Well, this is the magic of British Christmas.

Mincemeat is the basic preserve you need to make amazing Christams sweets and treats in Britain, such as pies or puddings. I fell in love with it when I lived in London years ago. The taste feels something like Grandmother’s ovens. In origins it was made with fruits, sugar, vinegar, wine, fat and meat. Yes, meat (the name tells it all!). Today meat is rarely part of the recipe, pork suet instead is the only fat (so a connection with its meaty origins is still there).

Mincemeat is in the category of preserves and must be consumed in pies or puddings and if you want also with very savoury cheese.

It preserves like this up to 6 months and as per all preserves the more it ages, the more it gets better. Vegetarians can substitute suet with vegetable suet.

Makes 20 pies (7 cm diameter)

Ready in 1H30

400 grams all purpose flour

80 grams caster sugar

300 grams unsalted butter

80 grams cold water

a pinch of salt

filling

500 grams mince meat (recipe here)

1 apple, peeled and grated finely

zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

juice of half lemon

Pre-heat a traditional oven to 180° C (or 170° C if using a fan oven).

In a bowl mix all dry ingredients for the dough. Add the cold butter and with your fingertips start to mix them adding the cold water little by little, knead rapidly until the dough is firm and compact. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile mix all the ingredients of the filling. And butter the tins (in the pictures they are 7 cm diameter).

Roll the dough to 3 mm thick. And cut circles (in size with your tins). Crop also some other shapes (with a biscuit cutter at your choice – I picked a star biscuit cutter), to create the “lid”.

Line the tins with the dough, fill it in with the filling and close the top with the lid.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden. Let them cool before taking them out from the tins. Dust them with icing sugar before serving.

Another american bakery wonder. If you like them richer, add more chocolate or pair the chocolate with nuts (macadamia nuts pair well with the white chocolate; walnuts or hazelnuts with dark chocolate). Make sure you heat them briefly (20-30 sec) into the microwave before serving – warmed up they become again soft and moist.

600 grams all-purpose flour

220 grams unsalted butter

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

180 grams granulated sugar

150 grams dark chocolate in square chunks (circa 1 cm each)

150 grams white chocolate in square chunks (circa 1 cm each)

a pinch of salt

240 ml milk

Pre-heat oven to 200° C.

Beat the butter with the sugar and vanilla, until pale and fluffy.

Unire metà della farina, un pizzico di sale, il lievito e poco a poco il latte sempre miscelando bene.

Add half of the flour, the pinch of salt, the baking powder and beat in the milk.

Add then the remaining flour kneading well with your hands. Divide the dough into two halves and add respectively dark and white chocolate chunks (retain a few pieces of chalet chunks to decorate the top right before baking – they will look better). Divide again each dough into 2 halves and roll them to 1 cm thick. Divide each round into 4 quarters.

Lay each quarter on the dripping pan (lined with parchment paper), and bake for 12 minutes.

Makes 20

Ready in 45 mins

Scones, still warm (or warmed up in microwave oven for 20 seconds), are one of the best things you can have for breakfast or for a sweet break. Here an all-vanilla version, very easy to make and I am sure will bring at the table even the most difficult people. Always warm them up before having them: scones give their best when warm!

300 grams all-purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

110 grams unsalted butter (room-temperature)

a pinch salt

80 gram granulated sugar

scraped seeds of half vanilla pod

1 tsp vanilla extract

120 ml milk

Glaze:

250 gr confectioners sugar

1 tbs condensed milk

3 or 4 tbs milk

scraped seeds of half vanilla pod

Pre-heat oven at 200° C.

Beat the butter with the sugar, the vanilla beans, and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy.

Add half of the flour, the baking powder, the salt and the milk beating.

Add then the remaining flour: knead quickly with your hands until a soft dough is made.

Divide the ball into 5 parts, roll each part at 1 cm thick. Cut each circl in quarters and place them on a dripping pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake 12 minutes. Take out and let cool.

