From Dino and Micol, Rustico Cooking...

Does this look familiar? Here we are, enjoying the fruits of our labor together, after one of our hands-on cooking classes in Italy. We still treasure the week we spent with you all and often reminisce about the laughter and fun we shared. 

We hope you have all been well since we last saw each other. Some of you were on our Puglia tour, others Tuscany, others still Liguria or Sicily. A few of you even took two or more tours, one year after another, and one person (you know who you are!!) took 3 tours back to back! Each and every one of you was a pleasure to cook and travel with, and we consider ourselves beyond lucky that we got to share the places and food and traditions we love with truly fine people. Thank you for making what we do possible and above all, FUN. 

Before the holiday rush begins, we want to wish you and your loved ones a safe and sweet holiday season. Let’s hope that 2023 brings us all good health, peace, and togetherness.

And perhaps you can sweeten the end of the year with a batch of Dino’s favorite Black Forest CherryMisu… The recipe is below, and you can even watch a video of Micol making it! It's perfect for a busy time of year because it tastes best made at least one day ahead, and keeps beautifully for a few days in the refrigerator. We’d love to know if you try it! 

Happy holidays and all the best in the new year!

Micol and Dino

Black Forest Cherrymisu

The inspiration for this spoon dessert is Germany’s famed Black Forest Cake, which was Micol's all-time favorite cake when I was growing up. Using store-bought ladyfingers instead of baking chocolate cake layers makes this a very doable dessert even at a busy time of year. The chocolate flavor is introduced via dark cocoa in the Mascarpone cream and a hefty dose of grated bittersweet chocolate.
If you don’t have fresh cherries, you can substitute a 17.9-ounce (510-gram) vase of Amarene (black cherries, pictured below in their colorful ceramic vase). Drain the cherries and set them aside; add the Kirsch, almond extract, and 1/3 cup (85 milliliters) of water to the syrup to make a soaking liquid, and proceed as below. You'll find Fabbri or Toschi Amarene in fine Italian food markets and of course online.

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

ACTIVE TIME: 45 minutes

 For the soaking liquid and cherries:
 150 milliliters (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) water
 50 grams (1.8 ounces) sugar
 1 long strip orange zest
 1 scraped vanilla pod
 180 grams (6.3 ounces) PITTED halved cherries (weight after pitting; about 22 cherries)
 60 milliliters (1/4 cup) Kirsch
 ½ teaspoon almond extract
 For the Mascarpone-cocoa cream:
 125 milliliters (1/2 cup) heavy cream
 150 grams (5.3 ounces) Mascarpone (preferably imported Italian)
 20 grams (1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) sugar
 15 grams (0.5 ounces) unsweetened cocoa
 To layer:
 10 crunchy ladyfingers
 40 grams (1.5 ounces) grated bittersweet chocolate
 

1. Make the soaking liquid and cherries: Combine the water, sugar, orange zest, the scraped vanilla pod, and the vanilla seeds in a small pot. Set over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until fragrant and ever so slightly thickened.
2. Add the cherries and stir well. Cover and cook 10 minutes, or until the cherries soften but still hold their shape.
3. Place a bowl on a counter. Spoon the cherries and their cooking liquid into a colander set over the bowl and allow to drain well.
4. Place the cherries in a bowl and cool to room temperature. This can be done in the freezer for 15 minutes if desired.
5. Add the Kirsch and almond extract to the cooking liquid and cool to room temperature. There should be about 3/4 cup of liquid. If needed, top up with some cool water or you won’t have enough liquid for soaking the ladyfingers. The syrup can cool in the freezer for 15 minutes if desired.
6. Make the Mascarpone-cocoa cream: Beat the heavy cream to soft peaks.
7. In a large bowl, stir the Mascarpone with the sugar and cocoa until perfectly smooth.
8. Fold in one-quarter of the whipped cream, then switch to the whisk and incorporate the remaining whipped cream, being careful not to deflate it. The mixture is ready when there are no more white streaks left.
9. To layer: Dip the ladyfingers, one at a time, into the cooled soaking liquid. It is very important that the ladyfingers be thoroughly soaked in the mixture.
10. Line the bottom of a 6-inch square glass dish with 5 of the ladyfingers. Top with half of the Mascarpone cream. Cover with half of the grated chocolate.
11. Spoon the cooled cooked cherries over the chocolate.
12. Make a second layer with the remaining 5 soaked ladyfingers. Drizzle on any remaining soaking liquid.
13. Top with the remaining Mascarpone cream and top with the remaining grated chocolate. Cover well and refrigerate 24 hours. Serve chilled.