Mille s-foglie with apple, meringue, seed crackers, panettone and D’O spices

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For the seed cracker layers

125 g Molino Pasini flour

100 g warm water

35 ml Carli extra virgin olive oil

3 g fine salt

1 g fresh brewer’s yeast

1 g chemical raising agent

4 g black and white sesame seeds

4 g linseeds

4 g poppy seeds

4 g sunflower seeds

For the meringue layers

100 g egg whites

62 g Eridania Zefiro sugar

62 g Eridania Velo icing sugar

For the sugar layers

150 g Eridania Tropical cane sugar

50 g almond flour

For the apple layers

1 green apple

100 g water

100 g Eridania Zefiro sugar

20 g lemon juice

For the filo pastry layers

100 g sheets of filo pastry

40 g melted butter

20 g Eridania Velo icing sugar

For the panettone layers

1/4 of frozen Tre Marie panettone without raisins or candied fruit

For the chocolate layers

200 g Ocoa Cacao Barry chocolate

For the dark ganache

150 g Ocoa Cacao Barry chocolate

100g cream

12 g glucose

20 g butter

1 g Maldon salt

2 g whole spices: cardamom, star anise and cinnamon

For the garnish

2 g D’O spices: orange, lemon, cinnamon, vanilla, star anise, cloves, juniper berries

Preparation

For the seed crackers layers
Dissolve the fresh brewer's yeast and the salt in the warm water, add the oil and then the flour sieved with the chemical raising agent, roll out on a 2 mm thick silpat (food-quality silicone mat covered in fibreglass), divide it into triangles with a toothpick, sprinkle with the seeds and bake at 190°C for 9 minutes.

For the meringue layers
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, gradually add the granulated sugar while whisking, followed by the icing sugar. Spread a 2 mm thick layer of meringue onto parchment and dry in an oven at 65°C for an hour and a half.

For the sugar layers
Caramelise the cane sugar, take off the heat and add the almond flour. Pour out onto a silpat and roll out using a rolling pin and a sheet of parchment until 2 mm thick.

For the apple layers
Cut the apple into 2 mm thick slices, make a syrup with the sugar and the water. When it boils, take off the heat, add the lemon juice and the slices of apple, then drain the slices well and dry in the oven on a silpat at 65°C for 1 hour.

For the filo pastry layers
Brush the sheets of filo pastry with the melted butter, dust with the icing sugar and bake between two sheets of parchment and two oven sheets at 190°C for 7 minutes.

For the panettone layers
Use a meat slicer to cut the frozen panettone into 2 mm slices and bake between two sheets of parchment and two oven sheets at 190°C for 7 minutes.

For the chocolate layers
Temper the chocolate and spread it over an acetate sheet. When cold, cut using the tip of a warmed knife.

For the dark ganache
Bring the cream to the boil with the glucose and the spices, filter and pour into the chocolate with the butter in pieces. Stir and cool the mixture, whip it and serve with the Maldon salt.

For the garnish
Pipe the ganache onto a flat plate using an icing bag. Arrange the various layers haphazardly on the plate, gluing them together with the ganache. Dust with the D’O spices.

Summer Tiramisu

Ingredients (for 4/6 people)

For the sponge cake

150 g cane sugar

100 g plain flour

50 g almond flour

15 g potato starch

3 eggs

For the syrup

1 large papaya

2 mangos

50 g cane sugar

½ glass of white wine

For the cream

3 egg yolks

125 g mascarpone

340 g Greek yogurt

100g cane sugar

50 g water

1 sheet of gelatine

50 g icing sugar

Preparation

Sponge cake
Work the eggs with the sugar in a planetary beater, or with an electric whisk, for about 15 minutes. Mix the two flours with the potato starch, add to the egg and sugar mixture and stir well. Pour the mixture into two parchment-lined Swiss roll tins, giving a layer about 1 cm thick and bake at 200°C in a pre-heated oven for 10/12 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool on a cold surface. Once cold, use a biscuit cutter to make 16 or 24 rounds about 5/6 cm in diameter. Or you can break up the sponge with your hands.

