The Sweets of Roma: Tortine di Nutella

Ciao a tutti!! When you’re in Italy, you can’t NOT have candy and pastries. I mean, it’s kind of a law. Well, it’s not, but still. It really should be. Something I love about Italian sweets is how different the flavors are from the ones we have in America. In America it’s all about cookie dough and cookies and cream, in Italy, nut and fruit flavors are very popular. 

I've never seen a Chestnut Torta in a bakery, except when I’m in Italy. I’m a big fan of nutty flavors, so everything topped with pistachios, walnuts, almonds, pignolis and chestnuts is a nice surprise for me. I’m telling you….just looking in the windows of the bakeries was a treat. So, I thought it would be fun to post a Pastry Photo Tour of Roma!! I've also added recipes that I've tried and tested that were the closest to the actual experience. I'll be posting a new pastry recipes/photo every few days inspired by the beautiful pastries I enjoyed while in Roma. And in a few days, a Pastry/Gelato Photo Tour of Firenze! 

But for today....Tortine di Nutella. That's right. Nutella. Who doesn't love nutella? I'm not sure I should tell you how many of these babies I ate while in Italy. Honestly....I had one almost every night. I'm not even kidding. Clearly, I love nutella, as you may recall from my Nutella Chronicle Post. Every bakery has their own take on this classic tart, so I figured it was only fair to try everyone's version!! Right?!?! These are little flaky shortbread tartlets filled with a deep and rich nutella ganache. 

They. Are. Amazing. No lie. Enjoy and please let me know what you think!! 

Tortine di Nutella

Buttery Shortbread Pastry Crust

2 cups all purpose flour

14 tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. chilled heavy cream

1 tsp. salt

In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, egg, sugar, heavy cream and salt and pulse until the dough gathers into big clumps.  Put the dough on a clean counter surface that is lightly floured and gather it together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough. You can use whatever size tart pans you like, piccolo, medio or grande. Press the tart pans into the dough for your crust. Put them in the oven on 300 degrees and cook for 6 minutes. They will not be completely done, but you will be baking them again when filled with the nutella. Now prepare your nutella ganache...

Nutella Ganache 

1 cup of nutella

4 ounces of good quality milk chocolate, I like to use Perugina chocolate bars

1/2 cup heavy cream

Chopped Hazelnuts to top the tarts

Prepare the nutella and chocolate in a small mixing bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Add the nutella and chocolate to the heavy cream and mix until silky and smooth. Now get the tart/tartlet crusts (whatever size you picked) and carefully spoon the nutella into the crust. Put back in the oven on 300 degrees and bake for another 6 minutes. Take out and add the chopped hazelnuts to top of the tarts. Boun Appetito!!

The Nutella Chronicles: Nutella Ricotta Zeppoles, Week One

It happened again. I woke up this morning, my hair a mess, half off the bed, memory blurred and my hand clutching a spoon like it was a teddy bear. What happened? What had I done? And then it all hit me. The familiar scent of hazelnut, the rich taste of chocolate in my mouth, the sticky fingers. I hit the nutella….again. Real bad too. How could I keep doing this? It was so unlike me. There was just something about the way nutella smelled and tasted, the smooth and creamy texture, all the versatility, the things I could do with it.

Never mind that now, I had to figure out exactly what got me here. I looked to the right side of the bed and saw a few half opened jars of the stuff, to the left there was a plate full of crumbs. Crumbs. Okay, I didn't just eat out of the jar then. They texture of the crumbs didn't make sense. They weren't brownies or cookies, they were too crispy for that. I needed to investigate further.

I got up and walked into the kitchen searching for more clues. A large mixing bowl sat on the counter, whisk still in it next to a used container of ricotta. A frying pan with a fresh layer of oil on the stove. Frying pan? Ricotta cheese? I clearly wasn't making cheesecake, so what could I have possibly done with a frying pan, ricotta and nutella?  Oh no. I remembered. It all came back to me. I made my great aunt Carmella’s Nutella Ricotta Zeppoles. But how? My mother kept the secret recipe hidden, I didn't even know where it was. I checked my phone, seeing that I had called her four times last night, she must have spilled. Obviously, what else could explain the zeppoles? I certainly didn't know how to make them. Only my mother held the key.

I went back to the bedroom searching desperately for more clues and there it was. Placed neatly on my desk. The recipe. The recipe for the most amazing, crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, Nutella Ricotta Zeppoles. Glancing over the recipe, it wasn't hard to see why I had ended up like this.

Nutella Ricotta Zepploes

1 ½ pounds ricotta

½ cup of nutella

2 cups of flour

¼ tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. sugar

4 eggs

1 cup of neutral oil for frying

First, mix together your ricotta and nutella. Then add your eggs. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the nutella ricotta mix. Let the batter sit for around 20 minutes.

Prepare a deep pot for frying over high heat and add your oil. Drop batter by large tablespoons into the oil. Each zeppole should take roughly 4-6 minutes to fry, so please stand by and watch them. They should also float to the top!! Don’t get nervous if when they are done frying they look dark, the nutella makes the batter a mocha color! When they are done, take them out and put on a wire rack so any excess oil drips off. I like to serve these the traditional way with a light dusting on powdered sugar! Boun Appetito!!