CANDYBOOK

Le ricette di Neve sono magiche ed innevate, dai profumi speziati e dai colori luminosi del ghiaccio.

Neve Calendar

Neve Tree Mini Cake
Star Clock Cake Pops

Owls Cake Pops
Gingerbread House

A questo punto li metto in una nuova pentola con latte, zucchero e sale e faccio bollire altri 40 minuti circa, finché non inizia ad asciugare il latte. Scolo i marroni e li passo a setaccio. 

Incorporo alla purea ottenuta il cacao, la vanillina e il Rum. Io ho usato due bei bicchieri di crema al Bicerìn, un liquore al cioccolato… un'ottima scelta! Amalgamo bene il tutto e ripasso al setaccio. L'impasto ottenuto deve essere asciutto e compatto. Divido il composto in 6 piattini e formo dei monticelli. Monto la panna insieme ai cucchiai di zucchero a velo e con l'aiuto di una sac à poche con bocchetta a stella ricopro di panna i monti. Posso poi spolverare la punta con cacao amaro, aggiungere pezzetti di marron glacé e porne uno intero sulla cima. Voilà, il nostro monte squisito e innevato è pronto per essere gustato!

English version

It's the season of chestnuts and Piedmont is rich of chestnuts… Famous for its variety called "Marrone", a cultivated chestnut improved with grafts. The "Marroni" are larger than the wild chestnuts, with a hedgehog structure that holds up to 2 or 3, it has a streaked peel, the skin can be removed easier and the pulp is more fragrant. In Piedmont we can mention the variety from Cuneo and Val di Susa, which are registered products with Protected Geographical Indication. Due to their characteristics, they are ideal for desserts, especially for "Marrons Glacés", candied and glazed chestnuts... a real refinement of the best bakeries in Piedmont! It seems that they are born in Cuneo and prepared by a pastry chef of the Savoy court in the sixteenth century. The recipe appears in the treatise "Confetturiere Piemontese" , printed in Turin in 1766. The procedure of candying is really long and complicated... It is cooked and dipped in sugar syrup for several days and glazed in the final stage, with a very high risk of breaking the chestnut in its long process. Well, for best results, let a a great pastry chef do them!

The dessert with chestnut for excellence is the "Monte Bianco" or ""Mont Blanc", a mountain of whipped cream stuffed with a sweet chestnut puree, dusted with cocoa and delicious Marrons Glacés! As we know, the Mont Blanc is a mountain that stands between France and Valle d' Aosta. The dessert has probable French origin, but is widespread in the Piedmont region, due to its large chestnut belt.

The preparation itself is simple, but requires a little bit of patience to peel the chestnuts.

Ingredients (for 6 servings)

Coverture

For this recipe it is best to use Marroni chestnuts, because they are larger and easier to peel. But it will also fit an other large chestnut. I chose to do mini portions and to follow the more quick and traditional method.

First I prepare the filling, the chestnut puree. I wash the chestnuts and I practice a cut on the skin until I feel the pulp. I boil them in a pot with water for about 10 minutes. Then I drain two or three pieces at a time, and I peel them by also removing the inner skin. This work should be done quickly, as the skins will be easier to remove if the chestnut is hot.

At this point I put them in a new pot with milk, sugar and salt, and I boil them for additional 40 minutes, until the milk starts to dry. I drain the chestnuts and pitch them in a sieve. I incorporate to the puree cocoa, vanilla and Rum. I used two nice glasses of Bicerìn, a creamy chocolate liqueur from Turin… great choice! I amalgamate well and sift the dough again. The dough should be dry and compact. I divide it into 6 saucers and I form mounds. Then I whip the the cream with the tablespoons icing sugar. I cover it with the whipped cream using a pastry bag with star tip. I can dust the top with cocoa add put chopped or wholes Marrons Glacés on the top. Voilà, our exquisite snowy mountain snow is ready to be enjoyed!

Sfornata la torta, la taglio due volte e riempio il primo strato di ganache al cioccolato rimanente e il secondo di crema.

Ricopro la torta di crema al burro e poi rivesto di pasta di zucchero nera sia la torta che il cono in polistirolo, attaccandola con gomma arabica e acqua. Questo servirà per foderare il cono prima di tempestarlo di Macarons.

Lo poso al centro della torta e decoro i bordi visibili con la stessa fantasia floreale dei Viola Domes, ovvero con Icing verde e fiori di pasta di zucchero rosa e violetto.

Con dei fiori più grandi copro anche la punta del cono in modo armonico e variegato.

Infine, diamo una spolverata di glitter argentato su tutta la torta concentrandoci sui fiori… La ViolaTower è fiorita e pronta per essere ammirata e gustata da tutti!:)

For the cream I used this recipe of custard, just flavored with orange.

Baked the cake, I cut it twice and I fill the first layer of remaining chocolate ganache and the second layer with orange custard.

I hold the cake with butter cream and then I upholster with black sugar paste the cake and the polystyrene cone, attacking it with arabic gum and water. This will serve to cover the cone before we adorn it with Macarons.

I place the Macarons up stabbing toothpicks into the cone. I have to fill the entire polystyrene cone, except the tip.

I lay the cone at the center of the cake and I decorate the visible edges with the same floral fantasy style of the Viola Domes: green Royal Icing with pink and violet sugar paste flowers.

With the larger flowers I cover the tip of the cone in a harmonious and various way.

Finally , we give a sprinkling of silver glitter over the entire cake, focusing on the flowers… The ViolaTower blooms and is eady to be admired and enjoyed by all! :)

I pour the mass directly into the silicone molds, leaving a little edge, and I bake them at 170° degrees for about 45 minutes, leaving for the first 10-15 minutes the oven ajar. Only after the toothpick test I can take our domes from the oven. I let them cool at least 20 minutes and then I flip them on a grid.

For the filling, I cut a hole in the bottom, putting aside the "cap". I fill the dome with slightly heated and smooth apricot jam, and I close it again with its same cap. I cover the whole cake with a thin layer of jam and I let it cool again.

Now it begins the most imaginative phase: are we ready to create our curlicues garden of colorful flowers?;) At first I decorate throughout the dome with "branches" of royal icing, obtained by mixing with the whisk 170g icing sugar and 1 egg white. The drops of lemon juice will make the icing more lucid. I also add a little bit of green color in powder and I stir until it is evenly blended and smooth. I fill a pastry bag with round and thin tip and I create doodles branches and leaves. Waiting that it cools I prepare pink, purple and orange flowers. I just cut the small disks and then I roll, fold in the center or join three or four of them to form petals.

I put the flowers on the domes and finally I color the petals with a thin brush to create shades. A splash of food silver powder... and voilà our "Viola Domes" ! They are really wonderful...