Italy from the Inside

My Christmas tree from years ago…

Christmas plant- Italy from the Inside

“Christmas plant”

Years ago I spent one school year in Italy with the kids, because I wanted them to attend an Italian public school (yeah, they hated me in the beginning and obviously they didn’t want to leave in the end, same old story…). We stayed in a tiny apartment, where we shared one big bedroom and where we had just one puffy armchair because there wasn’t even enough room for a sofa. Let alone for a Christmas tree. But you don’t need a tree to create the Christmas atmosphere, you just need a plant, some tiny Nutella jars and the Ovetti Kinder (infamously illegal in the States). Oh, happy days!

How I won the “Crostata alla Nutella” contest

Ok, ok, I admit it, the only participant to the contest was actually me, but since this was a big personal challenge, I really felt like a winner when my Nutella tart turned out to be not only delicious (it didn’t survive 12 hours, including night time since I baked it after dinner…) but also, and especially, perfectly baked (a.k.a. not burnt).

As you may probably already know, Nutella cannot withstand high temperatures, as opposed to jam, but before explaining you the trick, here’s the ingredients I used to make it:

  • 300gr flour
  • 100gr butter
  • 100 gr sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Vanilla flavor

How to make it

Throw everything into the Kitchen Aid and forget about it until the dough has formed. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and set is aside. Spread the rest into a baking pan, possibly non-stick.

Bake at 350F until almost done. In the meantime, cut many stripes with the dough that you put aside. Quite easy so far, right?

Ok, here’s coming the tricky part:

  • Spread the Nutella over the warm tart. Easy.
  • Create a web on top of it with the dough stripes. Easy.
  • Lower the oven rack to the lowest level. Easy.
  • Switch the setting to low broil. Easy as well.
  • Put the tart back in to the oven and “stay alert”. Hard, maledettamente hard, and here’s why….

The first time, that “stay alert” statement translated into: “Oh well, it took 20 minutes to bake the base, the top will be at least 10”. Result: badly burnt.

The second time, that “stay alert” translated into: “I have only a few minutes to check my email, let’s go, quickly”. Result: quite burnt.

The third time that “stay alert” translated into: “Questa volta non mi freghi“, meaning “This time you are not going to trick me”, and I stayed by the oven, opening it every 30 seconds (fortunately you can do this when you bake a tart since it is not going to collapse). And… I did it! I won the contest!

Now look at the photo and tell me if I didn’t deserve the first prize…

Francesca
(Author of the eBook Italy From The Inside)

The original Nutella


Nutella, the creamy chocolaty hazelnut spread, can be found in many US grocery stores. But, if you ever tried the original Italian Nutella, you’ll notice right away that the Nutella made by Ferrero USA has a taste modified to please American consumers, with an emphasis on peanut butter. During your trip to Italy, make room in your suitcase for a small jar of the original Italian Nutella. Francesca, in her new ebook, is also talking about other 10 must-bring-home products from Italy.