The main ingredients in this three berry smoothie are blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. These healthy berries are bursting with anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins. Use your imagination – you could substitute other fruits too. Also a couple of tablespoons of oatmeal flakes can turn this into a great instant breakfast. Throw everything into the blender and press the button! Of course the edible flower is only a decoration. Continue reading
This Blueberry Panettone is so easy to make with a bread machine. By now there are an infinite variety of panettoni on the market in Italy. This year I opted for a blueberry version which was nowhere to be found so I just went ahead and made one! The kneading and two rises were done by my bread machine after which I pulled out the dough and shaped it into two 1/2 kg. paper panettoni cases and two mini ones and then baked them in my conventional oven. I have to say it wasn’t much harder than making bread. I only had to add the (dried) blueberries and finish off with the last rising before popping them into the oven. This is not the overly sweet store bought panettone that can last weeks in your cupboard. There are no emulsifiers or preservatives here but it’s so wholesomely good that it wouldn’t last long anyway! Continue reading
These healthy Blueberry Hot Cakes made with whole wheat flour and ricotta make them especially protein rich. A good stone ground flour also imparts a pleasant nutty taste. These hot cakes rise to greater thickness in comparison to traditional pancakes in that the batter is thicker and the final dash of apple cider vinegar gives them a boost in rising power. Continue reading
This was absolutely the lightest and most delicious wedding cake I’ve ever eaten. Basically it was two layers of sponge cake (or one cut in half) filled with Chantilly cream (whipped cream with powdered sugar), covered and decorated with the same cream and fresh blueberries and raspberries. Then small meringues are pressed all around into the sides. There were eight identical cakes placed on a “swirling” cake stand in a spiral fashion. The recipe for sponge cake is identical to the one in my October blog. This way you can double, triple, etc. as needed for the portions. (One cake should be about 8 slices). We had this cake at the Cascina Caremma at Besate near Milan. Continue reading