Mamma...

Happy New Year everyone!
I have been away for a while but I will be back soon with more recipes..
I spent the Christmas holidays in Italy with my family and friends, bringing back love and good memories. Here is one.. my mum with a huge bowl of hand made fettucine... I love you mum.

Orange Buns filled with Fresh Cream (Adriano Contisio recipe) - Maritozzi all’Arancia con Panna Montata di Adriano Contisio

I got this recipe from one of my favourite Italian food bloggers Adriano Contisio (http://profumodilievito.blogspot.com/). This is a recipe created by Adriano and I have to say that these buns are so soft and delicious that they make you forget the amount of time spent to make them (yes, this is not a quick recipe!). Forget calorie counting too and let them melt in your mouth. Truly delicious!

Ingredients

• Strong Canadian Flour, 450g
• Rice Flour, 50g
• Water, 200g
• White granulated sugar, 90g
• Honey, 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
• 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
• Fresh yeast, 8g
• Salt, 8g
• Butter, 60g
• Maize oil (or peanut or rice oil), 40g
• Zest of an orange
• Egg white and sugar syrup for brushing
• Fresh Cream to decorate

Method

Heat the water mixed with the orange zest, but do not boil. This step is required for the orange zest to release its flavour. Let cool down for a little bit, until the water is lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water together with a teaspoon of honey. Add 200g of flour, mix well, and leave to rest in a warm place for an hour.

Put the mixture in a bowl, add some of the remaining white flour, the rice flour, part of the sugar and start kneading. Incorporate the whole egg with the rest of the flour and the sugar and continue kneading. Add the egg yolk, 1 tbsp of honey and the salt and keep on kneading the dough. Finally add the softened butter and while kneading incorporate the oil. Work the dough until soft and elastic - for at least 15-20 minutes. Cover the bowl with cling film or with a towel and leave to raise for about two hours.

Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a lightly floured surface and punch to remove the air pockets. Now fold like an envelope, bringing the four sides over the center of the dough. Cover again and leave to rest for half an hour.

Turn the dough out onto the work surface and cut into little balls, weighting approx. 80 grams each. Work each dough ball into a round shape, place onto the work surface, cover with a towel and leave to rest for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn the dough balls upside down, and re-shape them into a round shape. Cover with a towel and leave to raise for an hour. After an hour the dough balls should be light and fluffy.

Brush with egg white and transfer to a pre-heated oven to 180° for about 12 minutes, or until golden. When cooked, remove from the oven and brush again with sugar syrup. To make the sugar syrup mix 100g of water with 135g sugar, bring to the boil and remove from the heat once the syrup has thickened. When you brush the buns the sugar syrup temperature should be approximately 30°.

Once cold, perform a cut in the middle of the buns and fill with fresh cream. At this point bring one bun to your mouth and you will be in heaven!

Maritozzi all’Arancia di Adriano Contisio

Ho chiesto ad Adriano se potevo linkare la sua meravigliosa ricetta (con foto e spiegazioni dettagliate) ed eccola qua: http://profumodilievito.blogspot.com/2009/03/maritozzi-allarancia.html.

Crème Pâtissière Tart

Ingredients

• Plain flour, 200g (I use the `00` type)
• Unsalted good quality butter, 100g - plus extra for greasing
• Icing sugar, 50g
• 2 free-range egg yolks, plus 1 egg for brushing
• Some cold water
• Pinch of salt
• Lemon zest
• Approx 400g of Crème Pâtissière

Crème Pâtissière

• Whole milk, 250g
• Caster sugar, 70
• Half vanilla pod
• Egg yolks, 2
• Sieved Flour, 40g

Method First of all prepare the Crème Pâtissière. In a saucepan, bring the milk slowly to the boil with the vanilla pod. Allow to cool slightly and remove the vanilla pod, scraping the seeds back into the milk. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks with the caster sugar. Sift the plain flour and mix thoroughly. Pour the milk onto the egg mix whisking continuously. Return to a clean pan and stir with a wooden spatula to the boil over a gentle heat until it starts to thicken, then using a whisk stir to ensure it is of a smooth texture. Place some clingfilm over the surface and chill. The clingfilm will prevent a skin from forming. On a floured surface mix the flour and the butter cut into small pieces together. Mix in the icing sugar, the egg yolks and the lemon zest and work together very quickly to form the pastry dough. Add some cold water if required. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes before using. Place the pastry in a 25 cm tart tin, pressing it gently around the sides. Trim all excess pastry, and reserve the trimmings. Spread the Crème Pâtissière inside the tart base. Roll out the pastry trimmings, cut into strips and lay the strips over the tart. Brush with a beaten egg and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the pastry is a light golden colour. Leave to cool completely before serving.

Crostata alla Crema Pasticcera

Ingredienti

• Farina OO, 200g
• Burro di buona qualita’, 100g
• Zucchero a velo, 50g
• 2 tuorli d`uovo ed un uovo intero per spennellare
• Acqua fredda q.b.
• Un pizzico di sale
• La buccia grattugiata di un limone
• Circa 400g di Crema Pasticcera

Crema Pasticcera

• Latte intero, 250g
• Zucchero 70
• Mezza bacca di vaniglia
• 2 tuorli d’uovo
• Farina, 40g

Metodo

Crema Pasticcera - Versare il latte in un pentolino, aggiungere meta’ di un baccello di vaniglia tagliato a metà nel senso della lunghezza e portare a bollore. Togliere la pentola dal fuoco e lasciare in infusione per almeno 30 minuti, in modo che la vaniglia rilasci tutto il suo aroma. Filtrare il tutto in una pentola pulita. Lavorare i tuorli con lo zucchero, aggiungere la farina setacciata ed amalgamare il tutto con cura. Rimettere il latte sul fuoco e, prima che raggiunga il bollore, toglierlo dal fuoco ed incominciare a versarlo a filo nel composto di tuorli mescolando velocemente. Rimettere la pentola sul fuoco e, mescolando di continuo con una spatola di legno, portare a cottura. Coprire la crema con della pellicola alimentare per evitare la formazione di pellicina e far raffreddare.
Sbriciolare velocemente il burro nella farina. Aggiungere lo zucchero, i tuorli e la buccia del limone e lavorare velocemente. Aggiungere qualche cucchiaio di acqua fredda se necessario. Formate una palla, avvolgetela in pellicola per alimenti e tenetela in frigo per 30 minuti prima di utilizzarla. Disponete la pasta frolla in una tortiera di circa 25 cm. Con una parte dell'impasto che avrete messo da parte, formare delle striscioline da mettere sopra dopo aver spalmato la crema pasticcera. Spennellare con un uovo battuto leggermente e mettere la crostata cosi' pronta in forno a circa 180 gradi per 40 minuti circa. Far raffreddare e servire.