This year I’ve made only one simple resolution and that is to not waste food, which also means saving money that, in this period of economic crises, isn’t a bad idea at all. I don’t know about you but I waste way too much food. I tend to buy more than I need and then it goes bad in the fridge or expires in my kitchen cupboards. Most important of all though I will make better use of the leftovers and leftover ingredients using them to make other exquisite dishes. Italian cuisine is well known as the cucina povera for its simplicity and for not wasting but rather for utilizing everything in the kitchen as my grandparents used to do.

As you can see I’ve started my only new year’s resolution right away with this bread pudding recipe. Over the holidays I’ve accumulated this huge amount of old dry bread. I usually bring it to the ducks and geese living close to us, but seeing the quantity I have on hand I decided to use it in many tasty recipes and this bread pudding is one of them. My grandma used to prepare bread pudding and I have fond memories of it, but up until now I’ve never made it myself. I don’t have a precise recipe I just made it according to how I remembered my grandmother’s. I added the ingredients and spices my grandma used to use and figured out the quantities on my own. This recipe is very versatile and can be changed according to your own tastes, but this is how I remember bread pudding.

Ingredients:

8.5 oz./ g. 250 dry bread
2 cups + 2 Tbsp./ ml. 500 milk
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp. Muscovado sugar or a packed dark brown sugar of your choice
2 golden apples about 1.2 lbs/ g. 500
1/3 cup/ g. 50 raisins
a handful of walnuts, about 1.7 oz./ g. 50
1 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
2 tsp. natural vanilla extract
unsalted butter for the top
Muscovado sugar to sprinkle on top

Instructions:

1. Cut the bread in small cubes, pour lukewarm milk over it and combine well.
2. Add 4 Tablespoons of sugar.
3. Soak the raisins in lukewarm water for 10 minutes. Dry them before adding them to the cake.
4. Cut the apples in small cubes then add them to the bread mixture together with the raisins and walnuts.
5. Flavor the mixture with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and mix it with a wooden spoon until well combined.
6. Lastly add the 2 beaten eggs and mix until well incorporated.
6. In a baking pan lay oven paper and make sure it also covers the sides. Pour the bread mixture and spread it with a spatula until even. The pan I used for this recipe was 11 x 14 inches.
8. Dot the top with small pieces of butter and sprinkle it with the Muscovado sugar.
9. Bake it in a preheated oven at 350°/180° for 45 minutes. Let it cool completely then serve.

Yogurt cake is one the most common Italian cakes, and I should add the one of the easiest to prepare. With this cake you can measure everything with the yogurt tub as a measuring cup and the cake is done in a blink of an eye.

What I personally  like of this cake is its simplicity and the absence of butter, which makes a lighter and healthier but none the less tasty cake. I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil, but if you think it gives the cake a too strong of a taste, you can use vegetable oil instead. I also prefer raw cane sugar instead of granulated white sugar, but again this is up to you.

You can simply make and eat it plain like this or you can use your creativity and add other ingredients that might appeal to you. I’m a classic kind of person so I prefer the original version, however sometimes I like to add thinly sliced apples on top and give them a nice vortex shape. Then I sprinkle them with brown cane sugar and here you have a whole different cake. A friend of mine likes to add chocolate chips in the batter and the result is a richer version. Imagination is the only limit. Try it and please let me know how you prefer it classic or re-elaborated.

Ingredients:

3 extra large eggs
1 cup or 2 yogurt tubs granulated white sugar or raw cane sugar*
1/2 cup or 1 yogurt tub (ml. 125 or 4 oz.) unsweetened plain whole milk yogurt
1/2 scant cup or a scant yogurt tub extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups or 3 yogurt tubs unbleached all purpose flour (plain flour)
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2  tsp. natural vanilla extract
1 tsp. aluminum free baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
powder sugar (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch spring-form pan with oil. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks will form then refrigerate them.
3. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until lighter in color. The batter won’t be too smooth because there’s not enough liquid yet.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Add the first 1/2 cup of flour to the batter, beat at medium speed then switch to high speed.
5. Add the oil then 1/2 cup flour and beat until smooth.
4. Add the last 1/2 cup flour, the vanilla extract, the lemon zest, the yogurt and beat  until all the ingredients are well combined. Don’t overwork the batter.
5. Gently fold the egg whites, 1/4 at the time,  into the batter until incorporated.
6. Pour the batter into the cake pan and cook for 35-40 minutes. An inserted toothpick comes out clean when the cake is done.
7. Allow the cake to cool, sprinkle it with powder sugar and serve.

