Pizza crema e amarene – black cherry and custard tart

Pizza crema e amarena in a flan tin
I am a real beauty. You will love me.

I know what you are thinking, because I have great powers that include reading people’s minds, but yes: pizza crema e amarene is the actual name for this superduper tart. The pastry is soft and the custard combined with the conserve is to die for.

I have fond memories of pizza crema e amarene as my mamma Mariolina would Continue reading

Caprese alle nocciole – hazelnut and chocolate torte

SLice of torta caprese alle nocciole
Hey, I am better than nutella.

I know what you might be thinking: “Déjà vu!” Yes, and no. Caprese alle nocciole is a variation of the original caprese, which is made with almonds. But the method is slightly different and the taste changes dramatically with the substitution of the almonds with the awesome, legendary Continue reading

Pastiera – wheat and ricotta tart

Slice of beautiful pastiera napoletana served on a plate
Am I not beautifully amazing?

The Easter theme continues, as in Naples it is not Pasqua without pastiera, after all! 😋 I have been counting the days until it was the right time to share this recipe. And admittedly I am a bit late and the Easter holidays are over. But I hope you will forgive me as Continue reading

Salame di cioccolato – chocolate salami

Salame di cioccolato served in a plate
I am all you need

This is the one cake that will hypnotise you. Salame di cioccolato is one of those simple and basic recipes that require no baking, and is lots of fun to make. You will need to read more to find out what the fun element is… Continue reading

Monachine napoletane – custard and morello cherry parcels

Monachine covered with custard and morello cherries
I am older and wiser than all of you. I was born in 1700

There is something fascinating about using recipes that were born centuries ago. That is the case for monachine napoletane (little nuns): delightful puff pastry cakes with a yummy filling of crema pasticcera (custard, which must be home-made) and morello cherry conserve.

Nuns and monks were renowned for Continue reading

Migliaccio di Carnevale – lemon, orange and ricotta cake

Slice of migliaccio, a lemon-ricotta cake with iciing sugar on top
Light, soft, moist. Like a cloud, but tastier

I am not sure how many of you will be familiar with migliaccio di Carnevale, but I can assure you that a great many Italians get very excited when the Carnival season approaches because it means it is time to make some pretty scrumptious recipes. Migliaccio is one of these…

Tender, light and Continue reading

Ciambellone al limone – lemon cake (with a hole)

Italian recipe for ciambellone al limone made by Mariacristina
Very hard to resist when it’s there in front of you…

Sometimes you really need to get creative when it comes to translating names of Italian food into English. For ciambellone al limone, no matter how much I searched, the only possible word that would give a vague idea of what ciambellone refers to in terms of shape, at least, was doughnut. My ears would not accept it, though, and my eyes filled with  Continue reading