Francesca’s recipes: Coffee biscuits

Dolci

Today, Francesca Morandin gives us an idea to brighten up our day with a mouth-watering recipe that is perfect for sweetening certain moments of the day, such as breakfast, afternoon tea or coffee and, why not, even a tasty after-dinner drink: Coffee biscuits.

To enrich your table with more sweet temptations, try one of my favourite biscuits: gluten free Canestrelli.

Coffee biscuits

51.28g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

250g buckwheat flour mix, brand Petra 5**
120g butter
100g sugar
50g hazelnut flour* (or hazelnuts to be blended into flour)
40g milk chocolate with no added sugar*
10g sprouted buckwheat flour* (optional)
10g ground coffee
1 cup of espresso coffee
1 egg yolk
a pinch of salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

In a planetary mixer, whip the butter left at room temperature with the sugar. When the mixture is well whipped, add the ground coffee, egg yolk and espresso; mix everything together and only at the end add the buckwheat, hazelnut flour and sprouted buckwheat flour. Mix well and place in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry between two sheets of baking paper and cut the biscuits into the desired shape or, as in this case, form a ball and place it in a paper cup.
Bake in a static oven preheated to 175°C for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie, or in the microwave, and decorate just the tip of the biscuits.

Version with gluten of Coffee biscuits

Replace the Petra 5 flour with 280g cake wheat flour.

November 25, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Gluten-free Digestives

Dolci, Video ricette

Do you have a craving for something sweet, perhaps a biscuit to break your appetite, but don’t want to indulge in a sin of gluttony? The answer is gluten-free Digestives, a mouth-watering solution, sweet to the point and, above all, without too much guilt.

In fact, this version of Digestive contains much less butter and much less sugar than the original recipe, so it will also be perfectly suited to accompany some blue cheese or a piece of Stilton.

What else? Have fun and watch the video to see how to prepare them step by step.

Gluten-free Digestives

52g carbohydrates per 100g without chocolate

Ingredients

100g oatmeal*
100g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
90g butter
60g milk
60g brown sugar
40g dark chocolate
8g baking powder*
3g salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

In a food processor, mix all the ingredients except the dark chocolate and blend to a smooth, even dough. Depending on the oatmeal you use, you may have to add a bit more milk.
Cover the dough with cling film and leave to rest for 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of about half a centimetre, cut out the biscuits with a round mould 5-6cm in diameter and bake them in a static oven preheated to 180°C for about 13 minutes.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over very low heat, then dip in it one side of the digestives and let them cool down before serving.

Version with gluten of Digestives

Replace the gluten-free BiAglut flour with wheat flour and, if necessary, increase the amount of butter by 20g.

October 25, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Yoghurt and lemon plumcake

Dolci

Today’s recipe comes straight from Francesca Morandin, who teaches us how to make a delicate and very, very tasty Yoghurt and lemon plumcake.

All the fragrance of citrus fruits and the lightness of yoghurt for a dessert to be enjoyed at breakfast, snack time, but also as an after-meal treat for those who just don’t want to give up a moment of enjoyment.

If you prefer, you can also turn the large plumcake into single-portion plumcakes to be frozen and have ready in the morning for the little ones’ breakfast or snack: they will certainly never say no to breakfast again. For breakfast, try also Carrot and almond cakes.

Yoghurt and lemon plumcake

41.31g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

200g gluten-free flour mix, brand Petra 5**
200g butter
200g sugar
80g plain yoghurt
90g egg white (approx. 2 egg whites)
20g orange paste (or finely chopped candied orange peel)
1 lemon peel, grated
8g baking powder*
1 vanilla pod
1 pinch of salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

In a planetary mixer, whip the butter left at room temperature with the sugar. When the mixture is whipped, add the orange paste (or chopped zest), grated lemon peel, egg white and flour, then mix well; finally add the yoghurt, vanilla pulp, a pinch of salt and baking powder, stirring again until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous.
Pour the mixture into a mould buttered and floured, or lined with parchment paper, or a silicone mould. Bake in a static oven preheated to 175°C for 25-30 minutes.

Version with gluten of Yoghurt and lemon plumcake

Replace the gluten-free Petra 5 flour with 280g wheat flour.

