My homemade Gianduia cake. Every year during the holidays, I design a different dessert to present at dinner on Christmas Eve. It may seem untimely now, given that it’s February! But putting everything together is not easy. I present the recipes on the cooking page, then transcribe them complete with all the ingredients on this blog; my personal collection of good recipes.
Christmas is an important celebration for me, having my children and grandchildren at dinner even more so. These are the little traditions I want to carry on. The children grow up, and so do the grandchildren, so we must always find time for the beautiful things.
Despite both being great cooking enthusiasts, and like often happens with children, rather harsh critics, their observations have been few.
It has become a ritual: they analyze every course, scrutinize the dessert, and bombard me with questions on every technical detail.
It’s a discussion that has been going on for years and, even though it has a “meticulous” vein, it remains one of the most pleasant traditions.
It’s their critical curiosity that pushes me every year to improve and refine my recipes.
After all, I can “mea culpa” for having given them the foundation to love homemade cooking, by involving them in meal preparations whenever time permitted.
A cake that seems elaborate but is actually very simple, with different textures.
Other cakes to “celebrate”
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- Half packet baking ammonia
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup sunflower oil
- 1 cup jam (Blackberry)
- as needed chocolates (Gianduiotti)
- 10.5 oz dark chocolate
- 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
- 3/4 cup hazelnut paste
- 7 oz amaretti cookies (dry)
- 10.5 oz dark chocolate
- 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
Tools
All the tools I use can be found in my shopping recommendations
- Cake Stands
- Plates
- Cake Holders
Steps
First, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, and baking ammonia, mix well, and add the eggs, milk, and oil. Use electric beaters to slightly whisk the mixture. Transfer to a 10-inch cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes at 375°F. Let cool before using
Gianduia cream and second group of ingredients: melt the chopped dark chocolate with the hot cream, add the hazelnut paste, let cool, and then place in the refrigerator.
Now it’s time for the third group of ingredients for the solid base. Add crushed amaretti after melting the chopped dark chocolate in the hot cream. Mix carefully and spread on parchment paper to make a round base with the same diameter as the soft part, with a thickness of about 0.4 in. With any leftovers, make little balls that you can roll in hazelnut crumbs or cocoa powder to decorate the cake.
Whip the Gianduia cream with electric beaters
Assemble the solid part, layer the soft part, and after dissolving the blackberry jam in an equal amount of just warm water, wet the surface and leave the fruit part as a filling. If you prefer, you can increase the amount and create a slightly thicker filling.
Now cover with Gianduia cream in dollops or spread evenly.
Decorate as desired: I used Gianduiotti, amaretti balls, and hazelnut crumbs
Soft, fragrant, delicious!
A Few More Tips
You can prepare this dessert in two stages. Prepare the bases the day before and assemble the next morning. Let it rest in the refrigerator to allow the ingredients to fuse with their different flavors and textures.
