Pannacotta alla frutta

A long time ago, all the inhabitants of the earth were summoned before the Supreme Ruler. He was a straight and just and hard and perfectly shaped Ruler, and he was able to measure anything that fell under his jurisdiction. Everything that ever happened in the world was measured against his standard, and so he functioned not only as the Supreme Ruler, but also as the ultimate reference for any kind of measuring unity. On the day he summoned everyone before him, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon were quite incidentally having a casual weekend in one of the intra-volcanic spas (SMVS) scattered on the ocean floor. Quite naturally, they heard the summons. And because they are not strictly speaking inhabitants of this world, they did not pay much attention to it. However, it soon became a nuisance, for all the staff at the spa had departed to answer the Supreme Ruler's summon. There was thus no one left to attend to their needs. And so it was that Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry grumpily put on two bathrobes that were lying around and went to the Supreme Assembly in order to complain to the spa director about the unprofessional way the situation had been handled. After all, they were about to being served their much-deserved and overpriced Sea-Cucumber cocktail, the spécialité de la maison.
And so it was that although their reasons were different from everybody else's, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon found themselves at the Supreme Assembly. There, after much ado about nothing indeed, the Supreme Ruler came eventually to the reason for all this: he was hungry. He therefore ordered everyone to cook, bake, prepare, fish, hunt, gather, gut, squeeze, whatever-it-is-one-can-also-do-with-food, him the best dish. In fact, because he was the Supreme Ruler, he wanted THE dish against which all other dishes would henceforth be compared. Naturally, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. After all, a ruler's will is notoriously hard to bend. But there was one among them whose eyes sparked with unconfined excitement: it was Divine Cherry. She could not forsake such an opportunity!
And so it was that on that day Divine Cherry presented the Supreme Ruler with the pannacottas that would forever set the bar for every other pannacotta in the world. They were so delicious, so regular, so faultless and perfect that they were crown the Supreme Pannacottas. And because they are the pannacottas every other must be compared with, the Supreme Ruler asked Divine Cherry to share her recipe with everyone else.
You know, fair chance an' all...
But what of Celestial Dragon? Well, he eventually located the spa director in the throng of beings gathered there and had two or three words with the latter. Actually, he used quite a number of words more than that. The two or three words mentioned were the ones one should not mention. As a result of that exceedingly friendly and polite and balanced discussion, however, Celestial Dragon was given a particular privilege: he and he alone would henceforth be granted unlimited access to the Sub-Marine Volcanic Spa, as well as a token for an infinite amount of Sea-Cucumber cocktails. He'd have to pay for the stolen bathrobes, though.
You know, compromise an' all...

Pannacotta
- 250 ml double cream
- 250 ml milk
- 50 g sugar
- 2 sheets of gelatine (or follow the instruction on the package for 500ml liquid)
- 1vanilla bean

Bring to the boil the cream with milk and sugar. Swich off the hob and add the vanilla seeds scratched from the bean, leave also the bean in infusion for 15 minutes.
Put the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water on a side. When the gelatine is soft,add it to the warm cream and mix everything well to avoid clumps.
Strain the cream throughand pour in the cups. Leave it in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours.

Red berries coulis
- 200 g red berries
- 25 g sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 gelatine leaf

Blend the berries and strieve the puree in a colander in order to discard the tiny seeds. Add to the puree the sugar and water. In the meanwhile leave the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften. Take a part of the berries puree ( a small cup) and warm it up in the microwave. Add the well drained and softened gelatine to the warm puree in order to melt it. Add the warm puree to the rest and mix well. Pour the coulis over the cold panna cottas and leave to rest in the fridge for 2- 3 hours.

Peach coulis
- 200 g peaches
- 15 g sugar
- 1/2 gelatine leaf
Peel and dice the peaches. Proceed as for the red berries coulis.

Apricot coulis
- 200 g apricot jam
- 25g water
- 1/2 gelatine leaf
Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften. Warm up in a pan the jam with some water. Blend throughly the jam in order to make it very smooth. Add the drained gelatine and stir well. Puor the apricot coulis over the cold pannacottas. Rest in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Pannacotta
- 250 ml panna
- 250 ml latte intero
- 50 g zucchero
- 2 foglia di gelatina
- 1 bacello di vaniglia

Portare a ebollizione la panna insieme al latte e allo zucchero. Spegnere il fuoco e aggiungere i semi di vaniglia raschiati e lasciare anche il bacello in infusione per 15 minuti. A parte ammorbidire la gelatina in acqua fredda. Aggiungere la gelatina ammorbidita quando la panna è ancora calda. Mescolare bene per evitare la formazione di grumi. Filtare attraverso un colino e versare nelle coppette. Far solidificare in frigo per almeno 3-4 ore.

Coulis ai frutti rossi
- 200 g frutti rossi
- 25 g zucchero
- 1 ccchiaio di acqua
- 1/2 foglio di gelatina

Frullare i frutti rossi con un frullatore a immersione, passare la purea attraverso un colino in modo da eliminare i semini. Aggiungere alla purea filtrata lo zucchero e un po' d'acqua. Prendere una piccola parte del coulis e scaldarla al microonde, aggiungervi la gelatina precedentemente ammollata nell'acqua fredda e strizzata.  Sciogliere bene la gelatina nel coulis caldo e poi aggiungere questo al resto del coulis, mescolare bene e versare sopra le panne cotte che devono essere perfettamente reffreddate e sode (meglio preparare le panne cotte il giorno prime e il coulis l'indomani). Riporre in frigo per un paio d'ore a solidificare.

Coulis alle pesche
- 200 g pesche
- 15 g zucchero
- 1/2 foglio di gelatina.
Pelare e tagliare a pezzi le pesche. Procedere come per il coulis di frutti rossi.

Coulis alle albicocche
- 200 g marmellata di albicocche
- 25 g circa di acqua
- 1/2 foglio di gelatina
Scaldare la marmellata sul fuoco insime all'acqua, frullarla per renderla perfettamente liscia. Aggiungere la gelatina precedentemente ammollata e strizzata.

Peach and Apricot Upside Down cake

It's happened. It has eventually come to pass. Some people were afraid they would never see the sun dawn on this day, but they feared needlessly. For today, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon have emerged from their months-long hermitage. They had both retreated to a secluded place, away from the hustle and bustle of godly summer life. They couldn't be bothered with the usual who-was-seen-with-whom, who-was-wearing-who, who-has-eaten-who, who-has-disintegrated-whom. This year, after so many eons spent in tedious though occasionally enjoyable company, they had decided to romantically spend the Months of the Sun (as summer is known elsewhere) with each other, and only for each other. Both Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon had set themselves an important task, and they divided their time between savouring their time together and completing said task.
Now, however, it is all done. They have achieved their goal, and the sun is beginning its slow descent towards the end of the year. By way of celebrating their return, Divine Cherry has decided to bake a cake--what else? And because Divine Cherry, in her heavenly distraction, has once again confused up and down, the result of her preparation is this (delicious) Upside Down Cake. Come to think of it, if Celestial Dragon were asked to describe Divine Cherry with a cake, this is probably the one he'd pick: after all, every time he sees her, his head spins and his world is happily turned upside down...


Upside Down Cake - recipe adapted from David Lebovitz

Base:
- 45g butter
- 130g brown sugar

- 3 nectarines + 4 apricots (or whatever fruit is in season)
- a handful of raisins

Batter:
- 115g butter
- 150 g sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 210 g flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 125 ml milk (preferably whole)
- pinch of salt

It is better to use a pan that can go also in the oven. I used an old pan with no handles.
Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Put butter and sugar in a pan and make a caramel-- careful, do not stir the sugar at any moment or it will cristalize. When it is liquid and it starts to bubble, turn off the heat and let it cool.
Core and slice the nectarines and the apricots (I get 6 slices per apricot and 8 slices per nectarine) and place them in the pan, over the caramel, in a pinwheel shape. Fill any gap with the raisins.
Prepare the dough: beat the butter and the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add one egg per time, beating throughly after every addition. On a side, sift the flour with baking powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the batter, mix quickly, add the milk and the remaining flour. Mix just until combined. Do not overmix or the cake will be stiff. Pour the batter over the fruit and bake for 45 minutes, or until springy in the middle. When cooked, let it cool down in the tin for 20 minutes, then place a plate over the mould and flip the cake on the plate.

It is very good served warm but i personally prefer it the day after.

Torta morbida rovesciata alle pesche e albicocche - ricetta adattata da David Lebovitz

Base:
- 45g burro
- 135 g zucchero di canna
- 3 nocipesche e 4 albicocche
- una manciata di uvetta

Impasto:
- 115g burro
- 150g zucchero
- 2 uova grandi
- 210g farina
- 1e1/2 cucchiaino lievito vanigliato
- 125ml latte (preferibilmente intero)
-  un pizzico di sale

Per questa ricetta è meglio utilizzare una tortiera che vada anche sul fornello. Io ho usato una vecchia pentola senza manici.
Accendere il forno a180 C.
Preparare un caramello con lo zucchero e il burro nella pentola/tortiera, senza mai mescolare. Quando lo zucchero è sciolto e comincia a bollire spegnere emettere da parte a raffreddare un po'. Nel frattempo tagliare la frutta a fettine non troppo grosse e disporle a raggiera nella pentola sopra al caramello. Disporre l'uvetta in modo da coprire eventali buchi lasciati dalla frutta.
Preparare l'impasto. Sbattere burro e zucchero con l'aiuto di un paio di fruste elettriche in modo da ottenere uncomposto pallido e spumoso.Aggiungere un uovoalla volta e sbattere bene tra un'aggiunta e l'altra in modo da incorporare bene le uova.  A parte setecciare la farina con lievito e sale. Agiungere al composto di uova metàdella farina, mescolare velocemente solo per incorporare gli ingredienti. Aggiungere il latte e poi l'altra metà della farina. Mescolare velocemente quel che basta per unire gli ingredienti.  Versare il composto sopra la frutta e livellare. Cuocere in forno per 45 minuti circa.



Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess

Peach Cake

'Enough,' said Divine Cherry determinedly.
'Why, don't you like me?' asked Loneliness.
After having forsaken the Garden of the North-East, Divine Cherry went back to her customary dwelling place. It is situated in the North East of another region of the universe. Some say that it is but 500miles from the polar circle, and that the wind there never stops blowing. Still, it is generally a place of happiness, of joy and of exceedingly good memories; and Divine Cherry now spends most of her time there. It is also where the Celestial Dragon has elected domicile, and it is not where he currently is. When Divine Cherry then came home, innumerable moments ago, she found no one in the house but Loneliness, that old uninvited guest. As Divine Cherry sank on the emerald sofa that adorns the Room-that-Lives, she looked Loneliness in the face and thought no, not this time.
Unconsciously – that is, without thinking about it – Divine Cherry thought of the Five Fruit Dogs and of her first love: Golden Peach. The combination of these reminiscences led to Divine Cherry's realisation that she was still in the possession of Golden Peach's sacred fruits. She had purchased them in memoriam of the fertile Garden of the North-East. So it came to be that Divine Cherry found a way to cheerfully say 'enough' in the face of Loneliness – who, for her part, sulked. In fact, a tiny sparkle of inspiration had ignited her immense imagination, and Divine Cherry was now hell-bent (although she doesn't particularly like Hell. She rather dislikes it, to be honest: the TV screens there are rarely Full HD. It is here merely used as an expression.) on preparing a Peach Cake. So Divine Cherry got up from the emerald sofa, headed for the kitchen and diligently put herself to work.
She first mixed 150g of butter with 100g of sugar and a pinch of salt until the consistency of the mix was creamy. She then added, one by one, two eggs. Finally, she added 225g of flour and a tsp of baking powder to it and mixed it well until she ended up with a homogeneous paste. Once that was done, Divine Cherry dedicated herself to the Cutting Ritual. She first, reverently, held two peaches under the water in order to wash them from any profane impurities. Then, with utmost care and dexterity, Divine Cherry cut the peaches in slices. She made sure to leave the skin on them. Once the peaches were both cut, she again held up the holy knife and cut each and every slice again in three pieces. She then ended the ritual with the wiping of the hands on a nearby cloth. It doesn't have to be a special cloth. Some old rag will do. It just has to be clean, obviously. Divine Cherry then added the cut peaches to the mix, stirred well and transferred it all into a mould. She happened to use a mould for plum cakes, but I suspect that any mould would do, really. However, Divine Cherry made sure that the pieces of peach were distributed evenly in the mould, in order to avoid, later on, to have to play Russian Roulette: whoever gets the pieces of peach loses. Or wins. Opinions differ on the question. Eventually, Divine Cherry put it all in the preheated oven at 180°C for 40mins and sat back with a contented smile on her face.

Again:
PEACH CAKE
-150g of butter (at room temperature)
-100g of sugar
-2eggs
-225g of flour
-a tea sp of baking powder
-a pinch of salt
-2 medium-sized peaches

Work the butter with the sugar and the salt until you get a creamy consistency. Add the eggs one at the time. Now add the flour and the baking powder and mix well with a wooden spoon until you get a homogeneous paste.
Wash the peaches and cut them in slices, leaving the skin on. Cut every slice in three pieces. Add those to the mix and pour it all into a mould (in this case a plum cake mould has been used, but e.g. a round mould would do as well). Make sure that the pieces of peach are distributed evenly. Put it in the preheated oven at 180°C for 40mins.


Ricetta in italiano:
CAKE ALLE PESCHE
-150 g burro a temperatura ambiente
-100 g zucchero
-2 uova
-225 g farina
-un cucchiaino di lievito
-un pizzico di sale
-2 pesche medio grandi

Lavorare il burro a tocchetti con lo zucchero e un pizzico di sale fino ad avere una consistenza cremosa. Incorporare le uova una alla volta. Aggiungere la farina con il lievito e mescolare con un cucchiaio per avere un impasto omogeneo.
Lavare le pesche e tagliarle, lasciando la buccia, a fettine e ogni fettina in 3 pezzi. Aggiungerle all'impasto e versare il tutto in uno stampo da plum cake ( ma anche tondo va bene ovviamente...) controllando che le pesche siano distribuite uniformemente. Infornare in forno gia' caldo a 180 gradi per 40 minuti.


Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess