FRANCESCA’S SUGAR STICKS

(From My Dear Friend Francesca German in Erie, PA)

Beat egg whites until stiff. Then add small amounts of sugar and vanilla alternately with four and butter. Beat in slowly until all used up. Add whole nuts. Line a cookie sheet with foil and pour batter in. Shaping the foil so that the batter is 1” deep. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes until the top is browned. Remove from pan, foil and all. When cool, wrap in foil and freeze. When ready to use, remove from freezer and while still frozen slice very thin. Dip in granulated sugar and bake in single layer in 325° oven until golden brown. Start at 10 minutes and watch carefully as they burn easily. Sometimes I double the recipe and bake in large casserole dish. The results are a wider cookie. Whereas in the cookie sheet the cookie will only be about 1-inch or maybe 1 ½-inches.

Note: The best part about this recipe is it is easily doubled and baked in foil in a 10” X 13” pan. Before freezing, cut into smaller sections that you can take out only what you need. You now have a quick dessert in the freezer to finish in a hurry. This is a great way to use leftover egg whites. I always serve Francesca’s Sugar Sticks at a party and remember my Erie friend. She was a wonderful friend and a great and talented baker.  She shared many recipes with me but this has always been the one I depend on.

CHOCOLATE CIAMBELLONE

Servings: 10 servings

• 1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa – I use Nestles Dark
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 heaping cup whole milk yogurt – drained of extra liquid
• 1/4 cup milk – I use whole milk
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/2teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used corn oil) 
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips – I use dark and if I don’t have mini, I will smash large ones just a little.  But mix them with 1 Tb of flour to stop them from sinking to the bottom.

NOTES:

If you don’t have cake flour substitute with 1 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.

1. Pre heat oven to 350º. Grease and flour a 9-inch tube pan (preferably one with a           removeable bottom
2. Sift together the flour (corn starch if substituting), cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl mix together the yogurt and milk. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl beat together the egg and yolks, sugar, vanilla and sugar until light approximately 5 minutes, then slowly add the oil and beat to combine. Alternately add the dry ingredients with the yogurt/milk mixture. Beat to combine 1 minute.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips (mixed with 1 teaspoon of flour) and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool then remove from pan. Dust with powdered sugar if desired before serving. Enjoy!

NOTE:  You can enjoy this cake dusted with a little powdered sugar or sprinkled with a little chocolate syrup. Alternately you can split it in half and fill it with a cream/custard filling.

BUON MANGIATA!