the hungry expats

Last year, one of my coworkers came back from Naples, Italy with an original dessert created on the island of Capri. It is a flourless cake, both rich in flavor and light in texture. It is normally enjoyed "as is", but a little bit of Chantilly cream on the side never hurt anybody! CAKE 6 oz. (170 g) dark chocolate (I used 64% cocoa) 3/4 cup (160 g) unsalted butter, cut in dice 3 large eggs 1/2 cup white sugar 1 1/4 cup ground almond meal (I used 125 g) 1 tablespoon amaretto (or any other almond liquor) Confectioner's (icing) sugar to sprinkle Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter and line an 8-inch wide ( 20 cm) springform pan  with baking paper. In a double boiler (or in a microwave oven) , melt the chocolate and butter together. Let cool. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar with electric beaters until the mixture turns a pale yelllow and triples in volume. Using a spatula, gently fold the choc olate mixture, alternating with the grou...

Yes, you read it right: zucchini in a dessert. Since I just got fresh blueberries from the produce market in Ventimiglia, I just had to try. And I couldn't be more pleased with the result! The cake comes out incredibly moist, with a good balance between the tartness of the blueberries and the sweetness of the frosting.  CAKE 3 large eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 cups sugar 2 cups shredded zucchini (1 medium-sized zucchini) 3 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda   2 cups blueberries (tossed in 1 tbsp flour) FROSTING 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, at room temperature 11 oz. (300 grams) of cream cheese 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups confectioner's sugar Set oven to 350...

There is this bakery where my parents live that makes delicious breads and viennoiseries . I'm not so crazy about their desserts, but they've created this unique brioche, made of homemade puff pastry rolls, laced with a sugary syrup, which we just have to have whenever we visit. I've looked up their recipe everywhere online for a very long time, without success, until someone posted the following recipe by Philippe Conticini on their blog and instagram profile. It turns out to be extremely similar to what I was looking for. It is a little bit time-consuming to make but the result is worth every effort you put into this! It does taste as good as it looks, so why not give it a try!     DOUGH 510 grams (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour  1 teaspoon salt 40 grams sugar 15 cl. milk (about 2/3 cup) 20 grams fresh baker's yeast 3 eggs 50 grams butter, room temperature (3 and 1/2 tablespoons) 300 grams butter for layering (2 and 2/3 sticks) SYRUP 50...