Nadalin for BBD #45

Happy New Year!

 

 la ricetta in italiano qui

So ... 2011 has gone and here we are at the beginning of the new year, that someone claims to be the last of our life on earth ... but even though, then what can we or do we want to do? Better let us enjoy it as it is, perhaps hoping it's gonna be a little less messy than the past one, without making any long-term programs, or the usual long list of good intentions and must-do so hard to respect ... :-) ... just live in simplicity and fairness, trying to be a good example for our children and the people around us, being conscious that every morning (and evening) while brushing our teeth in the bathroom standing face-to-face to our reflected image (with no possibility of running away:-), we can always see a serene and satisfied person, in peace with her/himself and ... the rest of the world (almost :-). 
Last night we spent a pleasant evening with friends, great food, sparkling chilled wine, cheerful chatter, the most beautiful lake than ever, an orange funny moon playing hide and seek between the clouds, fires and barrels at the very midnight bouncing from house to house, nearly a joint celebration to mark everybody's happiness that this turbulent 2011 was finally over! And after toasting to the New Year (enjoying our little private colored fireworks show :-) we were ready (and had enough space :-) for the desserts, including also my first Nadalin. 
Nadalin is a classic Christmas cake from Verona, it is sold in many bakeries and pastry shops. It's supposed to be the father of the most famous Pandoro. It is 8-pointed star-shaped like Pandoro but lower and less leavened, usually sprinkled with pine nuts, but you can find some with raisins and candied fruit inside. Many legends and tales about its origins: it could be born at the end of  XIII century, to celebrate the nobles Della Scala that were awarded to be the Masters Rulers of Verona, or else it was a soldier of fortune belonging to the Lansquenets centurions that, homesickness and in a nostalgic mood, found some poor little ingredients and turn them in a star shaped comforting cake.

Among the recipes on the net, I found this recipe by Emanuela and I followed because it seemed easy and fast enough (I read about a recipe with 4 doughs and 3 days of processing time but truly  I did not had time enough, though I would try) and then because she lives in Verona, so ... what better ambassador? 
But I will also try to do my best to melt the hearts (and open their recipes book :-) to  a couple of local bakers, we are supposed to be friends so ... this will be a good opportunity to prove it! :-)

This recipe has not completely satisfied me, unfortunately I have cooked a little more the cakes and their crust is not really soft as it should be, and yet I can feel the yeast too much, maybe it was important to have a second leavining time ... or might I be too exigent? :-)

 

Sponge:

100 g strong flour
40 g fresh yeast
80 g lukewarm water

Mix all ingredients together and let stand covered in a warm place for half an hour or a little more.

Dough:

700 g srong flour
100 g soft butter
100 g sugar
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
20 g honey (1 tablespoon)
a pinch of salt
flavors: vanilla or lemon/orange zest or rum
about 200 g lukewarm milk
raisins and candied fruit, optional *



Icing:

albumen
hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts
granulated sugar

* raisins should be soaked in warm water and then squeezed and dried with kitchen paper (I keep raisins in a jar with brandy so they are always ready for use), you can chop candied fruit if you do not like their texture but like their flavor

- Pour flour and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer, turn it on at low speed  and start adding the milk little by little, then add aromas, beaten eggs, butter, honey, the sponge in litle pieces, and finally the salt. 

- Work at medium speed for about 10 minutes until the dough is well strung on the hook. Transfer to the working surface and beating and knead a few minutes  by hand.

 - Place the dough into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (but not very hot) all night, (I left in the pantry where the temperature is about 18°, no heating in it). 

- The next morning, divide the dough:  in half for two cakes about 750 gr each, or in 3 for about 500 g cakes (you can also decide for smaller cakes, it's up to you :-). Shape into balls, place on a baking tray lined up with parchement paer, cover and let rise in a warm place about an hour. With a sharp knife or razor blade  make 2 vertical deep cuts and 2 horizontal perpendicular to the first ones to divide the ball into 9 small areas. Then gently pull out the 8 exterior parts to give the cake a star shape (if you like to avoid this step, you can put the dough directly in a star shaped paper mold, but original Nadalin are star shaped by hand).

 - Cover the cakes and let rise half an hour (I didn't do but then realized it would have been better) and then gently brush the surface with beaten egg white and sprinkle with chopped almonds/hazelnuts and pine nuts and drizzle with couple of tablespoons of sugar. 

- Bake at 180° for about 20/25/30 minutes, depending on the size of thecake (place a pot with water to humidify the oven while it warms up, then remove it when you bake the cakes). If they get colored too quickly cover with aluminum.

 - Just out of the oven sprinkle generously with icing sugar. Delicious with mascarpone cream.

This is my personal entry to BBD # 45 I am hosting this month

This recipe is also my entry to this week Susan's YeastSpotting.

... and this is the last 2011 sunset on the lake!