October 4, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Panna cotta with berries

Dolci, Video ricette

Are you planning a dinner party but still undecided about which dessert to bring to the table? No problem, we took care of it preparing an easy and delicious Panna cotta with berries.

Today we recommend a recipe for a soft dessert that combines the sweetness of cream with the pleasantly tart flavour of berries.
Easy to make and mouth-watering to eat, here’s how to prepare Panna cotta!

You can also watch the video to prepare it step by step with me!

Panna cotta with berries

11.30g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for Panna cotta

400g milk
350g fresh cream
80g sugar
15g gelatine sheets* (corresponding to 3 sheets)
a bit of vanilla from the pod

Ingredients for the berry sauce

390g berries (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)
20g agave juice*
15g lemon juice

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan, add the sugar and put everything on the heat, stirring occasionally so that the sugar dissolves well.
Separately, soak the gelatine in water to soften it. When the milk is about to come to the boil, remove it from the heat and add the well-drained gelatine, stirring with a whisk.
Let cool and fill moulds of the desired shape, then place them in the refrigerator for a few hours so that the mixture solidifies.

At this point, prepare the berry sauce. You can do this in advance, to save time, or just before serving the cake if you prefer it warm.
Place the berries in a non-stick pan with the lemon juice and agave juice. Let them cook 5 minutes on high heat until they have released their deep red sauce. Wait until it has cooled down
Remove the Panna cotta from the moulds and place it directly on the serving plate, then decorate it with the sauce.

Version with gluten of Panna cotta with berries

The recipe is naturally gluten-free, so no adaptation is needed for the version with gluten.

Would you like another mouth-watering and easy-to-prepare soft dessert? Try Peach pudding with coconut and mint with no added sugar.

September 20, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Ricotta and strawberry cake

Dolci

Summer and heat are two elements that go against the desire to cook. Yes, we know, turning on the oven isn’t exactly optimal for combating high temperatures… but what if the cake to be prepared is worth the effort? Ricotta and strawberry cake certainly is.

So here is a recipe for a cake that is tasty and, at the same time, fresh to the palate. You can also prepare it using other types of fruit and one of my favourite alternatives is replacing strawberries with pitted cherries: just amazing!

Let us begin!

Ricotta and strawberry cake

33.73g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the shortbread

220g wholemeal rice flour*
140g butter or Zero Butter*
130g fine corn flour*
100g almonds, peeled
75g sugar
75g icing sugar*
2 eggs
10g sprouted buckwheat flour* (optional)
8g baking powder*
a bit of vanilla from the pod
1 pinch of salt
rice flour* for rolling out the shortcrust pastry

Ingredients for the filling

700g ricotta
240g strawberries
80g sugar
50g agave syrup*
2 egg yolks
bitter cocoa for decoration to taste

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Grind the almonds in a food processor to obtain a flour; add all the other short pastry ingredients and mix them to obtain a soft, smooth dough. Cover with cling film and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Wash and cut the strawberries. In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese with the sugar so that the mixture is even; add the agave syrup, the egg yolks and, finally, the chopped strawberries.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a sheet of parchment paper and put it in a 24cm diameter hinged cake tin. Pour the ricotta mixture on the base, then cover the filling with a second disc of shortcrust pastry.
Bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for about 35 minutes. Let cool and dust with cocoa powder to taste.

This shortcrust pastry is very soft to work with, so use a pinch of rice flour to help you roll it out.
As for the filling, we can replace the strawberries with other seasonal fruit, e.g. cherries or peaches: the cake will be just as tasty!

Version with gluten of Ricotta and strawberry cake

The recipe is naturally gluten-free. You can, however, replace the shortcrust pastry with any other pastry you like.

July 12, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Tartlets with strawberries

Dolci

Today we are in the mood for strawberries, their bright colour and inviting taste that goes well with desserts. And here we are with a reinterpretation of the classic shortcrust pastry tartlets, lighter but still delicious: Tartlets with strawberries

The trick?

Simple, the dough is prepared with ‘Zero Butter’, a fantastic all-vegetable substitute of butter.

We can begin!