Notes:

*If you use raw cane sugar the cake will be less sweet.

Store the cake at room temperature and cover with a plastic wrap to keep it moist.

Crema fritta is a carnival sweet typical from Verona and Venice. It’s a thick custard cream breaded and fried. When I was little I used to go to Piazza Erbe and press my nose against the glass of the stand selling crema fritta and dream of having a piece. My mother wasn’t that big on sweets so she didn’t buy it often. When I had the pleasure to hold a piece of it in my hands I was on top of the world.
I always thought that crema fritta was difficult to make until my mother gave me this recipe. Every year on Venerdì Gnocolar (Gnocchi’s Friday) there’s always a plate of crunchy crema fritta on our table.

In Italy we mainly serve this dessert during the carnival season, as well as all the other carnival sweets, until Lent starts. There’s an interruption on Mid-Lent (Mezza Quaresima) when these delicious treats are permitted again. In any case crema fritta is a dessert that can be served during the winter to bring cheer to your dinner, especially if there are kids involved. I assure you, it really makes you smile.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
2 1/4 cups + 3 Tbsp. whole milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
lemon zest from 1/8 of a lemon
1 Tbsp. butter
about 1 cup dry bread crumbs
peanut oil or light olive oil for frying
powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Whisk the 3 egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla until fluffy and lighter in color.
2. Add flour to the egg mixture and mix the batter with a wooden spoon.
3. Pour the milk a little bit at the time in the egg mixture mixing well.
4. Pour the liquid in a pan, add the lemon zest and start cooking it at a low temperature. Stir it often. It will take about 20 minutes to thicken. When the custard cream will start to thicken it will become suddenly full of lumps. Don’t panic but start mixing it with more energy until smooth and turn it off. Don’t let the cream boil!
5. When cooked, add the butter and eliminate the lemon zest. Spread the custard on a serving plate giving it a rectangular shape, about 3/4 of an inch thick. Use a knife or a metal spatula to smooth it down. Let the cream cool.*
6. Cut the custard cream in diamond shapes.
7. Now whip the remaining egg whites until stiff peaks form, set them in a bowl and place the dry bread crumbs on a plate.
8. Heat up the oil to 350° in a deep pan and while the oil is warming up, prepare the crema fritta.
9. Dip the custard diamonds into egg whites and then dredge them into the bread crumbs.
10. Fry a few pieces at the time until golden brown. Remove with care from the oil and place the crema fritta on paper towels.
11. Sprinkle the crema fritta pieces with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Notes:

* At this point cream can be covered and refrigerated. You can then finish preparing them the day after if you want.

Sabbiosa means sandy and you’ll understand when you taste it. It’s a classic cake from Veneto, so classic and old that it’s not well known by the younger generations anymore. I’ve always heard of it but I have no memories of me eating it. The first time I tasted it was only few years ago when my dad bought it from an artisanal bakery in Valeggio sul Mincio, near Verona and brought it as a gift to my relatives in Piedmont.  Since then I had forgotten all about it until I ran across a recipe in my grandma’s recipe notebook. She used to write down all her recipes neatly divided by category. It was from her that I have learned to collect my recipes since when I was a little girl. I did some research and her torta sabbiosa was made differently from all the other versions I found. I decided to try it, but while making it I changed few things according to other recipes and procedures that I thought would work better. The cake came out good but not as expected. I tried again and this time followed her instructions the letter and there it was, the taste and the consistency I was looking for. It melted right in my mouth leaving me with a taste of antique and lost flavors. I told my father about the recipe I made and he told me that it was my grandfather’s favorite. My grandfather was a gourmet that loved to cook, and even if I never met him, I’m glad we share the same passion for cuisine and good food.

Ingredients:

10,5 oz. potato starch sifted*
9 oz. unsalted butter
9.5 oz., 1 1/4 cups sugar
3 extra large eggs, 2.46 oz., 70 grams
2 Tbsp. rum
1 vanilla bean
powder sugar for topping (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. In the meantime melt the butter at low temperature. Beat the butter with sugar until well combined and until the batter will start getting thicker
3. Add one egg at the time until foamy and light in color.
4. Slowly add the potato starch and the rum. Lastly add the vanilla bean, sides removed and finely minced.
5. Pour the batter in a 9 inch. spring form pan, previously buttered and floured and cook for 30-35 minutes.
6. Serve it at room temperature sprinkled with powder sugar.

Note:
* You can find potato starch in natural stores.
I know you would prefer measurements in cups but it’s important for this cake to use the right quantities of flour and butter and converting to cups and spoons is not always precise.

