Marisa's Italian Kitchen

The Secret Ingredient Is Always Love

walnuts

Chocolate and Pear Crostata

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An elegant and impressive Chocolate and Pear Crostata with a silky smooth filling of finely ground walnuts and dark chocolate. As a bonus its remarkably easy to put together.

Chocolate and Pear Crostata

This recipe was originally published October 1, 2015 and republished August 29, 2018 with updated content and photos.

Although its been a couple of years since my dad passed away, his pear tree continues to flourish. A constant and wonderful reminder of how he passionately tended and nurtured his garden.

It lays mostly dormant right now except for this one majestic pear tree. This lone pear tree bears more fruit then we can possibly consume. Although, I must say the squirrels are certainly giving us a run for our money!

Its branches are now weighed down heavily and bursting with delectable fruits while some are strewn all over the ground, blanketing it in green and gold.

These ripened sweet fruits are just about ready to be plucked off and sink ones teeth into. But since I have so many…well why not bake with them! Right?

Chocolate and Pear Crostata

About Crostata

A crostata is essentially a rustic baked tart with a short crust pastry base. Its basically free-form and in my opinion far easier to make then a 2 crust pie.

This crostata is so outrageously good, it will take a lot of restraint not to devour the whole tart. It is made with a pastry crust much like shortbread and with a silky rich chocolate filling.

Part of the appeal of this crostata are the juicy pear halves which are sliced and nestled over the chocolate filling. They provide such an elegant appearance and are sure to garner many compliments.

But really, feel free here to add your own artistic flare and fan out the slices which ever way you wish!

Chocolate and Pear Crostata

Although you may use a mixer to make the pastry dough, I much prefer using my food processor. The dough comes together with such ease rendering it soft and pliable and making it very easy to pat down both over and around the tart tin.

Chocolate and Pear Crostata

I tried this crostata once using almonds and another time using walnuts. I must say, my husband and I both prefer the walnuts, but they are easily interchangeable. Whichever nuts you choose, this recipe is a real keeper!

Chocolate and Pear Crostata

As with all fabulous desserts, do savour every single bite accompanied by a very good espresso of course!

 

Chocolate and Pear Crostata
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Chocolate and Pear Crostata

Chocolate and Pear Crostata with a silky smooth filling of finely ground walnuts and dark chocolate makes a rustic, elegant dessert.

Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Chocolate Pear Crostata Recipe
Servings 8
Author Marisa

Ingredients

For the Pastry

  • 3/4 cup or 12 tablespoons butter cubed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 cups all purpose flour

For the Chocolate Filling

  • 14 tablespoons butter cubed
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs beaten
  • 1 1/3 cups walnuts, lightly toasted finely ground
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate, melted I used 70% dark chocolate
  • 4 ripe firm pears
  • powdered sugar for dusting
  • 9 inch round tart tin with removable base

Instructions

Making the Pastry

  1. Place the butter and sugar together in a food processor and blend until smooth.

  2. Add in the egg yolk and blend again until it is thoroughly mixed.

  3. Next, add in the flour and pulse intermittently until the dough is smooth and not sticky.

  4. Divide the dough in half and freeze one half for later use. A half portion of this dough is enough to line a 9 inch baking tin. 

  5. Line the greased tart tin with the dough by patting it down in the tart tin while spreading it out with your fingers.

  6. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

For the Filling

  1. Beat together the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.

  2. Add in the eggs, ground walnuts, flour and beat until smooth.

  3. Stir in the melted chocolate.

  4. Spoon the mixture over the pastry and smooth it gently with a pastry knife.

  5. Peel the pears and cut them in half length-wise.

  6. Remove the cores and slice each half length-wise into thin slices.

  7. While keeping each of the sliced halves together, place them over the chocolate filling. (As seen in the photo)

    Chocolate and Pear Crostata

  8. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for about 45 minutes or until the walnut mixture is firm and the pastry is golden brown.

