World Nutella Day 2013!

If I had to choose between a piece of warm focaccia stuffed with homestyle salami, and a slice of cake, I'd probably go for the pork. That is if Nutella isn't part of the equation, because otherwise I'd seriously have a hard time deciding.

Today I'll be keeping my savory preferences to myself, and instead be a part of the celebrations in honor of the world-known hazelnut-chocolate spread because it's World Nutella Day.

Yes! A holiday that consecrates Nutella, founded six years ago by the genius minds of Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso. There's even an Unofficial Guide to Nutella, and you can get your copy or gift one on Amazon. What better occasion than today?

So, how do I celebrate World Nutella Day? Hosts Michelle and Sara suggest getting creative and eating lots of it, but also making recipes using Nutella, eating Nutella with a big spoon. Waxing poetic about Nutella. Even offering Nutella as a sacrifice.

Personally, I'll be baking. And for me this is a huge effort. I'm more of an improviser, so following precise instructions, being careful with measurements – which baking requires – is a not my thing. But on Feb 5th – World Nutella Day – I go by the book.

Remember the Nutella Pseudo Mousse recipe I submitted for my first ever World Nutella Day? Well think cupcakes frosted with THAT. My blood sugar spiked just thinking about it.

Ingredients for the easy-peasy cupcakes
1 cup Nutella
2 eggs
150gr (about 10 tbsp) all-purpose flour

Ingredients for the frosting
250gr (1 1/4 cups) whipping cream
2 tsp confectioner's sugar, sifted
3 tbsp Nutella

Preheat oven to 350°F

Whisk all the cupcake ingredients together until fluffy and completely blended.
Divvy up the blend evenly into muffin tins.
Pop in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the frosting.
Whip the cream with the confectioner's sugar until quite firm.
Add the Nutella to the whipped cream, blending it softly with a wooden spoon in round, repetitive, loving motions. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Cool cupcakes on an elevated rack, once completely cool, slather with the refrigerated Nutella mousse frosting. Decorate with sprinkles or chocolate chips.

Makes 8 cupcakes. You pour the milk while I set the table.

How do you indulge your Nutella?

World Nutella Day 2012

It's that time of year again! And since I'm on a diet trying to cut down on sweets, for this edition of World Nutella Day I won't break the gilded seal of the usual giant tub, rather savor every finger scoop of this tiny 30 gram (1 oz) mini Nutella. These wee jars are sold during the holiday season as tree ornaments, see the clear plastic eyelet? Clever.

Happy World Nutella Day to all my friends, readers, family near and far, and a huge thanks to the sweet events' founders, dearest Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and darling Michelle of Bleeding Espresso for putting this celebration together every year and giving me a chance to indulge.

Want to see more Nutella?

• Check out the action at the World Nutella Day Fan Page on Facebook! 
• Follow the Twitter stream @nutelladay for updates and follow & use the Twitter hashtag #nutelladay to participate!
• Get cooking with more than 700 Nutella recipes
• Drool at Nutella food porn in the World Nutella Day Flickr Pool

Baci nutellosi!

Crostata di Nutella recipe

Every year I anxiously await February 5th to break open my giant tub of Nutella and celebrate with fellow hazelnut-chocolate addicts in what many feel is the year’s sweetest occasion. But don’t be fooled into thinking I only eat Nutella on this date. No. I consume indecent amounts of Nutella, eaten straight off my finger all year round, and guilt never factors in any of these episodes.

A big grazie from the Nutellaholics of the world goes to Michelle from Bleeding Espresso and Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy for annually hosting my favorite blog party at World Nutella Day, and providing us with many creative tributes to the dreamy spread.

As this year’s contribution, I made crostata. Calling it an open-top tart is offensive, mainly because baked Nutella tends to dry out and burn. At least in my crazy oven. The cookie-like crust is pastafrolla–which is the Italian version of shortcrust pastry, or the French pâte sucrée–and the filling is usually jam, sliced fruit or custard with pine nuts.

I love the appealing chewy crunch of coconut and the enveloping, sexy embrace of Nutella, it was only natural the two should become one in my flaky crusted, sliky smooth

Crostata Cocco & Nutella ~ Coconut and Nutella Tart

Ingredients

350 g (1 3/4 cups) flour
150 g (3/4 cup) coconut flour
200 g (1 cup) confectioner’s sugar
300 g (1 1/2 cups) salted butter
4 egg yolks
A pinch of salt (only if you're using unsalted butter)
The star ingredient, Nutella


Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F).


Shortcrust pastry is somewhat of a challenge. If the dough is overkneaded and too cold, it will be too firm to roll; if too warm and soft, the dough could fall apart during baking. Temperature is key, so work away from the hot stove, possibly on a marble surface and using chilled bowls and utensils. I run my hands under the cold water before kneading the ingredients together. Ready?

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the regular flour and the coconut flour. Add the sugar and, using two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture. Roll up your sleeves, remove any rings and bracelets, and get in there pinching and breaking up the butter chunks further with your fingers until the texture resembles coarse oatmeal, and the butter pieces are no larger than peas.

Drop in the yolks, and knead just until the dough pulls together. You want to obtain a silky texture, so don’t be tempted to add flour.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Butter and dredge a 12-inch tart pan (or you can line it with parchment paper like I did). Lightly dust your rolling pin with a suspicion of flour, and roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch in thickness. Use a paring knife to cut away excess dough, and save extra bits for decoration or cookies.