Tartlets with strawberries

40.5g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the shortbread

100g wholemeal rice flour*
60g sugar
50g gluten-free cake flour mix, brand Mix C Dolci Schär**
50g almonds, peeled
50g Zero butter* or butter
1 egg
8g baking powder*

Ingredients for the pastry cream

160g low fat milk
50g sugar
15g corn starch*
3 egg yolks
a bit of vanilla from the pod

Ingredients for garnishing

200g fresh strawberries

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Grind the almonds in a food processor into a flour and add all the other ingredients for the shortcrust pastry; mix them together to obtain a soft, smooth dough. Cover with cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the pastry cream: in a food processor or bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is frothy; add the corn starch and vanilla. Meanwhile, put the milk on the stove and bring it to the boil; pour it over the egg and corn starch mixture and stir quickly with a whisk so that no lumps form. Put everything back on the heat and let it thicken while continuing to stir. Let cool by covering with cling film.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry and line tartlet moulds; prick the bottom with a fork and bake in a static oven preheated to 160°C for about 20 minutes. Let them cool down.
Top the tartlets with custard and strawberries.
Since no gelatine is used to coat the fruit, eat the tartlets on the same day or the next day at the latest.

Version with gluten of Tartlets with strawberries

Replace the gluten-free flour with an equal amount of standard flour.

June 10, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

From Sardinia, Cardinali muffins

Dolci

Well, here we are with gluten-free Cardinali muffins… beautiful to look at, but especially delicious to eat.

Preparing them was a great fun because I needed someone from Sardinia who could teach me how to make the “real stuff”, so I invited my friend Maria Elena for a full immersion in Sardinian cuisine. So, together with Cardinali, we also prepared Culurgiones ravioli: amazing!

But let’s focus on the dessert now and find out what we need to prepare it!

Gluten free Cardinali muffins

63.18g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

200g gluten-free cake flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
200g sugar
2 eggs
90g milk
75g seed oil
8g baking powder*
1 lemon peel, grated
icing sugar*

Ingredients for the pastry cream and to complete

250g milk
50g sugar
2 egg yolks
35g potato starch*
1 whole lemon peel
alkermes liqueur* or raspberry juice with a few drops of red colouring*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and whip the latter until stiff.
Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the grated lemon zest, oil and flour, alternating with milk until all ingredients are well incorporated. Finally, add the sifted baking powder and lastly the egg whites.

Place 3-4 cm diameter ramekins inside silicone moulds, or aluminium ramekins, so that they do not get deformed during baking filling ¾ of the ramekins.
Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown; let cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the cream. Heat the milk with the lemon peel. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar, add the flour and mix well. Pour the lukewarm milk into the freshly prepared mixture and mix until smooth. Place everything on the heat and let it simmer, stirring with a whisk until the cream has thickened. Remove it from the heat and let it cool covered with cling film.
And now assemble the cake.

Holding a small knife at an angle, cut a cone and remove it whole from the sweets. Using a teaspoon, moisten the freshly hollowed-out inside with alkermes or red juice and do the same with the cones, dipping them in the coloured liquid until they are completely red.

Pour the cream into the holes you have drilled in the cakes and sprinkle with icing sugar. Finally, cover all the sweets with the cap, i.e. with the cones turned upside down with the tip facing upwards. Place them in the refrigerator and let them rest for a few hours to allow the cream to harden well.

Version with gluten of Cardinali muffins

Replace Molino Dallagiovanna gluten-free flour with standard flour and reduce the amount of milk for the dough to 75g instead of 90g.

May 17, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Strawberry cheesecakes

Dolci

Spring doesn’t just mean milder air and the awakening of nature, it also means the arrival of juicier fruit that precedes summer delights… in short, it means strawberries and Strawberry cheesecakes.

In fact, remember that strawberries are a very diabetes-friendly fruit, having only 5.3g of carbohydrates per 100g of strawberries. And since they are in season and friendly to our needs, also try Ricotta and strawberry cake.

Let’s get to work now!

Strawberry cheesecakes

22.01g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the cake

200g gluten-free biscuits**
110g butter
50g Nutella

Ingredients for the mousse

200g strawberries
250g whipping cream
150g cream cheese at room temperature
60g icing sugar*
10g gelatine sheets*
2 tablespoons of milk
1 vanilla pod

Ingredients for the strawberry sauce

250g strawberries

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Place the biscuits with the softened butter in the blender and chop until a rather fine mixture is obtained; complete by adding the Nutella and mixing well with the chopped biscuits.
Pour the mixture on the bottom of 9 round pastry rings with a diameter of 8cm placed on a tray, levelling well and compacting it with the back of a spoon. Finally, let your bases rest in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the mousse.
Soak the gelatine in plenty of cold water for at least 10 minutes.
In a bowl, mix the cheese with the icing sugar with a fork; wash and clean the strawberries, then blend them to a juice and add them to the cheese cream, mixing well.
In another bowl, whip the cream and add the seeds of the vanilla pod.
Heat 2 tablespoons of milk in a saucepan without reaching the boil, remove from the heat, add the squeezed gelatine and stir to dissolve it.
When the gelatine mixture has cooled, add it to the cheese cream. Finally, also incorporate the whipped cream and stir gently with a spatula, from the bottom upwards so as not to cause the mixture to go runny. Pour the resulting cream over the biscuit base inside the rings.
Now put the cheesecakes in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Cheesecake preparation

Before serving, set aside some strawberries to use as a garnishing and blend the remaining ones to make a sauce.
Take the cheesecakes out of the refrigerator, remove the rings and top with the strawberry sauce and a sliced or whole strawberry.
This recipe can also be prepared by replacing sugar in the cream with a sweetener of your choice, e.g. 30-40g agave syrup, thus reducing the amount of carbohydrates.

The ready-to-eat cheesecakes

Version with gluten of Strawberry cheesecakes

Replace gluten-free biscuits with standard ones; no other adaptation is needed.

April 29, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Mini apple strudels

Dolci

Fancy something sweet and fragrant? Mini apple strudels are just the perfect choice.

Good, because my recipe today is not only tasty and tempting, but also easy to prepare and light.

The main ingredient is apple, a precious fruit with many properties, which becomes an important ally in the kitchen because it can enrich many preparations with flavour without the need for too much fat.

In short, a wholesome fruit that I like to interpret (try my Soft apple and cinnamon cake).

That said, let’s roll up our sleeves and start making some delicious Mini apple strudels, perfect for breakfast, as a snack or dessert at the end of a meal.

Mini apple strudels

25.85g carbohydrates per 100g of strudels with no sugar in the apples

Ingredients for 6 mini strudels

350g green apples
150g gluten-free bread flour mix, brand BiAglut**
75g cold butter
40g water
1 egg
½ lemon
1 pinch of salt
sweetener*, brown sugar

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Prepare the shortcrust pastry by mixing the flour, chopped butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor or by hand. The dough will be grainy: compact it, cover it with plastic film and put it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Peel and chop the apples, place them in a non-stick pan with the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of sweetener and cook until soft. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Roll out the shortbread pastry to a thin thickness, cut out disks 12cm in diameter, put about 50g of apples on each disk, close them forming a half-moon and cut three slits in the surface.

Finally, brush the surface with beaten egg and sprinkle with a pinch (3g) of brown sugar.

Bake the mini strudels in a static oven preheated to 190°C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Version with gluten of Mini apple strudel

Replace the gluten-free BiAglut flour with an equal amount of wheat flour and possibly reduce the amount of water to be added to the crust.

April 8, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Happy Easter with our Easter small Colombas

Dolci

Easter is getting close and the traditional dessert par excellence – Colomba – cannot be missing from the table. So, today I am sharing a mouth-watering recipe for making irresistibly soft, gluten-free Easter small Colombas at home.

They will not disappoint you even if they are an easy, smaller version prepared with baking powder instead of the traditional, standard size made with brewer’s yeast that you can bake following the recipe of Colomba Pasquale: whatever decision you make, you are going to have a great dessert.

Easter small Colombas

48.84g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

215g gluten free cake flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
200g sugar
125g vanilla yoghurt*
100g chocolate chips*
95g seed oil
3 whole eggs
16g baking powder*
1 pinch of salt
grated lemon or orange peel, whole almonds, granulated sugar

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of gluten free Easter small Colombas

Whisk the eggs with the sugar, then add all the other ingredients while continuing to mix. Once the mixture has become smooth and even, add the chocolate chips or, if you prefer, candied fruit or raisins and pour the mixture into 75-100g Colomba moulds.
Sprinkle the surface with granulated sugar and bake in a static oven preheated to 170°C for about 15-20 minutes.

Version with gluten of Easter small Colombas

Replace the 215g gluten-free flour with 120g standard flour and 100g potato starch.

March 25, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli