“The blog is a part of who I am. It’s becoming like a limb. I have to feed it all the time. I think of it as an engine that propelled me forward. I look at the world through my blogger struggles. When I go anywhere I wonder if it’s blogger material. I experience things [...]

Posted in Autumn, Chocolate, Desserts, Family recipes, Spring, Summer, Winter 20 Comments »

I like San Gimignano in the early morning, when it is still not crowded with tourists, when you see the local people passing along the streets almost incredulous to have San Gimignano for themselves, yet still for just a few more minutes. I like it when the footsteps echo on the cobbled shady streets, resounding [...]

Posted in Autumn, Desserts, Pies and Tarts, Spring, Summer, Tuscan Recipes, Winter 22 Comments »

Mum has a sweet tooth for whipped cream. Sweet tooth may be simplistic to describe her relationship with whipped cream and the speed with which her spoon speeds under my eyes when I make a cake, returning to her full of whipped cream. This said, she loves simple and traditional desserts: tiramisu, mantovana, rose cake [...]

Posted in Baked Good, Cakes, Desserts, Winter 20 Comments »

They came home gift-wrapped as only Santa’s elves would be able to do: two kilos of intense Caffarel dark chocolate. They came home along with a shower of chocolate stars, wrapped in a shiny yellow and red paper. As you can see from my pictures, I was put in charge of the 20th of December in the Advent Calendar, a game [...]

Posted in Chocolate, Christmas, Preserves, Winter 14 Comments »

We are all talking about Christmas lunches, dinners, gourmet gifts to impress people we love, chocolate afternoon treats in front of the fireplace, lit by the lights of the Christmas tree and the flames of the fireplace. But what about breakfast? This year I want also an lavish Christmas breakfast, slightly different from the usual milk and [...]

Posted in Breakfast / Brunch, Desserts, Muffins and cupcakes, Winter 32 Comments »