Summertime Snacks

Hello friends, for today's installment of "True Life: I'm a Tuscan Pastry Nerd" I'll be featuring a recent inspiration of mine;

Italian Summertime Snacks

For my first experiment, i decided to give the ol' Chocolate Sausage a go. No no, i'm not talking about trying any weird Tuscan sexual exploits... I'm talking about a confection, made of ganache, nuts, and sometimes dried fruit, enjoyed by Italian children everywhere. For my first iteration of a Chocolate Sausage recipe, I tried Gina DePalma (pastry chef of Babbo)'s recipe. She seemed to have a pretty obvious grasp of Italian food (combined with an American palate) that logically leads me to believe her recipe'd be pretty good. Well, take it from me, the recipe IS good, however it really needs one small alteration: Make a Sabayone with the Egg Yolks & Sugar. Don't leave 'em raw!! Unfortunately if you do, the sugar is quite percieveable and provides (for me) an unusual texture. Obviously this is a personal beef, but hey, you're here readin about me, so tough!


(Choc. Sausage....mmmm)

Ok, now that we've crossed that bridge, lets get onto the next experiement:

In Italy, especially Tuscany, it's quite common for kids to grow up snacking on Orange Segments, drizzled in Olive Oil and served with a tiny PINCH of salt. Now, to an American, this is an odd combination, but (of course) once you put it together it's pretty damn good!

Well, once I heard about this, the wheels starting turning and soon enough, I had a plated dessert. So, without further adue, i present to you, a Blood Orange Cake (iced with an Orange Zest Glaze), Orange Paste Frolla (brushed with Olive Oil), a White Chocolate Olive Oil Ganache, and Mascarpone Cream. Garnished with Blood Orange Segments and (fancy) Olive Oil.



deeeeeeeelicious.

The plate came out great, and of course, I love the way they all look together.

Buon Appetito!