Country Chic Birthday Brunch… for Pasquale
Isabella’s dad’s birthday today and they’re coming over!
Happy Sunday, APfollowers. Today I have a fun share. I was pressed for time this morning getting ready for our special brunch for Pasquale my sister-in-laws dad. Her family was coming over for the first time and I wanted to do something extra special for the occasion. Here is what I came up with. Blue and white checkered country accents set the tone for a male birthday celebration. Instead of using a centerpiece I decorated the table with the most important part of the brunch “the food.” I will even give you an exclusive family recipe by Concetta, Isabella’s mom. Enjoy!
BROCCOLI/HAM and MUSHROOM QUICHE
STRAWBERRY & BLUEBERRY TOPPED RICOTTA PANCAKES…YUM!
Rustico.
*****DELIZIE AL LIMONE*****
EXCLUSIVE: Delizie al limone recipe
This recipe is a very popular one among the neapolitan region of Italy. The recipe originated near Amalfi which boasts the best lemons of the world, the richest in juice, the biggest and most scented ones!
One of the typical desserts of this area is in fact lemon based. The name says it all: delizia(delight), the youngest of a long series of Campagnia Region desserts made from their most fruitful ingredient LEMONS.
Ingredients for 6 persons
for the sponge cake (pan di spagna) puffs:
- 5 eggs
- 150 gr white flour
- 75 gr sugar
for the custard:
- 1 litre milk
- 400 gr sugar
- 150 gr white flour
- 8 egg’s yolks
- lemon skin
- vanilla bean
for the sauce:
- 1 litre milk cream
- Julienne cut lemon skin
- candy cherries
Preparation
Separate the eggs putting the yolks in a large bowl and the whites in a smaller bowl. Add the sugar to the yolks, and beat until the consistency of frosting.
Beat the whites until they stand stiff. Fold the whites into the yolk-sugar mixture. Turn it over slowly and gently until completely mixed. Sift the flour (even if you don’t usually sift flour – do it).
Fold the flour slowly, a bit at a time, to the egg-sugar mixture.
Butter and flour a 9″ cake pan. Pour in piping bag with plain tube and make many half spheres. Bake at 160 degrees C (320 degrees F), for about 20 minutes. When done the puffs will be toasty on top, and a toothpick will come out clean.
Custard: Set all but 1/2 cup of the milk to warm over a slow burner with the vanilla bean and lemon skin. In the meantime, lightly whisk the yolks in a bowl to break them. Strain the flour into the bowl, whisking gently, and making sure that no lumps form. Whisk in the sugar too, and then the remaining half cup of milk, keeping a wary eye for lumps.
By this time the milk on the stove will be about ready to boil. Fish out and discard the vanilla bean, and slowly whisk the milk into the egg-and-milk mixture. Stick a fork into half lemon, return the cream to the pot and the pot to the fire, and continue cooking over a low flame, stirring gently with the fork, until it barely reaches a slow boil. Count to 120 while stirring constantly and it’s done. Let it cool for a couple of hours, then add three parts of cream (previously whipped) and the grated skin of two lemons, then stir all together.
Empty the puffs from below and fill them up with the custard-cream mixture. Pour in a bowl roughly one litre of warm water, one shot of Strega liqueur and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Soak the puffs one by one quickly in the mixture, then place them onto a tray.
Add some milk to the remaining custard-cream mixture and cover the puffs. Use the remaining whipped cream to make little roses (using a star piping tube) on top of the puffs and add some candy cherries and julienne cut lemon skin.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for our next blog when we tackle the “Ways to a great hostess.” A la prossima! “Cheers, to our next encounter. ”
Much Love,