  9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool then dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Recipe Notes

You will only need half of the pastry dough to make a 9 inch crostata. The remaining half can be frozen for later use. However, if your tart tin is 10 inches round do use the whole amount of pastry dough. I've done so successfully without changing the amount of filling.

Recipe is adapted from a favourite cookbook, Cafe Italia Cookbook and only switching almonds for the walnuts as a personal preference. 

 

Chocolate Zucchini Doughnuts

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Chocolate Zucchini Doughtnuts

I have shared a couple of doughnut recipes here on the blog before and both of the deep fried variety. Such as these Zeppole, Ricotta Doughnuts and more recently my Castagnole Fritte. However, my chocolate zucchini doughnuts featured today are of a completely different variety. They are baked not fried and with the addition of grated zucchini and finely chopped walnuts.

These chocolate zucchini doughnuts have a cake like texture and are super moist made more so after being dunked in a decadent chocolate glaze.

This is a simple snacking cake recipe given to me by a friend which I have tweaked and converted into doughnuts. I think it’s a fun way of giving an old recipe new life. If you love easy to make desserts and have an extra zucchini hanging out in your fridge then these doughnuts are for you.

Chocolate zucchini doughnuts

One will barely notice the zucchini in the doughnut because it just melts into the batter as it bakes, which is a great thing if there are finicky eaters in the family. It is one more wonderful way to hide the vegetables, in my opinion, when cooking or baking.

Chocolate Zucchini Doughnuts

I used 2, 3 inch round doughnut hole pans for this recipe which yields 24 doughnuts. Each pan has 6 doughnut ring shapes which I let cool and resprayed with non-stick baking spray between batches.

Alternately, you may use a 9 inch square baking pan and bake the cake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for about 40 minutes or till a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. You will only need half the quantity of chocolate glaze if opting to bake it in a cake form.

Chocolate Zucchini Doughnuts

A few notes to help you along: Use the 6 to 8 minutes bake time as a general guideline and always check to see if they are done at the minimum amount of time as not all ovens are the same. Mine is a gas oven and my baked goods are usually ready at the minimum amount of time requested in most recipes.

Do use a piping bag or resealable plastic bag, snipped at one end, to fill the doughnut pans for perfectly round shaped doughnuts.

Fill only half way through (the doughnut rings) as the batter doubles in size once baked.

Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for a few minutes before loosening them around the edges and inverting them onto a cooling rack.

Last but not least top the doughnuts with lots and lots of sprinkles 🙂

 

Chocolate Zucchini Doughnuts
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Chocolate Zucchini Doughnuts

Course Dessert
Servings 24 doughnuts
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • DOUGHNUTS
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup softened butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 whole cup milk
  • 1 cup grated zucchini from 1 small zucchini
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • Chocolate Glaze
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 4 tablespoons whole milk
  • chocolate sprinkles or any other of your choice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 2 inch doughnut pan with a nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large size bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.
  4. Add in the eggs, vanilla and beat until well combined.
  5. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Stating and ending with the flour mixture.
  6. Add in the zucchini and the nuts. Stir till combined.
  7. Spoon the doughnut batter into a large resealable plastic bag. Snip off one corner of the bag and pipe the batter into the prepared pans, filling the doughnut rings only half way through.
  8. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.
  9. When ready, let the doughnuts rest in the pan for a few minutes then gently loosen around the edges and carefully invert onto a cooling rack.
  10. Cool and spray the doughnut pans with nonstick spray between batches.
  11. CHOCOLATE GLAZE
  12. In a large bowl, whisk together the icing sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup and whole milk.
  13. To coat the doughnuts with the chocolate glaze you can either dunk them in the glaze, letting any excess drip off or simply spoon the chocolate glaze over the doughnuts.
  14. Place the doughnuts on a wire rack with a cookie sheet underneath to catch any drippings.
  15. Top with the sprinkles of your choice.

