One year ago, right before Christmas, I discovered a recipe for some Italian almond cookies by Nonna Fina. They turned out so great that they became a popular treat in our family. I adapted my ricciarelli recipe; you could try it out these Holidays!

You need:

225g almond flour

150g sugar

2 egg whites (room temperature)

*Vegan ricciarelli are possible, with 6 tbsp of water + 2 tbsp of psyllium or flaxseeds.

a dash of salt

the lemon zest from half a lemon

3 drops of almond extract (optional)

How to bake them?

Beat the egg whites with the salt. Add the almond extract if you decide to use it.

In a separate dish, mix the almond flour, sugar, and lemon zest.

Add the foam to the mix; stir easily. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Split the dough into two parts; shape them into two rolls. Cut the dough slices with a knife. Shape them into diamonds. Then, place them into a baking pan lined with baking parchment. You will get 13-14 ricciarelli from a roll.

Bake them for 15-20 minutes at 180°C. After 10 minutes, supervise them so you don’t burn them. ;-)

Enjoy them! ♥

A year and a half ago, I had a special meeting in Iran, while returning from an impressive castle. Well, my friend Asma and I communicate a lot and resemble a lot. One of our shared passions is the one for baking.  

At the beginning of this year, she made her father an orange cake on his birthday and gave me the recipe. She then allowed me to also share it with you. ♥

You will need—

250ml orange juice

2 tbsp cornstarch

for the jelly

4 eggs

150g sugar

240g flour

½ sachet baking powder

250ml orange juice

110g butter (melted)

2 tbsp jelly

a drop of vanilla extract

for the dough

2 eggs

330ml milk

120g sugar

50g flour

a drop of almond extract

for the filling

First of all, make the jelly, mixing the orange juice and the cornstarch on low heat until it thickens [I used fresh oranges for the orange juice and then I left the jelly in the fridge to set after it cooled].

Beat the eggs with the sugar; add the flour and the baking powder and then the orange juice, the melted butter, 2 tablespoons of the jelly made, and the vanilla extract for the dough.

While it bakes, make the filling [Asma used whipping cream, but I didn’t have any that day, so I just thought that almonds go well with oranges].

Mix the yolks with 2/3 of the sugar amount until you get a rich cream. Add 3-4 tablespoons of milk and stir. Mix in the flour and immediately pour everything into the milk and vanilla mix, simmering on low heat. Don’t stop stirring until it boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and add the egg whites beaten stiff with the remaining sugar.

After it bakes and cools, cut the cake in half. Pour jelly on each half, keeping a third of the jelly. Use half of the filling to sandwich the two cake halves and spread the rest of the filling on top of the cake. Sprinkle the remaining jelly on top of it. The cake should stay in a mould until the filling sets.

After at least one hour in the fridge, cut the cake and enjoy it.

It’s very filling and tasty and I’ll surely make it again.

Merci, Asma Azizam!