Syrup
Peel and cube the papaya and mangos. Put into a low, wide pan with the sugar and wine. Cook over a high heat with the lid on for 5 minutes. Take out the fruit and put onto a plate. Dilute the fruit juice with two dessertspoons of water and use it to soak the sponge.

Cream
Work the mascarpone with a spatula to soften it, add it to the Greek yogurt and put in the fridge.. Put the sheet of gelatine into a bowl of cold water. Dissolve the sugar with the water and heat to 121°C. Meanwhile, work the egg yolks with the planetary beater (or an electric whisk). Once the sugar has dissolved, add it to the yolks and continue to beat the mixture until the sugar has cooled. Add 2 dessertspoons of the syrup and then fold in the mascarpone and yogurt cream with a bowl scraper. Dissolve the gelatine in 1 dessertspoon of hot water and pour into the cream. Stir and put into the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Assemble the tiramisu
Put the tiramisu together in a glass or jar. Put a spoonful of cream on the bottom, a round of syrup-soaked sponge, add 2/3 spoonfuls of cream, a layer of fruit, then sponge and continue to alternate layers. Top with the fresh fruit.

cake alle banane

Ingredients

250 g banana pulp (3 bananas)

150 g cane sugar

125 g whole milk

60 g butter

1 whole egg

250 g plain flour

12 g baking powder

salt

3 cardamom pods

Preparation

Cook the whole bananas in the oven at 90°C for about 30 minutes. This pasteurises the pulp, meaning it stays soft and perfectly ripe, no longer with that typical mushy effect.

Heat the milk with the sugar and the cardamom pods. Cool and filter. Blitz the bananas with the sugar and milk. Add the eggs, the butter, melted and cooled a little, followed by the flour, sieved together with the baking powder. Stir quickly, add a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture into a square cake tin to a height of 3 cm. Bake at 170°C for about 25 minutes until cooked through.

War roll

Ingredients

500 gr di farina

500 g flour

1 sachet of dried brewer's yeast or 1/2 a cube of fresh

100 g butter

250 g sugar

1 egg

3 “fingers" of milk

600 g rennet or other cooking apples

grated lemon zest

1 small glass of rum

another 100 g sugar

less than a teaspoon of salt

Preparation

Knead together the flour, butter, 1 egg, 150 g of sugar, yeast and salt. Rest the dough or half an hour, then roll out lengthwise to one centimetre thick.

Peel and grate the apples and put to cook in a saucepan with the rum, lemon zest and 100 g of sugar. As soon as it boils, take off the heat, leave to cool and spread over the dough, placed on a sheet of parchment to make it easier to roll. Roll up the dough and brush the roll with egg or milk, put on a baking sheet and back at 180°C for about half an hour. Take out of the oven, cool and serve.

Tarta de queso chirimoya e lime

Ingredients (for 4 people)

2 chirimoyas

4 eggs

200 g white cane sugar

250 g ricotta

200 g spreadable soft cheese

zest of a lime

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder

Preparation

Preheat a fan oven to 175°C.

Fit a circle of parchment into a well-greased hinged cake tin so that the paper sits perfectly.

Peel the two chirimoyas and carefully remove all their seeds. Blitz to a purée together with the squeezed lime juice.

Whisk the sugar with the eggs.

Add the ricotta, cheese, lime zest (essential for enhancing the flavour of this recipe) and the vanilla, to give a smooth cream.Pour it all into the cake tin. Bake for about 45 minutes, turn off the oven and wait 10 minutes before opening. Leave the cake to cool in the oven with the door open just a crack. This stops it from sinking.

NB: Lime is an excellent alternative to lemon for sweet and savoury dishes because it is not as sour and therefore more versatile and delicate. It adds an exotic touch to any recipe.

açai na tigela

Ingredients (for 4 people)

4 x 200 g packs of frozen açai

4 bananas

fruit muesli

acacia honey or guarana juice

Preparation

Take the açai out of the freezer 10 minutes before starting the recipe, so that they soften slightly and make the process easier. Peel and slice the banana, save two sliced bananas for garnishing.

