Caged Apples

Ingredients:
1 apple
1 roll of puff pastry
Strawberry jam
Some dry biscuit (ex Digestive)
Some sugar
Powdered sugar for garnish
1 egg

Peel an apple and cut into wedges.
Roll out the puff pastry and divide into 12 small squares. Fill each square in the centre with a teaspoon of jam, crumbled biscuits and a piece of apple. Close the cover corners. Take one corner and put it under to form a bundle.
Brush with the egg yolk mixed with milk, sprinkle with a little sugar. Tightly close the bundles as not to jam out during cooking.
Cover the oven tray with baking paper, bake at 180 degrees until they are well puffed and golden.
Let cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.

“Whenever we are together, we end up fighting and then sleeping together. There is nothing I can do about it.” I barely heard what Carla said about her and her ex-or maybe not- boyfriend Davide. The music was load and the only thing I was enjoying of this “girls night out” was the Ferrero; a mix of espresso, nutella and ice cream.

“You should decide what you are going to do; you can’t go on like this.” said Erica, Carla’s best friend sipping her Ferrero.

“I know, but what the fuck should I do?”

We fell silent for a moment.

“You just made out right?” Carla asked Sara, who was playing with her Zabaglione, she wasn’t quiet enjoying.

“Of course! We were drunk, nothing else happened.”

Silence again.

“All what was said today, must remain a secret, no joking.” Carla said looking each one of us in the eyes. We all nodded.

Silence.

“So, what about you, any one you like?” Erica asked me. Erica was my cousin’s girlfriend.

“Yea, there was one I liked, but he travelled to Qatar and I’m not good at distant relationships.” Ahmed left Qatar almost three years ago. And since then, I haven’t quite considered a boyfriend, love and all what comes with it. Whenever the “boyfriend” question popped up, I would bring Ahmed story and tell it as if it just happened.

“Yes distant relationships are difficult.”

“Don’t tell me, I once liked this guy when I was at my relative’s house this summer…”

“Ahh this is why you never come with us in summer!” Erica noted.

We all laughed.

“No it’s because I have my relatives, my cousins there, I never see them except in summer.”

Fortunately the conversation changed from me and my love life to holidays. I continued to analyze and drink my Ferrero, make sure to say something once in a while.

Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Ingredients:

- 1 Strawberry yogurt

- 3 Eggs

- 2 yogurt containers of sugar

- 1 yogurt containers of vegetable oil

- 3 yogurt containers of flour

- pinch of salt

- Baking powder

Use the yogurt container for the doses of the other ingredients.

In a bowl mix the strawberry yogurt with the 3 eggs, the 2 yogurt containers of sugar, 3 yogurt containers of flour, one yogurt container of oil, pinch of salt and the baking powder. Pour the mixture into a pie pan lined with baking release paper and bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cooked. You can add some strawberries on top.

“We should start preparing for Halloween.” I said putting the strawberry yogurt cake in the showcase.

“Oh yes! We can make ghosts and pumpkin cakes!” my cousin as always was very excited.

“By the way, haven’t you noticed that Marco has been coming here much lately?”

“Huh, really?” I closed the showcase and went to the other side to check how it looked like.

“I think he likes you.”

“No, I don’t have the time for this.”

“You not”

“Because before I start a relationship, I need to find where I belong and what will be of me.” I sighed, hoping she was wrong. I really don’t need other thoughts in my mind.

My cousin remained silent. Then said;

“You should relax, really. It’s not as bad as you always see it.”

New Page

La Dolce Vita: Opening a bakery is not easy. But when you desperately need sugar in your life, you have no other choice. You can check her page – La Dolce Vita -

Tiramisù

Ingredients:

- Cacao powder

- Coffee

- 500gr Mascarpone cheese

- 6 Eggs

- 120gr Sugar

- 400 Savoiardi (ladyfingers)

First, prepare the coffee, just enough to soak the ladyfingers, pour into a bowl (if you want to add sugar) and let cool. Whip the egg yolks with half the sugar to obtain a nice mixture light and creamy. Work then (not too long) the mascarpone cheese with a mixer (or wooden spoon) until creamy with no lumps and add together the egg mixture and sugar prepared previously. Whip egg whites with a pinch of salt, add the sugar remaining half, with a wooden spoon, mix them gradually and gently into the mixture of mascarpone cheese and egg yolks, so you got the cream of the tiramisu.
Put the biscuits in a container and started to wet them with coffee, they should be well soaked but not  completely drenched. Cover the ladyfingers soaked with a layer of mascarpone cream, level with a spatula. Sprinkle the surface with unsweetened cocoa powder. You have then the second layer of ladyfingers, if you have them the first arranged vertically, horizontally, they put them (and vice versa). Cover them with the remaining cream. When finished sprinkle with plenty of cocoa powder the surface of your Tiramisu. Store in the refrigerator for a few hours to shrink the sweet.

“La Dolce Vita” looking at the bakery sign, My bakery sign, everything became so real. And as always I felt sacred, terrified and pessimistic. This is not going to work. What am I doing here? I haven’t even seen the movie.

“Only one week left!” Luce hugged me all excited. If this fails, I’ve run out of ideas.

“I’ve called my cousin, he’ll bring all his friends for the grand opening.” she looked at me, “Oh no, I know that look. What’s wrong?”

I looked at her and forced a smile.

“It was all very quick, I just realize now that it is happening. Maybe we are making a mistake.”

“You are too indecisive. We are on this together, we are not going to fail. Why should we? I have my diploma, I can cook, you make an excellent manager and I will teach you some recipes so you can help me.”

I remained silent.

“Ok let’s put it this way; people need to eat. They need sugar in their lives.” I smiled at her. I couldn’t have chosen a better partner in this.

I took a deep breath. This will work. It has to work. I took my cousin’s hand and together we went inside our Dolce Vita.

La Dolce Vita

Late night story idea.

Elisa a half Italian, half Egyptian girl, depressed and frustrated moves to a small city in Italy, in the province of Milan, to open a bakery named “La Dolce Vita” with the help of her cousin Luce, hoping that sugar will save her life.