Ice Cream Zuccotto Cake

There are times when Annu takes my calling him ‘Baby’ very seriously and starts making cute kiddy demands which I find impossible to deny. A month before his birthday he came across this amazing looking ice cream cake and insisted that he wanted the same one for his birthday party. That was the first time I got introduced to this exotic, traditional Tuscan dessert.

Zuccotto is a molded and richly layered pastry or ice cream filled sponge cake dessert. The word "zuccotto" means "pumpkin" in Italian; the dessert was originally molded into the shape of a pumpkin. It is widely believed to have been inspired by the dome of Florence, the main cathedral in Italy. It also got its name from the cardinal skullcap, also known as zuccotto, which it resembles.

This dome-shaped dessert was an absolute delight to make and it was exceptionally beautiful when I upturned it on the serving tray. I enjoyed every step of making this cake, right from baking the sponge to cutting and setting the cake strips in to the dome shape. The lined sponge cake strips are given that extra bit of character by adding a hint of rum. I layered the empty space inside with vanilla ice cream – strawberries - vanilla ice cream – orange ice cream (in the same order). After a serving of Chicken Stuffed Buns, Thyme and Garlic Flavored Bread, Shepherds Pie, and Creamed Corn; Zuccotto gave a perfect end to the perfect lunch.
There’s nothing more priceless and special than that smile on Annu’s face and the compliments which everyone poured. I am so glad he demanded this one. I know I’ll be making this one often. I surely will be experimenting with the fillings and will come up with better and better ones :).
I know it looks so very impressive but I can say that it's easy to make and amazing to eat. I know everyone who was there to eat it will second me on that :).

Chocolate Coated Shortbread Cookies

‘Mmmm…Mmmm…Mmmmmm!!!!’ continued as Janc and Annu continued to pop one cookie after the other. No words were actually needed to describe these as the empty tray was telling its own tale :). When it comes to baking, cookies are an absolute delight because of the sheer simplicity of the process and the amount of variations one can bring in. The aroma of butter and cookie dough which fills the house and leaves your neighbors guessing is priceless too. Traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour, these melt in your mouth Shortbread cookies are Scotland’s favorite during Christmas and New Year parties. But as I really enjoyed baking these sweet and salty bites, I am so sure that I won’t wait till Christmas to make these. So it’s no surprise what I’ll have in stock for friends who decide to drop by next week. Ingredients
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Butter - 1 cup room temperature
Confectioners sugar - 1/2 cup
Pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
Bittersweet chocolate for dipping
Making the Cookies
Whisk the flour and set aside.
In the bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough until firm.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch thick circle. Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Christmas Bake Sale (for friends only in Bangalore)

Place your orders atleast 2 days before you require the goodies… you can mail me on FB or on pink.pallo@gmail.com and drop your number for confirmation. I’ll call you back..
I can’t get it delivered though :( so you can pick it up from Bagmane Tech Park, CV Raman Nagar or Banaswadi (my home) or come close to any of these places according to your convenience.

More Goodies coming up soon.. :)

Breads — The Golden Hue of Joy

Dinner Rolls, Chocolate Buns and Apple Cinnamon Buns

“This is ‘The Best’ thing you have baked so far”… these were Annu’s words as soon as he tasted the freshly baked Apple Cinnamon Buns, and I was on cloud nine ;). The second compliment came charging in when we took a set of them to Boney and Dani’s new house. This gave me the confidence that the recipe has been going in the right direction and my experiments with bread making are successful so far.

The best compliment was yet to come… I decided to bake a few Chocolate Buns and Apple Cinnamon Buns for Annu’s Team (Yahoo SCDians) and the response I got from them was very motivating. It was a bit of a disappointment that the buns couldn’t reach them hot out of the oven; the facilities chose the same day to take the microwave on their floor out for repairs. I also don’t know if it was enough for everyone to taste, but I still got the message that everyone loved it and it got over before Annu could even take a few pictures (to give me a firsthand account :P). Thank you all for the lovely compliments. As they say ‘pleasant words are as honey, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones’, I am totally inspired to cook better and will surely be sending in more treats.

I have to admit, given a choice, I’d prefer baking bread compared to cakes. Maybe it’s the satisfaction the end product gives after so much of hard work. Bread baking involves so many things that amateur bakers are often discouraged after a few failed attempts to turn out professional looking and tasting loaves. I have heard so many people complain that it is very tiring to make bread because you need to knead the dough so much, but I don’t really find it as complicated as I was told, rather it is very interesting. Though there is no denying that bread baking is a very delicate process, the sweet smell of freshly baked bread filling your home (and a little bit of the neighbor’s as well J) makes it all worthwhile.

Pasta al forno in Béchamel sauce

It is one of our favorite baked pasta dishes. It is very simple and you can play around and create several variants by just changing a few ingredients. This dish is like money in the bank — you can eat it the same night or deposit it in the freezer. When withdrawn the next day, the taste surely has added interests.

I added boiled shredded chicken along with some sweet corn, tomatoes and olives. You can also use sausages or lamb or simply boiled eggs to change the taste. What makes this dish creamy, cheesy and unforgettable, is the Béchamel sauce (or white sauce). Make sure to patiently deal with the sauce making process, as the consistency of this sauce can easily go for a toss.

Preparing the Pasta

I used regular elbows (Gomito) for the dish; you can use penne, ditali, ziti, mostaccioli, etc.

Add water, oil and salt in a container. Heat it for a minute on high flame. Add pasta to it and heat it for 10 minutes on medium flame (or till tender). After boiling, separate out the pasta and wash with cold water and keep aside.

Béchamel Sauce Ingredients

Butter — 2 tbsp

All purpose flour — 2 tbsp

Milk — 1 cup

Salt

All purpose seasoning (I used oregano seasoning)

Making the Béchamel sauce

In a heavy bottom saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Blend 2 tablespoons of flour into the melted butter. Add salt to taste. Cook over low heat stirring continuously for 4 to 5 minutes till flour starts to change color. Slowly add 1 cup of milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking slowly until smooth and thickened.

Other Ingredients

Boiled and shredded chicken — 1 cup

Boiled sweet corn — ½ Cup

Fresh tomatoes — 2

Olives — ½ Cup

Regular Cheddar Cheese — 1/3 Cup

Mozzarella Cheese — 1/3 Cup

Plating and Baking the Dish

Place one layer of the cooked pasta in a greased glass baking bowl. Top it up with shredded chicken, sweet corn and some cheese. Place the remaining pasta to create another layer. Add the white sauce on top. Add the remaining cheese mix on top and line the tomatoes and olives over the cheese. Add seasoning and pepper if desired.

Place the pasta bowl in the pre-heated oven and bake it for about 20 minutes on 180 degree (Celsius).

If you have any favorite and different pasta dish (or any other dish), please post it in the comments section. I’m always looking for more ideas.