Time needed: 1 Hour and 30 Mins

Categories
Cake Dessert Dinner Gluten free Vegetarian

Delicious Chocolate Capri Cake or Torta Caprese

 How to prepare the real recipe of the Italian Chocolate Capri Cake or “Torta Caprese”

A traditional cake from one of the most beautiful Islands in Italy: CAPRI!

This tasty almond and chocolate cake is from this wonderful island. The origin: the cook would indeed forget to put the flour in a chocolate cake with almonds. A fatal mistake, which has created one of the most popular desserts and appreciated by so many palates. Traditionally made on the island of Capri, this cake has a delicious aroma. Without using flour for the pan (and using parchment paper instead) this is a delicious gluten free recipe.

 

 

Ingredients for a pan of 26-28 cm

  • 350 grams Allmond, peeled and toasted
  • 250 grams of Dark Chocolate 70%
  • 200 grams of Unsalted Butter
  • 200 grams of powder Sugar
  • 6 medium Eggs (50 grams each)
  • a pinch of Salt
  • Butter and flour for the pan or use parchment paper for a gluten free recipe
  • Cocoa Powder for a pan
  • Powder sugar for a top cake

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, grease and flour a pan of 26-28 cm.

2. In a mixer finely chop the almonds with a teaspoon of sugar. Melt slowly the dark chocolate and unsalted butter together “a bagnomaria”, in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, until chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Remove from heat. Important: do not burn the chocolate!

3. Beat the egg yolks, 200 grams of powder sugar and a pinch of salt together in a bowl with a whisk or an electric mixer until pale and very thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chocolate with butter and almonds.

4. Beat the egg whites until stiff, add to the mixture slowly and gently, folding from bottom up, making sure you don’t loose the volume. Into the pan previously completely covered with butter and flour – use a gluten free flour or a parchment paper for a fully gluten free recipe – add the cocoa powder at the bottom and then add the full mixture.

5. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, after that let it rest outside the oven for 15 minutes and remove from the pan. Invert the cake on a serving dish. When cool, dust with powdered sugar. Simply delicious. Enjoy.

Posted by Nicoletta and Tiziana

The Real Italian Food. Buon Appetito!

 

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Categories
Lunch Main Pasta Vegetarian

Ravioli Pasta with Ricotta Cheese and Spinach or Ravioli Ricotta e Spinaci

How to prepare the real Italian recipe of Ravioli with Ricotta Cheese and Spinach filling or “Ravioli Ricotta e Spinaci”, sage and butter sauce

The ravioli with ricotta cheese and spinach are a classic first course. They represent one of the best-known uses of fresh egg pasta. The filling of ricotta and spinach is light and fresh.

This is a simple stuffed ravioli made with a creamy ricotta spinach blend. Ideal for a vegetarian household, this is a special-occasion dish. Ideally for those delicate and sophisticated ravioli a butter and sage sauce would be perfect.

Ingredients for 6 people

Ingredients for Fresh Pasta Home Made

  • 500 grams of Flour “0”
  • 5 Eggs

Ingredients for Ravioli Filling with Spinach and Ricotta

  • 200 grams of Ricotta Cheese
  • 600 grams of Spinach
  • 180 grams of Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt, Pepper and Nutmeg as you prefer

Ingredients for Ravioli Sauce with Sage and Butter

  • 100 grams of Butter
  • Parmesan Cheese grated as you prefer
  • Pepper as you prefer
  • 6 fresh Sage leaves

Preparation of Fresh Pasta Egg

1. By Hand Pasta: on a clean wood surface make a well with the flour with donut shape. In a measuring cup mix the eggs, pour the liquid mixture slowly into the flour and mix slowly in round circles with your fingers until all of the liquid mixture is incorporated. Do not force the dough to take all of the flour. If you are going to use a Pasta Maker machine to roll out the dough you may at this point form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to rest. If you are going to roll this by hand you should knead the dough on a floured work surface for 8 to 10 minutes.

Preparation of Ravioli Filling

2. Wash the spinach and let them boil for 10 minutes in boiling water. When cooked, drain them well and let cool before you chop. It’s very important that spinach are well drained. Prepare the filling by mixing in a bowl the ricotta, spinach, 2 eggs, Parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg until you have a smooth mixture.

3. Take the dough, divide the dough in half and roll each part into two layers with a thickness of about 2 mm, with the aid of a rolling pin or a “Pasta Maker” machine. Spread the filling on the pastry with ricotta cheese and spinach in piles equidistant. Cover with the other sheet and cut out the ravioli with the toothed wheel or with the form ravioli.