Panna cotta means cooked cream in Italian. It’s a spoon dessert from Piedmont of great effect and taste but very easy to prepare. It can be served simply with caramel sauce on top or with different berry or chocolate sauces. The strawberry sauce that I used in this recipe consists purely of berries lightly sweetened and sieved to smoothness. I chose strawberries but they can be substituted with raspberries and decorated with black and/or blue berries. Your fantasy will be the limit as to how to decorate the panna cotta.

Ingredients:

For the panna cotta:
2 cups fresh heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 gelatin sheets (10 grams)

For the strawberry sauce:
1 cup strawberries
1 Tbsp. sugar
strawberries for decoration

Preparation:

For the panna cotta:

1. In a bowl of water put the gelatin sheets and let them soak for 10 minutes.
2. Put the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla pod (cut in length) in a pan and cook at low heat just before it starts to boil and remove the pan from the stove.
3. Discard the vanilla bean from the cream mixture, squeeze the gelatin sheets, add them to the cream and mix until they’re dissolved.
4. Place 4 small cylindrical molds on a tray. Filter the cream through a fine-grid mesh strainer and pour it in  the molds. Refrigerate for at least three hours.

For the strawberry sauce:

1. Place the strawberries and sugar in food processor or pure them with a hand blander.
2. Strain the sauce to a fine sieve to separate from the seeds.
3. Add few drops of fresh lemon juice and refrigerate.

To serve panna cotta:

1. Dip the panna cotta moulds, one at a time, into a bowl filled with hot water. Leave for about 5 seconds.
2. Invert onto a serving plate. Press two fingers on the bottom of the mold and then shake slightly to loosen.
3. Carefully remove the mold from the panna cotta.
4. Cut some fresh strawberries in pieces and place some on top and around the panna cotta. Top the panna cotta with a generous spoon of strawberry sauce.

Favette are one of the sweets prepared exclusively during the Canival season. As most of the carnival sweets favette are also called differently depending on the region. A more common name is castagnole but I’m sure there are many more. They are little fried dough balls usually flavored with anise liquor but in my family we prefer dry Marsala wine.

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 3/4 unbleached all purpose flour
6 Tbsp. corn starch
3 Tbsp. dry Marsala wine
peanut oil for frying
powder sugar to sprinkle on top

Instructions:

1. Cream the butter with sugar then add the eggs one at the time until well combined. Mix in the flour and the Marsala wine until you have a nice pliable ball of dough.
2. Prepare a work area and dust it with flour.
3. Take the dough, a piece at a time, and roll it out with your hands until you have rolls about 3/4 inch in diameter.
4. Cut the tubes of dough into pieces about one inch long.
5. Heat up the oil in a small pan and when hot add few pieces of dough, about 10 and cook until golden brown.
6. Sprinkle some powder sugar on top and serve when cooled.

Semifreddo means “semi-cold” in Italian and it refers to semi frozen desserts. They actually taste a little bit like ice cream but they don’t need any machine to be prepared. Most of them have whipped cream and egg whites.
Torrone is a delicious concoction of honey, egg whites, toasted almonds, hazelnuts and vanilla. It has antique origins and it seems it was first made in Cremona. There are different kinds of torrone and its characteristics depend on the geographical location in which it’s made: hard or soft with hazelnuts and almonds covered by a wafer thin sheet some also have pistachos, hard  or soft covered by chocolate, soft with honey and walnuts etc. Nowadays the types of torrone have multiplied and I was really impressed when I went to get my simple  classic hard torrone and it took me awhile to find it. The majority in fact were soft, which I like, but I certainly prefer the classic one as it reminds me of my childhood.

Ingredients:

10 oz.  hard Almond Torrone or hazelnut (almond nougat)
2 1/3 cups heavy cream
3 pasteurized eggs divided
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

For the cream:
Semisweet chocolate (70% cocoa)
White chocolate
1/4 + 1/4  cup heavy cream
1/4 + 1/4  cup whole milk
Hard chocolate torrone or the classic one for decoration (optional)

Instructions:

For the semifreddo:

1. Coarsely chop the torrone and set aside.
2. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form and refrigerate.
3. Whip the heavy cream until firm and refrigerate until ready to assemble the dessert.
4. Beat the egg yolks with sugar and vanilla until foamy and pale yellow.
5. Add the whipped cream to the eggs and sugar,  then egg whites mixing them gently from bottom to top and lastly the chopped torrone.
6. Combine well. Pour the preparation in a nonstick loaf pan previously wet with cold water.
7. Cover the semifreddo with tinfoil and freeze for 4-5 hours or overnight.

