party" and have the right to gird their heads with a cardboard crown that comes as a gift with this dessert. Not to mention that the donut covered with candied fruit is reminiscent of a crown studded with precious stones. Usually, adults give the crown to children, who are the big stars of the last of the Christmas holidays!
Be careful though, the bean continues to play a role, even if it is no longer so positive: whoever finds it now has to pay the Roscón. Or return the money to those who bought it!

All versions of the Roscón de Reyes

As often happens with traditional recipes, there are as many versions of Roscón in Spain as there are pastry chefs with their hands in the dough. The secret of the perfect Roscón is the leavening, preferably double: the dough, once cooked, must be spongy and light. A mission that is far from easy, which explains the endless queues of gourmet patients outside the most renowned pastry shops, such as Moulin Chocolat y el Horno de San Onofre in Madrid. Better to book then and avoid nasty surprises: receiving the Three Kings without a piece of this wonderful dessert would be a crime!

Not the usual gateau: the sweet potato pie – Italian Cuisine

The potato gateau it is a dish that everyone likes, just everyone.
Would you like to try it in an "American style" version?
We use them sweet potatoes then.

Don't call it a gateau

The sweet potatoes are now available in all supermarkets and are prepared exactly like yellow potatoes, but they have a slightly sweeter taste and a very hard texture.
They should be cooked a little longer and are perfect for the preparation of savory dishes, but above all sweet.
We want to try using them to cook one potato pie a little revisited.
We will then add del tasty cheese to counter the sweetness of potatoes and then many herbs to give an aromatic touch. Are you curious to try?

Sweet potato pie recipe

First cook, starting from cold water, 500 g of potatoes peeled and cut into equal pieces.
Once soft mash with a fork or a potato masher.
They must become a puree, but you can also leave them a coarse p0 ′ for a more rustic version.
Then mix them with two small eggs or one large egg, a nut of butter, two spoons of parmesan, herbs mixed chopped with knife and bread crumbs just enough.
You can then decide whether to create a pie with a "cheesy" heart, or directly add the pieces of cheese in the mixture before baking.

But which cheese?

You can really choose what you prefer because with sweet potatoes everything is fine.
If you want a sharp contrast choose the feta which is super savory; if you want a tasty contrast choose the gorgonzola creamy and blue; if you want a delicate contrast choose the fontina which is also racy.
You can also add the mozzarella cheese, but remember to dry it very well first.

How to cook the pie

You can choose to serve the pie in portionsthen buttered aluminum molds, sprinkle them with breadcrumbs and then fill them, perhaps with the heart of cheese.
Once cooked at 200 ° for about 15 minutes portion them with a side dish of vegetables like Brussels sprouts which are a little bitter and perfect in contrast, or with leafy vegetables sauté in the pan.
If you want to prepare one instead single pan, in the same way butter it well, sprinkle it with the breadcrumbs and then fill it.
The surface of the pie must always be sprinkled with breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan and before baking it is important to add a few flakes of butter that will melt during cooking and create a nice golden crust.

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