Put açai in the bottom of the mixer, followed by the bananas, add 4 dessertspoons of acacia honey, or guarana juice if a spicier, more decisive flavour is preferred. Blitz until the ingredients are smoothly mixed.

Pour this creamy mixture into 4 ice-cream goblets, together with the muesli and bananas. Serve immediately!

Avocado, habanero and cocoa mousse

Ingredients (for 4 people)

3 ripe avocados

12 dessertspoons of cocoa powder

150 g medjool dates

1 habanero or fresh chili pepper

a pinch of salt

almond flakes to garnish

Preparation

Take the stones out of the dates and cut into small pieces. Peel the avocado and cut into small pieces.

Blitz the avocado with the dates in a mixer until well mixed. Add the cocoa and a pinch of habanero or chili pepper (to suit personal taste) and blitz again until the mixture is smooth, with an even consistency and colour. Add a pinch of salt to enhance the taste of the chocolate.

Serve immediately, before the avocado oxidises, causing it to lose its flavour and nutritional qualities. If liked, garnish with toasted almond flake

Dark chocolate and raspberry charlotte

Ingredients

For the sponge

300 g sugar

360 g eggs

2 vanilla pods

grated zest of 2 lemons

200 g egg yolks

200 g weak plain flour

200 g potato starch

For the boudoir biscuits

190 g egg yolks

120 g sugar

1 vanilla pod

380 g egg whites

95 g sugar

300 g plain flour

65 g potato starch

For the dark chocolate Bavarian cream

30 g rice starch

200 g egg yolks

200 g sugar

200 g cream

1 vanilla pod

500 g milk

10 g gelatine

300 g 60% dark chocolate

600 g unsweetened whipped cream

For the rum

200 g water

Other ingredients

Neutral gelatine

Preparation

For the sponge - Use a planetary beater to mix the sugar, eggs, vanilla pods and grated lemon zest, adding the egg yolks a little at a time. Sieve the flour with the starch and gently fold in. Bake at 190°C with the valve open for 18-20 minutes in traditional 4 cm charlotte moulds.

For the boudoir biscuits - Use a planetary beater to mix the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla pods. Whisk the egg whites with the sugar until stiff and glossy, then delicately fold the two mixtures together. Sieve in and mix the flour and starch. Use an icing bag with a 10 mm diameter nozzle to make fingers of the mixture, each one attached to the next, sprinkle lightly with granulated and icing sugar before baking at 210-220°C with the valve open for 10-12 minutes.

For the dark chocolate Bavarian cream - Mix the egg yolks, sugar and rice starch together; boil the milk with the cream and the vanilla pods. Incorporate the two mixtures, bring to nearly to the boil (in other words to a temperature of about 80°C)*: add in the gelatine, previously softened in cold water, and finally add the dark chocolate. When the mixture has cooled to a temperature of 30-32°C, stir in the glossy whipped cream.

For the rum – Boil the water and sugar, cool and add the rum.

Assemble the cake – Arrange the biscuits around the edge of a stainless steel cake ring and the sponge soaked in vanilla and rum on the bottom. Spread the dark chocolate cream on the sponge and cover with raspberries. Place another layer of soaked sponge on top of the cream and spread it with the dark chocolate cream. Put into the blast chiller. To decorate the cake, cover it with raspberries and spray with the neutral gelatine (this seals the air out of cakes and desserts, stopping fruit from oxidising and making them glossy and brilliant, -Ed.) Once the cake has cooled, pour over the rum.

*When a kitchen thermometer was not available, they used to check that the cream was cooked by coating the back of a wooden spoon with it and blowing on it. If it formed wrinkles similar to rose petals the cream was ready.

Macarons de Paris with coconut

Ingredients (for about 200 macaroons)

For the first mixture

500 gr t.p.t. (“tant pour tant”)*

90 gr egg whites

For the second mixture

250 g granulated sugar

70 gr water

100 gr egg whites

Desiccated coconut

For the coconut ganache

500 gr cream

100 gr desiccated coconut

500 gr white chocolate

*T.p.t. is a mixture of equal parts of icing sugar and almond flour. It can be bought ready to use but it can also be made easily at home, combining equal amounts of the two ingredients.