Preparation of Ravioli Sauce

4. You can now dress the ravioli ricotta and spinach with a simple tasty sauce: with butter and sage in order to bring out the best of the filling flavor from your ravioli. Heat 100 grams of sliced butter in a pan over low heat and add the fresh sage leaves. Sauce is ready! Brush up directly in the pan the ravioli just drained and serve hat, complete the dish with a grinding of fresh pepper and of course a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.

Posted by Nicoletta and Tiziana

The Real Italian Food. Buon Appetito!

 

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Categories
Breakfast Cake Dessert

Soft Heaven Cake or Torta Paradiso

How to prepare the real Italian recipe of the Soft Heaven Cake or “Torta Paradiso”

The Soft Heaven Cake or Torta Paradiso is one of the most loved by children for its simplicity and taste. The cake is similar to a chiffon cake, as it is light and airy. Soft and delicate, it is ideal for a snack or a tasty breakfast Sunday. This is originally a traditional dessert from Genova, a very delicate, light and soft sponge cake that everyone loves.

Ingredients

  • 6 Eggs
  • 3 Egg Whites
  • 200 grams of Sugar
  • 200 grams of Butter
  • 1 grated Lemon
  • 100 grams of Potato Flour
  • 100 grams of Flour
  • 1 tablespoon of Vanilla Sugar
  • a dose of Baking Powder

Preparation

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and put everything aside. Add the butter to a bowl, at room temperature and beat with an electric mixer until it becomes all fluffy, creamy. Include gradually the sugar and continue beating. Stir the softened butter with the sugar for a creamy mixture. Combine the 6 egg yolks one by one gradually and continue beating the mixture until it becomes light and still fluffy.

2. Add the 2 flours, the vanilla sugar and the baking powder slowly continuing to beat. Mix everything well. Beat all the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Combine the egg whites into the mixture, stirring gently. Add the egg whites, previously whites stiff and grated lemon rind. Butter and flour a cake pan of 20 cm of diameter and pour the mixture into the cake pan, bake at 180° for 50 minutes.

3. Let it cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Fluffy, soft and delicious. Powdered sugar on this cake will not absorb into the cake and get gummy. So when the cake is cool, sift the sugar all over the top of the cake. For a special twist cut the cake in the middle and add Nutella covering all the bottom surface like a sweet sandwich. Enjoy.

Posted by Nicoletta and Tiziana

The Real Italian Food. Buon Appetito!

 

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Categories
Healthy Lunch Pasta Vegetarian

Vegetarian Ricotta and Spinach Cannelloni

How to prepare the real Italian recipe of Cannelloni Pasta with Ricotta Cheese and Spinach or “Cannelloni Ricotta e Spinaci”

A delicious healthy vegetarian recipe. Cannelloni pasta is a classic dish of the Italian cuisine ideal for a Sunday Family Lunch. Stuff rolled lasagne sheets with creamy spinach and ricotta, baked with tomato and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients for 12 Cannelloni Pasta

  • 12 sheets of Egg pasta
  • 400 grams of Ricotta Cheese
  • 500 grams of fresh Spinach
  • 300 ml of Besciamella or Béchamel
  • Half liter of Tomato sauce
  • 50 grams of grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 Besciamella or Béchamel Sauce

  • 50 grams of Butter
  • 50 grams of Flour
  • Half liter of Milk
  • Salt, Pepper, and Nutmeg as preferred

Preparation of the Besciamella or Béchamel Sauce 

1. Melt the butter in a pan add the flour and cook for 3 minutes; meanwhile bring the milk to a boil with salt pepper and nutmeg, stir in the butter and flour and simmer for five minutes.

SECRET: the Béchamel is ready just when you put the spoon into the sauce and when you take it out the sauce remains firmly attached to the spoon.

Preparation of Cannelloni 

2. Clean very well the fresh spinach, rinse them thoroughly and boil them in a little boiling water for a few minutes. Drain, squeeze and chop with a food processor. Boil a few at a time the sheets of pasta in boiling salted water with the addition of a tablespoon of oil for about two minutes each. Drain them, put them to cool in cold water and place them on a clean cloth and let them cool without overlapping.

3. In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese chopped spinach and grated Parmesan. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix everything well. Fill each pastry with a bit of dough with ricotta and spinach and roll in on themselves to form the cannelloni. In a saucepan, heat a tablespoon of oil and tomato sauce. Cook covered for about 20 minutes. Arrange the cannelloni in a baking dish lightly oiled covering them with the béchamel, tomato sauce and sprinkle with a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 200 ° C for 35 minutes.

Posted by Nicoletta and Tiziana

The Real Italian Food. Buon Appetito!

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