300gr dark chocolate
50gr milk chocolate
175gr unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated
100gr light brown sugar
100gr caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat the oven at 190°C. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler, or bain-marie. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, when melted put on a side to cool down. Keep the water covered and gently boiling.
In another bowl beat egg yolks and sugar, until light and smooth then add to the melted chocolate.
Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form and gently fold into the mixture, going from the bottom to the top until smooth.
This is an Italian treat: apply a thin layer of butter on the loose base round cake tin (25cm) and dust with flour. Then pour the cake batter into the tin which you have placed into a larger roasted tin half filled with water.
Gently put into the oven and bake for 50minutes to an hour. Outside should look cooked and dry, but inside should be of a luscious, thick mousse consistence. Let it cool completely before releasing from the tin.
Dust with icing sugar, then enjoy, enjoy and enjoy!!!

I feel like freshen my old traditions… will not celebrate my birthday dining out as usual: this year let’s have breakfast! It makes a lot of sense to me… I am sure you will see my point as you read further.

After spending 25 years only a few steps away from France, I had to travel all the way to the other side of the world to be initiated to the most adorable sweets any tradition could ever create. Now, I’ve already been in Paris twice and for some reason that I still struggle to understand, these little pastries managed to pass completely unnoticed.

…I am so charmed by these tiny things, that I requested to have my birthday celebrated at Zumbo… one of best patisserie in Sydney, no need to say.

So, here a little taste -metaphoric of course- of some colourful macarons. For an Italian reader (…or writer, for that matter!) their name doesn’t really recall any sort of sweets… you would really need to work hard to get Maccheroni out of your head… thinking of tomato and parmesan is not what you need while you plunge yourself in a sample of pure chocolate heaven!

Photo courtesy of Le Petrin, Cinnamon & Paper Tissue via Flickr