Next, scatter your selection of favourite nuts on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 5–8 minutes at 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and leave to cool. Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a pan, then beat in the egg, spices and lemon zest before adding the crushed roasted nuts and the flour. Stir well.
Roll out the pastry and line the twelve greased holes of a baking tray, then spoon in a generous dollop of the nutty mixture and bake in the oven at 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 until the pastry is golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Whip the mascarpone, fresh cream, icing sugar and limoncello and swirl on the top of the tartlets, finishing off with curls of lemon zest and enjoying with a side of fresh figs.
Luca’s Cantucci al Pistacchio e Cioccolato Bianco
This recipe is Luca’s twist on the more prevalent cantucci di Prato, which are crunchy, twice-baked biscotti made with almonds and traditionally enjoyed at the end of a meal dipped into a glass of Vin Santo – Tuscan dessert wine – but can also be served with a post-dinner cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredients
200g flour, sifted
150g sugar
1tbsp runny honey
2 eggs
50g pistachios, de-shelled and roughly chopped
50g white chocolate drops
1tsp baking powder
1tsp lemon zest
Pinch of salt
Directions
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat the eggs, then add the honey and the lemon zest and pour into the bowl, working together with your fingers to form a soft dough. Transfer onto a floured surface and roll into two logs approximately 30cms long. Place the logs on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes and then slice diagonally into biscotti before returning them to the oven for another 10–15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
Luca’s Castagnaccio
Originally made with just three ingredients – chestnut flour, water and oil – castagnaccio is a Tuscan Christmas favourite which now includes a whole host of extra goodies to its mixture. It is traditionally served as an after-dinner treat with a glass of sweet dessert wine, and best of all it’s gluten free!
Ingredients
400g chestnut flour
40g sugar
625ml cold water
3tbsp olive oil
125g sultanas
75g pine nuts
Pinch of salt
Fresh rosemary
Directions
Mix the flour and sugar together, then add the oil. Stirring constantly, add the water until the mixture forms a batter-like consistency. Pour the batter into a well-greased 8-inch cake tin (choose larger for a flatter, less dense cake) and sprinkle the surface with the sultanas, pine nuts and rosemary sprigs.
Bake in the oven 190°C/170°C fan/Gas 5 for 45–55 minutes depending on how gooey you prefer your cake, then remove from the oven and leave to cool. Serve with a generous dollop of mascarpone with a little added limoncello or marsala.
For a twist, why not substitute dried cranberries or chopped apricots for the sultanas and add a sprinkling of chopped white chocolate instead of the rosemary?
Fabrizio’s Cavallucci
Cavallucci date back to Renaissance times. Originally, they were simple biscuits made from just four ingredients – flour, sugar, honey and aniseed – but over the years candied peel, nuts, cinnamon or nutmeg have been added to enrich one of the most popular Christmas treats in Tuscany.
Ingredients
500g flour, sieved
200g sugar
100g runny honey
2tsp anise seeds, crushed
2tsp bicarbonate of soda
A handful of chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, your choice)
Directions
In a pan, gently heat the honey and sugar until syrupy. Then mix together all the remaining ingredients in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, then incorporate the syrup. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes before shaping into rough balls the size of a small lemon. Place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven at 180°C/160°fan/Gas 4 for 20 minutes. Do not allow the cookies to burn. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack, sprinkling with a generous covering of icing sugar.
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you, again, to Trevor and Mariangela Williams for checking the authenticity of my Italian phrases. I owe you both a Christmas limoncello cocktail and a generous serving of Luca’s panforte tartlets!
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading Christmas Secrets at Villa Limoncello. I really hope you’ve enjoyed spending time with Izzie and Luca at the gorgeous Villa Limoncello in the Tuscan countryside. The story was inspired by a short trip I took with my family to Florence last year and when I returned home I just couldn’t get the wonderful scenery, the generous and friendly people, and the delicious Italian food – and drink – out of my mind.
I’ve had a fabulous time writing the Tuscan Dreams trilogy and, as always, would love to hear your comments. Do you love Italy too? What is your favourite region? Have you holidayed there or do you have family who live there? Do you have photographs or anecdotes to share? What is your favourite Italian dessert? No prizes for guessing that mine is limoncello tiramisu – and I make my own limoncello to use in the recipe (which I’ve added at the end of the book).
If you have enjoyed your trip to sunny San Vivaldo, I’d really love it if you’d consider leaving a short review – one line is fine! I truly appreciate every single one, as well as every blog post, every tweet and every Like on my Facebook and Instagram page. Your reviews and encouraging comments are why I keep writing (as well as getting to taste-test all the foodie treats that my characters create – only in the interests of authenticity, you understand).
Much love,
Daisy
XXX
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Tuscan Dreams
Wedding Bells at Villa Limoncello
Summer Dreams at Villa Limoncello
Christmas Secrets at Villa Limoncello
Find out more
First published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
57 Shepherds Lane
Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU
United Kingdom
Copyright © Daisy James, 2019
The moral right of Daisy James to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781788633451
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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