Blanket the tart pan with the flattened dough, push well into the edges of the pan, and poke with the tines of a fork, so it will not deform during baking. Another way to avoid forming of uneven air pockets in the crust is to cover the raw dough with parchment paper and use weights to keep it from rising. I scatter two fistfuls of dried beans to cover the entire surface, but I’ve heard of many other weights, like marbles, uncooked rice, bearing balls, or washed pebbles.

Pop the crust plus any spare bits in the hot oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden (my oven bakes it in just under 10 minutes). Remove weights and let the crust cool briefly.

Enter the diva. Warm the jar in a pot of hot water before liberally slathering a generous layer of Nutella on the baked crust (don’t be afraid to overdo) and decorate with leftover dough shapes, if you like. Licking the instruments clean is greatly encouraged.

Cut large slices, serve with champagne and field marriage proposals as needed.

How do you enjoy your Nutella?

Window-shopping at Gargani, Rome

A little food porn from the storefront window of Gargani, the Bulgari of Roman gourmet grocers.















Featured in this first picture:
Upper left-hand corner: the delectable tortellini Maletti with a prosciutto and Parmigiano filling. Notice how the pasta dough is bright yellow, you thank the farm hen and her organic eggs for that.
Above, center: ricotta and spinach ravioli, homemade by a local pastaio artisanal manufacturer
Upper right-hand corner: organic pesto sauce sold by weight
Middle: tagliolini all'uovo, fresh egg pasta, coarse and delicious thick angel hair-type
Lower left-hand corner: "caramelle," pasta dough 'candies' made with spinach, stuffed with Fontina cheese and ground walnut meats.
Below, center: mini potato gnocchi (the size of a thimble)
lower right hand corner, hand made Ligurian trofie (perfect marriage with above-mentioned pesto)

Second photo illustrates:

Upper left-hand corner: semolina gnocchi (typical of Rome). These are discs of polenta-style cooked semolina, and they are usually prepared by broiling them in the oven to form a crispy butter and grated Parmigiano crust.
Above, center: capellini (angel hair) egg pasta nests
Upper right-hand corner: reverse angle on aforementioned tortellini
Middle: assorted fresh homemade egg pasta, sold by weight
Lower left-hand corner: mini multi-colored potato gnocchi (tomato and spinach added to the potato flour mix)
Below, center: "caramelle" pockets stuffed with a pumpkin and crushed amaretto filling
Lower right-hand corner: regular potato gnocchi

And now, onto dessert. The following 2 pictures display:

Assorted crostate tarts (apricot marmalade, Nutella, blackberry jam, custard and pinoli (Italian for pine nuts), mixed dried fruits, etc. Notice the price in the foreground, €16,00 per kilo (hence the Bulgari nickname)
Marron glacées (candied chestnuts with a caramelized violet flower on top)
Fruit tarts, with prevailing strawberries (out of season, really...)
Salame di Cioccolato, a decadent chocolate dessert. For the recipe, see my rendition here
Antichi (way, way in the far back), a confection inspired by an ancient Roman recipe: baked pastry baskets filled with honey, almonds, raisins and pine nuts
Pastiera, the quintessential Neapolitan Easter cake made with wheat, ricotta and just a drop of orange blossom essence
Apple strudels, they come in any size, shape and form
And away, hidden in a far nook, a majestic bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, a damn fine Champagne

Confessions of a rampant Nutella junkie

Of all forms of temptation to sin, I think chocolate is what turns me on the most without foreplay. Honey colored slabs of glossy, firm milk chocolate; tiny white chocolate pralines; snapping bars of dark, bitter chocolate; choco-coated coffee beans. I can’t resist. As a rampant chocoaddict, I'm forced to indulge, greater forces moving me.
Nutella, a delicious creamy spread staple that has marked generations of Italian children with premature lust, unwanted calories and acne, is today’s drug of choice. On this rainy Roman day, we Nutellaholics celebrate its pure spreadable joy.

Many chocolatiers produce their own nutella-like products, but nothing beats the original contained in the trademark stout glass jar with white screw cap or the mismatched tumblers with the snap top boasting the same 70’s red and black label. The unchanged illustration below the logo is a steadfast Italian icon. Mid afternoon merenda snack meant thick slices of crusty bread slathered with Nutella and a guaranteed energy boost capable of orbiting us to Pluto.

Today, February 5th, 2009 – World Nutella Day – I officiate as Nutella High Priestess (E is way too small for such mundane and Dionysian pleasures). I solemnly jab a hole in the gilded seal, cerimoniously tearing it open. The ciabatta is warming in the oven, and the ecstasy of thrusting just-washed fingers in the virgin tranquil sea of its surface is the prelude to a lustful moment of private Nutella plenty.

Here is a recipe I want to share as a sign of grateful thanks for Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, for proclaiming and instituting World Nutella Day.
Grazie, mie care sorelle!

Quantities for 4 Nutella Virgins (or 1 aficionado):
250gr (1 1/4 cups) whipping cream
2 tsp confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3 tbsp Nutella, or more to taste

If you are among those who store half opened jars of Nutella in the refrigerator, please refrain from reading any further. This means that a) you actually manage to have any left over, and b) you show no respect for Nutella’s signature creamy nature. In both cases you win my distrust.

Whip the cream with the confectioner’s sugar until quite firm. Add the Nutella, blending it softly with a wooden spoon in round, loving motions. NOW refrigerate the combined elements of your pseudo-mousse for 15 minutes, if you can resist.
Can be left plain or garnished with sifted bitter Dutch cocoa, a cinnamon stick and a few mint leaves before applying to face.