Preparation

First mixture
Sieve the t.p.t. and add the egg whites. Mix to give a smooth consistency

Second mixture
In a small pan, heat the water and sugar to 117°C (test with a sugar thermometer), whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and pour the sugar syrup over them. When the second mixture has cooled, fold gently into the first.

Shape the macaroons
Use a sac à poche to make lots of “buttons” with the mixture and dust them with the coconut. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake at 168°C in a fan oven (valve opened). Cool the macaroons slightly in a blast chiller.

Coconut ganache
Boil the cream in a microwave with the coconut for the ganache. Melt the chocolate, pour the cream and coconut mixture onto it and stir well. Leave to cool

Assemble the macaroons
Pierce the macaroons with a small knife and fill with a generous amount of the cooled ganache. Pinch gently to seal. Put back in the blast chiller.

oltre - beyond

Ingredients

For the light pistachio biscuit:

300 g whole eggs

150 g granulated sugar

200 g ground almonds

2 g lemon zest

1 g salt

100 g 100% pistachio paste

50 g milk

7.5 g flour

190 g free-range egg whites

100 g sugar

Per la gelatina di mango

125 g mango

2 g gelatine

15 g granulated sugar

For the papaya mousse

250 g papaya pulp

60 g Italian meringue (egg whites and sugar)

4 g gelatine

110 g whipped fresh cream

For the brittle

75 g water

60 g glucose syrup

250 g granulated sugar

150 almond flakes (warm)

25 g butter

Glossy icing

100 g granulated sugar

3 g pectin

100 g water

80 g puréed fresh papaya

250 g glucose syrup

5 g femminiello lemon from Gargano

Preparation

For the pistachio biscuit – Whisk together the eggs, sugar, ground almonds, lemon zest and salt. Mix together the milk and the pistachio paste and then stir in the flour. Finally, whisk the egg whites and the sugar and fold into the mixture, to give a smooth consistency.

For the mango gelatine – Combine the mango pulp and sugar and heat, then add the dissolved gelatine.

For the Papaya mousse – Heat the papaya pulp and stir in the dissolved gelatine, then add the Italian meringue and the whipped cream.

For the brittle – Put the water, glucose syrup and sugar into a small pan and heat to 170°C. Take off the heat and add the ground almonds and butter and stir until the butter has completely melted.

For the icing – Mix the sugar with the pectin and add the water and the papaya; bring to the boil and add the glucose. Finally, add the lemon juice and put into the fridge to cool.

Assemble the dessert – Use a 20 cm diameter, 2 cm tall circular mould: line with acetate paper, put a layer of light pistachio biscuit on the bottom followed by a layer of almond brittle. Then pour in the mango gelatine and add another layer of the biscuit. Put it all into the blast chiller. Now take a larger circular mould (24 cm in diameter, 4/5 cm tall), line with acetate paper and pour in the papaya mousse, no higher than the halfway mark. At this point turn out the previously chilled cake and place it onto the papaya mousse. Cover it all with the mousse and put back into the blast chiller for at least 2 hours. Turn out, ice and decorate as liked.

Ricotta and Pear Mousse with DolceFrutta Bakery Selezione

Ingredients for 4 mousses weighing 1.2kg / 24cm in diameter

For the mousse

1 kg gr ricotta

400 g sugar

300 g confectioner’s custard

1 kg 35% fat cream whipped till glossy

20 g sheets of gelatine

500 g DolceFrutta Bakery Pear

For the hazelnut biscuit:

400 gr butter

400 gr sugar

400 gr flour

2 gr salt

400 gr roasted hazelnut flour

Preparation

For the mousse
Dissolve the sheets of gelatine and add to the previously heated custard. In a separate bowl, whisk the ricotta and the sugar, then combine the two mixtures. Now add the cream and the DolceFrutta Bakery Pear and mix to give a smooth mousse.

For the hazelnut biscuit
In a bowl mix the butter, salt, sugar and the two kinds of flour. Refrigerate for 12 hours at 0/4°C. Roll out the pastry into a circle half a cm thick and 24 cm in diameter. Bake at 170°C for about 20 minutes.