 

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

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The absolute best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting…ever! Two carrot cakes are baked and assembled together with the most luscious cream cheese frosting to form a two layered cake.

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

I forgot how much I loved carrot cake until I revisited this recipe. It’s like seeing a long lost best friend and not being able to get enough. Memories came flooding back on all the times I’ve baked this cake for Sunday family gatherings at mamma’s house. It’s been a family favorite for a long while and just recently my sister requested the recipe. She raves about it all the time, claiming it is “the best she ever tasted” !

I’m so glad to have found this recipe, type written (yikes, who even owns a typewriter anymore). Dog eared and slightly spattered with cake batter. It truly attests to the shear amount of times I’ve baked this delicious moist cake.

Bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan or 2, 9 inch round pans

You can most certainly serve it in a more traditional way by baking it in a 9 x 13 inch pan, as I’ve always done.

However, do keep in mind you’ll need to bake it for 50 to 60 minutes. Or simply until a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean. One batch of the cream cheese frosting will be enough for a 9 x 13 inch cake.

This time around, I decided to elevate it into a much more elegant 2 layered cake. Inspired by what is now being referred to “naked cake”. A rather lovely way of baking a cake with open layers. This has the icing peeking through the outer edges, giving it a more exposed look. I find it provides the cake a pretty and enchanting appeal!

Double the frosting amount for a 2 layer carrot cake

I doubled the frosting amount for this 2 layered cake and used a 1M piping tip from Wilton to decorate the carrot cake. It will give you more than enough to generously ice the layers.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

To achieve the frilly icing border, you’ll want to start piping at the inner edge of your cake, working your self inward. Use an off set spatula to smooth the inside frosting while leaving the edges untouched.

I repeated the same with the top layer and piped a rosette in the middle of the cake. I wanted to achieve the look of a naked cake but with a frilly border 🙂

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe was given to me by “Raoul” whom I never met but was gracious enough to pass on this recipe through a mutual friend. He worked in our hospital cafeteria and had my colleagues and I running down every second Wednesday to get our carrot cake fix!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It is so utterly delicious that my husband, tongue in cheek, now wants me to bake him this carrot cake every single Sunday.  However, I’ll save it for special occasions simply because…well there are so many other sweet treats to bake!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
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Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A delicious 2 layered Carrot Cake with a luscious Cream Cheese Frosting that is simply perfect for birthdays, holidays or any other special occasion.

Course Dessert
Keyword Carrot Cake
Servings 10
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sunflower oil or canola oil
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup walnuts finely chopped
  • 14 ounce can crushed pinapple well drained
  • 2 cups grated carrots about 3 medium sized

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (double this amount for a 2 layer cake)

  • 3 ounces cream cheese
  • 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 pound butter
  • 1/4 pound powdered sugar (icing sugar)

Instructions

  1. Grease and flour 2, 9 inch round cake pans.

  2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

  3. In a large bowl whisk the oil, sugar and eggs together until combined and set aside.

  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. 

  6. Fold in the crushed pineapple, chopped walnuts and the grated carrots.. Do not over mix.

  7. Divide evenly into the prepared pans.

  8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

  9. Transfer the pans on a wire rack and let cool completely in the pans.

  10. Carefully release the cakes from the pans when cooled and ready to frost.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (double the amount for a 2 layer cake)

  1. In a large bowl combine the frosting ingredients together. 

  2. Starting on low speed and working your way to high, mix until the cream cheese frosting is smooth and creamy.

  3. To achieve the frilly icing border, use a piping bag inserted with a 1M piping tip.

  4. Fill the piping bag with the frosting and start piping at the inner edge of your cake, working yourself inward.

  5. With an off set spatula or the back of a large spoon, smooth the inside frosting and leave the edges untouched.

  6. Top with the second layer of cake and repeat with more frosting.

  7. Pipe a rosette on the top middle of cake and garnish with mint leaves.

  8. Slice and enjoy with your favourite cup of coffee or tea.

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

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