Peanut Butter Nutella Crostata

When I visit Sicily I am pressured to bring a supply of peanut butter. It's something that, for some reason, has never taken off over here. I'm surprised because a jar of peanut butter lasts about 3 days when I open it here. They love it. So, after a week of cobblers and crumbles with lots of fruit, my sweet nephew Simone asked me, 'Zia, PLEASE can you make me something chocolate?' 

Of course. For him, anything. Ever seen those Italian paintings of child angels? Well they were drawing him. Just angelic in face and heart, even at 9 years old. Sweetie. 

I started to make him a Nutella crostata and decided to throw in a surprise of a layer of peanut butter. Yum. 

Ingredients:

1 Stick of butter /120gr

100 grams sugar

1 3/4 c flour / 200gr

An egg

1/3 c smooth peanut butter

300gr Nutella 

Extra flour and sugar

Preheat oven to 375. 
Line a 9" round cake pan with aluminum foil or parchment so it sticks out on four corners--- easier to remove your confection to place on a plate and serve with coffee! 

Mash in a bowl with a fork, a stick of butter and 100 grams of sugar. Just weigh it.  Mix in an egg. Add 1 3/4 cup flour and mix in. 
Dump out on a floured counter and roll out. It'll stick to the pin and counter. Just flour the pin. It should remind you of sugar cookie dough. When it's about double a pie crust's thickness, stop. Using a knife cut a circle 1" larger than the base of your cake pan. (set it on top.) 
Use a spatula to scrape under the circle and roll it up on the pin to transfer to the cake pan. Press in and up sides about 3/4". 

Take about 1/3 c smooth peanut butter and add a tbsp of sugar and a tbsp of flour. Mix well and spread on the bottom. 

Then pour about 300gr of Nutella into a bowl and add a tbsp flour. Mix in and pour over the peanut butter. Spread out. 

Now use the extra dough to make a lattice, make hearts, whatever. Paint with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is browned. You can dust when cooled with powdered sugar. Remove from pan and peel foil or paper from the bottom. Serve cooled. 

Cherry Plum Cobbler with Ricotta Cream

Part of eating healthy is of course eating seasonal, ripe, fresh, and local. If you want fruit in Sicily at a decent price, actually at ridiculously low prices, eat seasonal, fresh, ripe, and local. For example, the cherries and plums I bought for this were either free or $1.35 per kilo (2.2 lbs)!  The cherries are from Etnas 10,000 feet of mountain. So so good. 

So anyway, I'm teaching them a little about southern cooking. They LOVE cobbler. I don't get why their cuisine doesn't have this, but it doesn't. Lots of crostatas, which can be dry, and dry isn't nice in summer like cobbler with ice cream, now is it! 

I made two of these, in two 9" cake pans. One for each of my sisters in law. One upstairs and one down. They were a huge hit, as I adapted them a bit to their taste. My family here doesn't like vanilla ice cream. Yes it's weird. And I about died when they put chocolate ice cream on my peach cobbler, since they don't like vanilla. Ugh. So I adapted. You'll love it. You can do this in a 13x9 pan as well for a larger or hungrier group. Just don't divide anything!

Cherry Plum Cobbler with Ricotta Cream

1/2 c butter, divided 

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

Pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract 

1/4 c strawberry or other jam

1/3 c sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

Two cups pitted fresh cherries

Two cups sliced plums. I used the slightly mushy yellow ones and it came out gorgeous and yummy. 

1 c ricotta cheese, the wetter the better

3-4 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2-3 tbsp milk

Lemon zest optional. 

Mix the cherries and plum pieces in a bowl. Add 1/3 c sugar and 2 tsp cornstarch and mix. Add the jam and mix. Set aside 30 min to macerate and make all those wonderful juices. Add lemon zest if desired. 

When time is up, heat oven to 350. 

Put 1/4 c butter in each pan and place in oven as it heats. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients for the cobbler in a bowl, then add the milk, extract and egg, and mix. Set aside. 

Your butter should be just melted. Take the pans out when it's melted and pour half of the batter in each pan on top of the butter. Yum. 

Now spoon the fruit evenly over the top of the batter. DON'T STIR PLEASE. The batter will rise up and make a pretty and tasty treat. Lastly spoon the juices over the two pans. 

Place in oven and bake 50-60 min, rotating the pans halfway through to bake evenly. They're done when the edges pull away from the sides. 

To serve, mix the ricotta, sugar and vanilla in a bowl well. Get the lumps out. You can even whisk it. Then add a bit of milk and stir in till the consistency of homemade whipped cream. Kind of plops when you dollop it. 

Serve each wedge with a dollop of ricotta cream. It's as good cooled as warm. This would be great with ice cream, but as I said, it would have to be vanilla. Can't get the Sicilians to eat vanilla ice cream, but put ricotta in and everyone is on board!  Buon appetito!