Have fun with Christmas cookies

Dolci, Video ricette

We love preparing biscuits for the holiday season! Today we got inspired by colours, the result was some fun Christmas cookies, naturally in a gluten free version.

Take some time and play with us to create many different decorations and enjoy this video for more ideas for decorating cookies.

Or even make a beautiful Cookie house to decorate your Christmas table.

Christmas cookies

67g carbohydrates per 100g of cookie without icing

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry

250g wholemeal rice flour*
250g bread flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
200g butter
150g sugar
3 eggs
4g baking powder*
1 pinch of salt, 1 grated lemon peel

Ingredients for the hard icing

150g icing sugar*
25g pasteurised egg white
food colours as needed*

Ingredients for the soft icing

140g icing sugar*
25g pasteurised egg white
food colours as needed*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation of Christmas cookies

Place the flour, butter, sugar, salt and eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix well, then add baking powder and grated lemon zest. Cover with a piece of cling film and leave to rest for the time needed to prepare the icing, about 10-15 minutes.
The icings are almost identical, but their texture changes, as they have different functions: hard icing is used to draw outlines and make decorations, while soft icing is used to fill the inner areas inside the outlines. The given proportions are used to obtain white-coloured icings; starting with the white colour, colours can be added to obtain the various nuances.
It is important to remember that if the colours are liquid, a little more icing sugar may have to be added to achieve the same texture of the initial white icings.
Take bowls with rounded bottoms, one for each colour you wish to prepare. For the hard white icing, place 25g of pasteurised egg white in a bowl and gradually add 150g of icing sugar, stirring with a spoon so that the mixture is smooth and even. For the soft icing, repeat exactly the same procedure, adding 140g icing sugar.
Starting with the white bases, add the necessary colours and sugar to obtain the various nuances, both hard and soft.
The hard icing will be used with a pastry bag with a tip of about 1mm, while the soft icing will be applied using a teaspoon and the rounded tip of a knife.
Cover all frostings with tight clingfilm until they are used.
Roll out the short pastry with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 5mm, cut the biscuits into the desired shapes, place them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper and bake them in a ventilated oven preheated to 160°C for 10 minutes.
When the biscuits have cooled down completely, form the outline with one of the hard icings, white or coloured; cover the surface of the biscuit inside the outline using the soft icing to be spread with the help of a round-pointed knife so that no gaps are left. Let the icing dry for at least 15 minutes before making other decorations with a pastry bag on the soft icing to avoid colour smudging.

For each biscuit, you need on average of 5g of icing, so it is important to remember to add 5g of carbohydrates per biscuit in the carbohydrate count.

Store the biscuits in a tin or a sealed cake tin… they will stay delicious for over a week.

Version with gluten of Christmas cookies

Replace the gluten-free BiAglut flour with the same amount of your usual baking flour.

December 20, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Cookie Christmas trees

Dolci

Christmas is approaching and we would like to recommend a sweet preparation that can become a delightful gift to give your friends, an original placeholder for the table, or a small ornament to decorate home over the Christmas period: Cookie Christmas trees.

Moreover, baking Cookie Christmas trees is a wonderful opportunity to involve the little ones at home in manual and creative activities that will make the result even more special, whether to be eaten at breakfast on festive days or to be given as gifts to loved ones.

It takes dexterity and a little patience, but the result will give you great satisfaction.

Roll up your sleeves, let’s start making Cookie Christmas trees, and if you want to get creative, also try Christmas cookies and Cookie handleouse.

Cookie Christmas Trees

66g carbohydrates per 100g of cookie without icing

400g gluten-free cake flour**
150g butter
100g sugar
2 eggs
8g baking powder*
1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of vanilla

Ingredients for the icing

150g icing sugar*
25g pasteurised egg white

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

Put the flour, butter, sugar, salt and eggs in a bowl. Mix well, then add the baking powder and vanilla.
With the shortcrust pastry, prepare cookies using 6 descending star-shaped moulds. Bake the cookies in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 10-15 minutes. Let them cool down.

For the icing, mix the pasteurised egg white with the icing sugar until smooth and firm. Fill a pastry bag with the icing and decorate the stars as desired. Once the icing has hardened, stack the cookies on top of each other, securing them with a little icing to form a Christmas tree. If you want to make other cookies, check out this recipe.

Version with gluten of Cookie Christmas trees

Replace the gluten free flour with the same amount of standard cake flour.

December 7, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

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