Prepare the glaze by beating all ingredients (add the milk slowly and add more or less according to needs), until sugar is dissolved and the glaze is compact and consistent.

Pour over the top of each scone, let the glaze dry.

Again, many sweet things are inspired by Starbucks. Always loved oat bars but the one they call ‘Michigan Cherry Oat Bar’ is particularly good.

Not easy to make at the very start – unfortunately Starbucks has not published any books yet! So i had to try and try (starting with the simple Streusel recipe), it took me 4 tests to reach this result. And honestly you would probably think it came from the same oven! And it is soooo easy to make!

Makes 12 bars

Ready in 45 minutes

200 grams unsalted butter (room temperature)

200 grams all-purpose flour

160 grams rolled oats

100 grams brown sugar

half teaspoon cinnamon

300 grams cherry jam

Line a baking pan (square 21x21cm or round 23 cm) with parchment paper.

Pre-heat oven at 180° C.

Make the streusel: in a bowl mix together all dry ingredients (flour, oats, sugar and cinnamon). Add the butter (room temperature) and work it with your fingertips until the mixtures becomes soft and crumbly.

Put 2/3 of the mixture into the baking pan, and pat it down with your hands (or with a bottom of a tablespoon).

Top evenly with the cherry jam. Then top the cherry jam with the remaining streusel, make sure the crumbles are not bigger than the size of a chickpea.

Bake 30 mins (you will see it bubbling around the edges).

Cool down completely before cutting into bars.

No doubt I love Panettone and if you love Panettone you cannot not love Stollen. The Stollen is the German Season’s tradition par excellence. In Germany you can find many variations on the same theme, and all worthy to be tried. I propose the option with marzipan: the marzipan heart is so good! Everybody will eat the Stollen around to keep the bite of marzipan as the last treat! You will see.

500 grams bread flour + 1 extra tbs (+ extra to dust raisins and the candied orange peels)

150 gr caster sugar + 1 extr tbs

200 ml milk (+ extra half glass)

150 grams unsalted butter

7 gr active dry yeast

1 tsp honey

2 eggs

a pinch of salt

60 grams of blanched almonds

200 grams raisins

150 grams candied orange peel diced

the tip of a tsp ground cardamom

the tip of a tsp ground cinnamon

a pinch of ground nutmeg

a pinch of ground cloves

50 ml rhum

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp vannilla extract

250 grams of marzipan

to finish: 50 grams of butter (melted) and 100 grams icing sugar

In a container mix well the tbs of flour, the tbs of sugar, the honey , half glass fo warm milkand the dry yeast. Set aside for 40 minutes (it will grow).

Meanwhile put the raisins in warm water and mix the candied orange peel with the rhum. Set both aside.

Put flour, sugar, butter (melted), the eggs. Vanilla, lemon zest, spices, salt and the yeast mixture in a mixer and start kneading. Knead for 10/12 minutes.

Drain the raisins and squeeze them to get rid of exceeding water, dust them with flour and add them to the dough. Drain the candied peels from the rhum and add the rhum onto the dough. Dust the candied peels and add them as well.

Last add the almond (cut in smaller chunks).

The dough should be very soft (yet not liquid – in case add some extra flour). Put in a container and set aside for 2 hours, to allow first proofing (until the size has doubled).

Meanwhile shape the marzipan into a roll 30 cm long (2 cm in diameter) and set aside.

After the proofing, put the dough on a surface dusted with flour, punch it down and roll it out with a rolling pin to a rectangle 30×50 cm circa.

Put the marzipan roll into the top half of the dough and close the top half of the dough once to cover the marzipan. Then turn it again to close the roll – you should leave a 3 cm strip in the below part. Shape it gently with your hands to give it a regular shape and put on a dripping pan covered with baking paper.

Set aside for further 40 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oven to 180° C. Bake it for 60 minutes (if it gets too dark, cover it with aluminium foil).

Out of oven and still hot, brush it with the melted butter and dust evenly with the icing sugar. Cool down on a rack and preserve in plastic bag.