For the sauces: The sauces have to be prepared 20-30 minutes before serving the semifreddo.

1. Break the two chocolate bars in small pieces and place them separated in two double boilers, add heavy cream and milk to each chocolate. Melt the two chocolates at low heat mixing often to combine the ingredients well.
2. When melted remove the double boilers from the stove but leave the chocolate on the pot, so it will keep moist. At first the sauces will be really liquid, but they’ll get thicker in about 15 minutes

Presenting the semifreddo:

1. Dip the loaf pan in warm water for less then a minute. Turn it over on a rectangular serving dish and it should slide right out.
2. Decorate it with swirls of white and dark chocolate and bring it to the table.
3. To serve it slice the semifreddo, top it with the two chocolate creams and sprinkle it with chopped hard chocolate torrone or the classic kind. If you don’t have it you can decorate the slice with some roughly chopped toasted almonds as well and some swirls of chocolate.

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups milk
about 21 Savoiardi (lady fingers)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup Alchermes liquor
one piece lemon zest
1/2 cup flour
fresh whipping cream

Instructions:

1. Warm up the milk in a nonstick sauce pan.
2. In a large bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar, add the flour and combine the ingredients until well mixed.
3. Add the milk, a little bit at the time to the egg mixture, mixing well.
4. Put the mixture into the sauce pan and cook it on the stove at a medium low heat. Mix the cream continuously with a wooden spoon. When it starts to thicken remove it from the heat and pour it on a large plate to cool off.
5. Stir the cream now and then so that the top doesn’t harden.
6. Dip quickly both sides of the savoiardi in the liquor. Layer them one at the time in a glass bowl large enough to contain 7 savoiardi.
7. Spread 1/3 of the cream and repeat the layer with savoiardi. Finish with the cream.
8. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours better yet overnight. Before serving decorate the Zuppa Inglese with whipped cream.

Notes:

Alchermes is Liquor you should be able to find in specialty liquor stores. If you do not want to use alcohol you can substitute Alchermes with strong Italian coffee, but you won’t call this dessert Zuppa Inglese anymore.

Ingredients:

4 large egg yolks
4 Tbsp. sugar
8 Tbsp. dry Marsala wine or Moscato d’Asti

Instructions:

1. Using an electric hand blender beat the egg yolks with the sugar in a medium sauce pan until fluffy and light yellow. Use the medium-high speed. It is also possible to beat the eggs with a wire whisk, but it is much more difficult.
2. Add the Marsala wine without stopping to mix the batch.
3. Immediately after mixing in the Marsala set the sauce pan in an other pan with simmering water or on the top of a double boiler. You should never stop mixing from when you start until it is ready.
4. Beat the sauce for about 10 minutes while holding the saucepan in the water. Remember, the water doesn’t have to boil.
5. The zabaione is ready when the cream has doubled in volume and it is fluffy and soft.
6. Serve it immediately accompanied with dry biscuits.

Notes:

Pandoro is a famous cake eaten at Christmas time all over Italy.

If you like Amaretto cookies you love this dessert. In Italy you can find this cake in most every bakery or pastry shop in Verona. This is one of my winter favorites.

Ingredients:

7 oz. dry Amaretto cookies*
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1-1/4 cups flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup peeled almonds
1 shot Amaretto liquor
puff pastry for 9 inch pan
pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Blend the amaretti in a food processor and then set them aside.
2. Now blend the almonds too, however turn the processor on and off quickly as you want to chop them finely, but not turn them into a cream. Set them aside.
3. Put the butter and sugar in the food processor and blend together until creamy and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at the time until well combined.
4. Now add the flour and a pinch of salt and blend them in.
5. Set the food processor to a low speed and add the almonds and a shot of amaretto.
6. Finally ad the amaretto cookies and mix them in.
7. Roll out the puff pastry until it is nice and thin and put it in a 9″ springform pan. Roll it out so that it is big enough to come out over the top of the pan.
8. Add the filling.
9. Fold the puff pastry from the sides onto the cake. Note that it doesn’t have to cover the whole cake just the first inch or two form the outside.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 360° for 40-45 minutes or until done. You can check by inserting a toothpick into the center. If the crust starts to brown too much cover it with foil.
11. Let cool before serving.

Notes:

The quantity of puff pastry varies from one brand to another. In my case I need one package to make the crust.

* By dry I don’t mean old. Amaretto cookies are made in two ways, as a dry and crunchy cookie or a moist and chewy cookie.