05-01-2013

A mind-blowing Epiphany

If you’ve been bad, this year, you could be entitled to this delicious sweet charcoal

The sweet charcoal brought by the Befana, the old woman who brings gifts on the day of the Epiphany in Italy, as seen by Galileo Reposo, pastry-chef of the Vun at the Park Hyatt in Milan, +39.02.88211234. Contrary to the traditional recipe, this one includes hazelnuts, salt and freshly grated orange zest. Easy to make at home

I wanted to make the Befana’s sweet charcoal more tempting, by adding hazelnuts. This way it is tastier and more enjoyable. There are also pieces of milk chocolate and salt and the effervescent powder becomes very appetizing. In the end, a suave scent of orange lingers on the palate, thanks to the freshly grated orange zest. Not the usual sickly sweet taste of sugar.

Recipe for 12-14 people

INGREDIENTS
1 kg of white sugar
350 g of water
35 g of cocoa
150 g of egg whites
450 g of icing sugar
300 g of hazelnuts
450 g of milk chocolate
5 g of salt flakes
50 g of effervescent powder
the zest of one orange

METHOD
Cut the chocolate into pieces (these shouldn’t be too small) and put it in the freezer.
Whip the egg white with the icing sugar until you obtain a spumy mixture.
Mix the sugar, the cocoa and the water and cook on a high heat until the mixture reaches 130°C.
Pour the cooked sugar on the egg whites’ mixture and mix energetically.
Add the other ingredients one by one, always mixing with a wooden spoon.
Pour the mixture in rectangular moulds and leave to cool.
Thank the Befana for the gift received.