Assemble the cake
Make the cake inside steel cake rings and place in a blast chiller. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Strawberry and hibiscus flower jelly tart

Ingredients

For the sponge base

100 g spelt flour

100 g sugar

3 organic eggs

salt

For the custard

300 g sugar-free almond milk

30 g spelt flour

3 egg yolks

90 g cane sugar

salt

Other ingredients

40-50 strawberries, if possible all the same size and not too big

a sachet of karkadé (Hibiscus Sabdariffa flowers)

2 sachets (2 x 13 g) of gelatine powder for tarts

5 dessertspoons of sugar

80 g almond flakes, half a glass of strawberry syrup (or pomegranate or other red fruit)

Preparation

For the sponge
Separate the eggs and whisk the whites into firm peaks. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and the sugar, gradually sieving in the flour with a pinch of salt. Mix for a few minutes, then fold in the egg whites using a spatula (do this gently to retain the incorporated air). Use olive oil to grease a fairly deep (6-7 cm) hinged loaf tin (about 11 x 30 cm) and pour in the mixture. Bake at 170°C for 20 minutes in a fan oven, or 30-35 minutes in a static oven. The sponge should be golden, but pale..

For the custard
Make the custard by beating the egg yolks and sugar in a pan (the best is a round bottomed custard pan), then add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir. Slowly pour in the previously heated almond milk, taking care not to let lumps form and, continuing to stir with the whisk, cook over a bain-marie for about 7-8 minutes.

Assembling the cake
Take the sponge out of the tin, cut it in half with a knife and soak the base with the strawberry syrup diluted in 4-5 dessertspoons of water. Then spread half of the cooled custard (it should be nice and thick) and cover with the other half of the cake. At this point, put the cake back into the washed and dried loaf tin and close it again. Spread the remaining custard (apart from 4 or 5 dessertspoons) over the top, then arrange rows of strawberries, making sure they are all more or less the same height (if necessary cut their bottoms off).

For the hibiscus tea
Mix the gelatine powder and the sugar in a pan, add the contents of the hibiscus sachet with 400 g of water and stir with a whisk. Once it boils, cook for another minute, then take off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Finally, stir again with the whisk to remove any film that may have formed on the gelatine and pour it slowly and gently over the strawberries, covering them completely. Leave to cool for 10 minutes then put into the fridge for at least half an hour. When the gelatine is good and firm, very carefully take the sides off the tin. Spread the edges of the cake base with the remaining custard and cover with the almond flakes.

Ice cream with Ólvi

Ingredients (amounts given for one container of ice cream)

Pistacchio Smeraldo

2600 g water

1100 gr Ólvi base (Fugar code 41475)

240 gr Ólvi base (Fugar code 41476)

400 gr 100% pure colour-free Pistacchio Smeraldo Sicilia paste (Fugar code 40706)

80 gr Frux (Fugar code 41481)

Strawberry

1000 gr water

1000 gr Ólvi base (Fugar code 41506)

120 gr Ólvi fruit (Fugar code 41507)

2000 gr strawberries

Variegated Nonna Lella banana

1000 gr water

1000 gr Ólvi base (Fugar code 41506)

120 gr Ólvi fruit (Fugar code 41507)

2000 gr bananas

a suitable amount of Nonna Lella (Fugar code 41519) – variegate in layers

Preparation

For the Ólvi pistachio ice the temperature of the water must not be less than 55°C. For the Ólvi strawberry and banana ice cream, the temperature of the water must not be less than 40°C.

Use a professional immersion blender to force mix the ingredients.Then preferably rest the mixture for 4-6 hours before beating. This is not necessary with pasteurisation. We recommend using a beating programme specific for fruit. If a blast chiller is used, this must not exceed 3 minutes. Tests have shown that optimum serving cabinet temperature is -14°C. Please note that the use of ingredients with different maturing and quality levels may give variations in the structure and conservation of the ice cream in the cabinet.