The stollen is better after 2 days.

12 pcs

Ready in 45 minutes

Square tin 20×20 cm or round tin 24 cm

Base:

250 grams semolina (half fine, half coarse)

100 grams of granulated sugar

90 grams unsalted butter

150 grams thick yoghurt (greek)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

half tsp baking soda

Decoration:

12 bleached almonds or 30 grams sliced almonds

Syrup:

220 grams granulated sugar

180 grams water

juice of half lemon

3 tsp rose water

Pre-heat oven to 170° C. Coat with parchment paper the desired tin. In a bowl mix together all the ingredients for the base. Stir until all is amalgamated.

Pour into the tin and decorate regularly with the almonds (considering you should cut them in square or diamond shape and the almond should be in the center). Alternatively you can sprinkle with finely sliced almonds.

Bake 30 minutes.

Meanwhile (10 mintes after the cake is into the oven), in a casserole add the ingredients for the syrup (excluding the rose water), and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10/12 minutes until it thickens. Retain from fire and add the rose water. Mix well.

Retain the basbousa from the oven and cover with the syrup evenly. Let the cake absorb all of it.

Allow to cool, cut in squares or diamond shape and serve.

NYC BAGEL

There are so many recipes of bagel and all of them decalre it is the ‘original’ one.

Even though the ‘original’ one would taste like something we would never appreciated today (as if we were tasting cheese made exactly as they made it 100 years ago!).

So I got rid of the originality and reading and researching I made my own version. The result is great: a soft but firm bagel, very good and even better when toasted.

Everything is in the proofing process. The consistency of a bagel is due to the boiling part. Boil the dough stresses and shocks the proofing process creating this world famous breakfast treat.

A few rules for a perfect result:

1) contrarily to any bread the bagel dough should be compact, sticky but not too much (after kneading the dough should detach from your hands easily);

2) The first proofingshould be as long as need to have a dough which has grown 3 times its original size (1 hour in summer, maybe 2 hours in winter). The trick is: Summer: 30 minutes outside; 1 hour refrigerated; Winter: 1 hour and a half outside; 1 hours refrigerated.

The refrigeration reduces the proofing intensity. Out of the fridge you can make the bagels.

3) the second proofing (when the bagel are already in shape) should be interrupted as soon as the yeast activates again (10/15 minutes in summer to 30 minutes in winter), at sight they will look bigger and at touch they will feel soft.

Out of the fridge, punch the dough and knead gently just to pull the extra air out.

Roll the dough into 10cm diameter balls and make a hole in the center with your hand

4) boiling is a shock to the yeast and it reduces dramatically the proofing. The water should be salted and boiling hot, add a teaspoon of soda bicarbonate (it helps in making them darker).

It has to be boiled upside down onto the water for 30 seconds, and 30 seconds on the other side. Put on a clith to absorb exceeding water. Bagels should not be boiled for more than 30/40 seconds per side – this will allow the hart of it to have stilla live dough capable of proofing when baking in the oven.

500 grams strong flour

250-300 ml lukewarm water

1 tsp salt

7 grams dried yeast

1 tbs malt syrup (if available)

2 tsp granulated sugar

To boil:

water

2 tbs salt

1 tbs soda bicarbonate

In half glass of warm water, put the dried yeast (do not mix, let it stand on the surface), and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a container instead, put the flour and all the dry ingredients, add the melted yeast and mix with a fork first and with your hands later. Add as much water as needed to have a soft but consistent dough. Knead for 10 minutes at least.

Set aside and allow the first proofing (part outside and part inside the fridge) unitil it triplicates its original volume – you should follow the below instructions:

Summer (temperature above 25° C) > 2H15 (1H15 outside fridge; 1H into the fridge)

Winter (temperature below 22° C) > 3H30 (2H/2H30 outside fridge; 1H into the fridge)

When triplicate, punch the dough and knead for a couple of minutes.

Divide the mixture into 12 portions (it should be 85 grams each). Make a ball out of each and with a pressure of the thumb and the index make a hole and enlarge it up to 3 centimeters.

Put the bagels on a dripping pan covered with parchment paper and allow second proofing for further:

Summer > 20/25 mins

Winter > 40/45 mins

After this timing, pre-heat the oven to 210° C.

Meanwhile bring water to a boil and add the salt and bicarbonate.

With a kicthen shovel, take gently the bagels and put them into the boiling water (upside down), let cook for 30/40 seconds, turn it and cook for further 30/40 seconds. Drain with a slotted spoon and put on a cloth to absorb the exceeding water.

Put again on the parchment paper and bake for 12/13 minutes or until golden.

Friends, finally my book is out!

I DOLCI DI MARCO

A book for aspirational bakers including over 200 recipes of cakes, chiffons, bakery, creams, compositions, desires and many, many sweet things selected from the world.

And a lovely foreword by journalist and friend, Cristina Manfredi:

“The first time at Marco’s home: how I got angry!

I just decided again (maybe for the hundred time) to go on a diet and I ended up in eating twice (or maybe three times) the dessert. I am voracious when it comes to perfect desserts and I usually take it on the one who made it: “how can you not eat it? It looks and taste so great!”. With his version of the Pavlova, Marco obliged me to face the true reality of the crossroad of a person on a diet tempted by the magic of sugar: it is senseless to feel bad when you look at a dessert and also to be dominated by it. A good balance between the two is the right way. 

I always suspected that Marco is the secret son of Tin Tin. As beautiful as the sun, with an ace man mind and a heart filled with true humanity, Marco is capable of taking you to the essence of good food: a deep pleasure to be lived as a zen meditation. Creams, puddings, Génoises, chocolate are all a privilege of this side of the world. A privilege to be enoyed with full respect. Sitting at Marco’s table is a little lesson of the love for life. That kind of life that starts with the amazing harmony of savour and that ends up much deeper than that. Marco’s desserts are good and beautiful, the thoughts we make while enjoying them may transform us into slaves or free people.

It all depends on us.”

Buy here the italian version: amazon.it

English version out in October!

900 grams granulated sugar

juice of 2 lemons

1 lt water

180 gr cornstarch

1 and ½ teaspoons cream of tartar

4 tbs rose water (or 1 tsp rose extract)

a pinch of red coloring powder

300 grams icing sugar

80 gr cornstarch

Line a rectangular tin (30×20 cm) with parchment paper.

In a heavy bottomed casserole put the sugar, the lemon juice and 400 ml water. Bring to boil and let simmer until it reaches 115° C.

In a separate casserole blend the cornstarch, the cream of tartar and the remaining water. Put this mixture on the fire and bring to boil (keep stirring with a whisk), until it thickens. Once thickened use a wooden spoon as the mixture will be quite hard to stir with a whisk.

Now add slowly the sugar syrup to the cornstarch mixture, use a whisk to do this operation (in case use a mixer).

Put the mixture back on the fire and let boil for 45 minutes at least (the excess water will evaporate), or until golden brown (like honey – in case use medium-high heat).

Melt the food colour into the rose water (careful to use very little food colouring). Add the rose water and let simmer for other 10 minutes.

Pour the hot mixture into the tin and let it cool down completely for at least 6 hours (overnight better).

Mix the icing sugar and the cornstarch and sit aside. Once cold and thickened cut it into squares 1 cm and half each. Coat them (generously) with the icing sugar+cornstarch mixture. Serve or store them in closed tins.

serves 2

ready in 30 mins

5 tbs rolled oats

1 glass of milk

1 grated apple

1 banana in chunks

2 tbs sultanas

2 tsp honey

3 tbs fresh cream

Soak the rolled oats into the milk and mix well.

Add honey (at your choice).

Add the apple and the banana.

Soak the sultanas, drain them and add them into the mixture.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours (better overnight).

Add fresh cream and the seeds at your choice before serving.

It can be preserved in fridge for 3 days.