Ricotta pound cake with Nutella swirl - Help Japan

Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification. It was a holiday in Italy and the city was covered in green, red and white. Flowers, flags, even TicTacs and Nutella dressed up for the occasion. Museums were open and free and despite the rain, the center was crawling with people. Lucky me, I got to go to the office (international stock markets were open and we are in the middle of reporting season). It was a busy morning and I barely even had time to check my Twitter account.

Yes, I entered the world of Twitter. I registered a while ago but hadn't been using it. To be honest, it hasn't caught on here as much as it has in other countries and I just wasn't that into it (until I started reading tweet updates on some of your blogs. I hold you responsible). The other day I had a little time on my hands and started looking into it. I haven't turned back. As one of you food bloggers out there wrote me, it is addictive. True.

This recipe is almost as addicitive.

I had been eyeing My Kitchen in the Rockies' ricotta pound cake recipe for a while. Every time I visited her blog, the picture seemed to be winking at me from the top of her 'Favorites' list. It looked moist and light and I am always on the look out for a breakfast cake to make on week ends.  As I was reading through the recipe my gaze strayed to the bottom of the page, where another photograph caught my eye. In the "you might also like" category was a lovely Nutella swirl pound cake. You know how to sell your wares girl!

It is no secret that I am a Nutella fan and I immediately clicked onto it. As I read the ingredients I realized I didn't have enough Nutella at home to make this. And really, a ricotta pound cake is healthier and lighter... and it looked so incredibly moist. But as I clicked back onto the first recipe, I kept seeing Nutella swirling around in my thoughts. What to do?

The only thing possible: combine the recipes and make a ricotta pound cake with Nutella swirls.

(My) Clooney's Nutella-filled butter cookies

Yesterday we had a picnic at George Clooney's.

  

 I didn't say we actually shared sandwiches and camembert with him, but we did take a drive to Lake Como, we sat and gazed at the amazing view (not Clooney, for all I know he is not even around right now) from Cernobbio, fed the ducks and swans with our left-over bread and then drove by his 100% paparazzi proof gates villa. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day, the real first hint of spring we have had this winter.

I baked these sweets for my very own George Clooney, my handsome Italian husband, the only man I have eyes for (although I will admit I frequently eyed the motorcycles riding by our car and craned my neck to see where the basketball court of Laglio is, where George is rumored to play with the locals).

But back to the cookies. For someone who declared not to be much of a cookie baker, I have been on quite a roll lately. It all started because I had a whole, new jar of Nutella sitting in my kitchen that I had bought when I was caught up in the excitement of the Nutella muffins I made a while back.

Now, you must know there is a favorite cookie in Italy called Grisbì that has a lovely soft, Nutella-like center. For some reason I decided I wanted to attempt making them on Friday night, I was set on creating a button of rich, buttery dough that hid a creamy nutty, chocolatey heart. I searched online and found just a few, very approximate recipes. I proceeded to make them quickly, by hand. They turned out rustic and moreish and oh, so good.

Both kids loved them (have I mentioned that my daughter is not a cake/muffin lover and only eats about 10% of what I bake these days?) and my husband F asked me last night if I could pretty please make them again...not bad eh?

Nutella brownie muffins and e-mail

Ok, I know, I am SOOOO last week.

Truth is, I had no idea it was World Nutella Day on Saturday. I was wrapped up in my little crazy world of reading, checking, double checking, revising, mumbling, pulling at my hair, rocking back and forth, nervously chewing on my nails the editing of my files and not reading my usual blogs. So it was totally random that I decided to bake something on Friday night involving Nutella (for the first time ever by the way). I could pretend that the blogging world and I share a certain vibe, convince you that I am particularly empathic, that when it comes to all things foodie I have a sixth sense...but no, the truth is I wanted something satisfying but simple and fast to make so that I could crawl quickly back into my corner to work. A total coincidence.

This recipe had caught my eye a while back on Life's a Feast for several reasons.

First of all, what is there not to like about Nutella, the luscious, creamy, chocolatey, nutty spread sold all over the world? When I was a child living in New York my mother used to buy it for me in a specialty store in Germantown, thus my belief growing up that it was of German origin. Imagine my surprise when we moved to Italy and I found out I was living in the country that produced this marvellous treat! You can actually smell Nutella when you drive by the factory in Alba, giving you a kind of Charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory experience.

And I still can only buy it once in a while, such is the danger of me eating it up in spoonfuls in a matter of days.

But let's stay focused, back to my reasons.

Secondly, I was intrigued by the fact that this recipe only had four ingredients. Just four? Three actually, if you leave out the chopped hazelnuts for decoration. The end result won't be quite as pretty, but your muffins will turn out pretty good all the same. 

These muffins are such a cinch, it really is worth it to whip them up as a last minute dessert or treat for your family and friends. They are nutty and chocolatey with a soft and chewy heart. However, if I have to be 100% honest with you, I still think the best way to eat Nutella is thickly spread on a crusty piece of farmer's bread.

Before you read the recipe: many of you (especially non bloggers) have asked me to get update notices via e-mail. If you look at the top right corner of the page, I have added a subscription form. Just write in your email address and you will get a notice in your mailbox every time I post a new recipe. Ciao!