Tartare of strawberries and feta on rye crostino with honey

Ingredients (for 4 people)

Half a punnet of strawberries

50 g feta

1 dessertspoon of cane sugar

a few drops of balsamic vinegar

2 slices of rye bread from a loaf

acacia honey

fresh mint

Preparation

Clean and trim the strawberries and cut into fairly small pieces, toss in the sugar and balsamic vinegar. Use a round cutter to cut out 4 circles from the two slices of bread, toast them until crisp then brush the upper side with the honey.

At this point, use the cutter again to arrange the strawberry tartare on the crostini. The honey helps the fruit to stick to the bread. Gently remove the cutter, garnish with fresh mint and serve.

Banana Gelée Popsicle

Ingredients

1 banana

100 gr fresh peas

2 gr sheets of gelatine

20 gr icing sugar

Preparation

To prepare our ice lolly empty the fruit and use the peel as a mold (you can also use oranges, lemons and apples). Centrifuges teach us that fruits and vegetables mix wonderfully well: so the sweetness of peas perfectly combines with banana.

Boil the peas in water and, when cooked, blitz them in a mixer. Push the mixture through a sieve to remove the skins. Mash the banana with a fork, reducing it to a pulp. Stir the two mixtures together in a bowl with the icing sugar. Stir it all with a whisk to avoid lumps. Meanwhile, put the gelatine to soak in cold water. Heat it in a bain-marie for a few minutes and, once the gelatine has dissolved, add to the banana and pea mixture. Cool and put in the fridge to rest for two hours (or one hour in the freezer if time is short). Have fun creating your popsicles, using the banana skin as a container.

News from the International Federation of Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate

2015 FIPGC World Championships sponsored by Expo

EXPO will be sponsoring the World Trophy of Pastry Ice Cream Chocolate and the Cake Designers World Championship organised by the International Federation of Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate at Host Fiera Milano from 23 to 27 October 2015

2016 FIPGC Championships

Registration is open for the 2016 FIPGC Italian Pastry Ice-Cream Chocolate Championships, which will be held at the Fiera del Tirreno in Massa from 28 February to 2 March 2016. The competition qualifies for the “Italian Selection” for “The World Trophy of Pastry Ice Cream Chocolate FIPGC”. The winners will represent the FIPGC Italian Team, who will compete at the The World Trophy of Pastry Ice Cream Chocolate FIPGC at Host Fiera Milano 2017 (Download the official regulations 2016)

Registration is open for the 2016 FIPGC Italian Cake Designers Championships, which will be held at the Fiera del Tirreno in Massa from 28 February to 2 March 2016. The competition qualifies for the “Italian Selection” for the “Cake Designers World Championship FIPGC”. The winners will represent the FIPGC Italian Team, who will compete at the Cake Designers World Championship FIPGC at Host Fiera Milano 2017 (Download the official regulations 2016)

The birth of the Tradition & Love FIP project

This project aims to gather all possible news about typical cakes and desserts from every region and province in Italy, a heritage that must be adequately protected and enhanced. (See the project page)

Prizes and awards

Katia Malizia, Fip Lazio member, won the gold medal in the Cake Design Internationals in London. Marilù Giarè won two silver medals in the same competition.

Tiziana Benvegna, Fip Lazio member, won the “Absolute Gold” medal in the Cake Design Internationals in London.

Giuseppe Mancini with the Puglia team won the Italian Team Pastry and Cooking Championships in Carrara, with a creation in sugar, an assortment of mini pastries and pralines.

Antonella Cacossa and Monica Scafidi from Fip Piedmont won 1st and 2nd place respectively in the Cake Design competition in Asti.

Partnerships

New partnership with the Istituto Lioni Vanvitelli in Avellino.
New partnership with the Assfarm association for event organisation

The Federation at La Prova del Cuoco

Mario Ragona (FIP executive board) and Vincenzo Monaco (FIP Sicily), take part every Thursday in La Prova del Cuoco (the Italian equivalent ofthe BBC’s Ready Steady Cook, NdT.) on Rai 1, will take turns creating traditional recipes as representatives of the Federation.

Federation Pastry Chef courses

The Federation of Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate holds courses all year round, all over Italy, for professional chefs, covering a wide selection of topics: mini pastries, artistic sugar, family cakes, cake design, modern cakes and more. Detailed information about the courses can be found on the Federation website. Go to course calendar