Bocconotti are a traditional sweet from Abruzzo and have quite ancient origins. One of the most credited folk legends has it that in the 18th century a maid serving an Abruzzese family decided to make a dessert that resembled a coffee cup. She set to work until she baked the first bocconotto, made of short pastry with a filling of coffee and melted chocolate. After an initial baking, he noticed that the inside remained liquid: so he decided to thicken the filling by adding almonds and egg yolks, covering it with a small pastry lid. The family she was serving was enthusiastic about this dessert, which was christened “bocconotto” by the woman since, given its size, it could be eaten in one bite.
The recipe is widespread throughout the territory, however it can be considered typical of the municipalities of Montorio al Vomano (TE), Castel Frentano and Vasto, both in the province of Chieti, where the cake has a characteristic chocolate coating.
The strong taste, full-bodied texture and unmistakable dark color of the filling contrast the delicate shortbread that surrounds it, thus hiding a secret dessert from view. But let’s discover the recipe together.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SHORTCRUST PASTRY (FOR 7 MOLDS WITH AN UPPER DIAMETER OF 8 CM)
00 flour 250 g
Cold butter 100 g
Sugar 100 g
Eggs (about 1 medium) at room temperature 60 g
Egg yolks (about 1 medium) at room temperature 20 g
Powdered baking powder for cakes 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon powder ¼ teaspoon
FOR 300 G OF JAM
Black grapes (shelled) 500 g
Sugar 150 g
FOR THE FILLING.
Almond flour 50 g
Dark chocolate 50 g
TO GREASE THE MOLDS
Butter to taste
PREPARATION
First prepare theblack grape jam: detach the berries from the bunch of grapes, wash them thoroughly under running water, open them with a small knife and remove the seeds. Transfer the seedless berries to a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring often to break them up.
After this time has elapsed, mash the grapes to extract the juice and some of the pulp. Return the puree to the saucepan, add the sugar, stir and cook over a gentle heat until it has reached a temperature of 108°: this will take about 20 minutes. At this point, set aside 270 g of jam that you will need for the recipe and let it cool; if any jam is left over, you can store it in the refrigerator inside a jar.
Move on to preparing the shortcrust pastry: pour the sifted flour into a large bowl along with sugar, baking powder , cold chopped butter and cinnamon, then start kneading the dough with your fingertips to reduce it to crumbs and avoid heating it too much. Add the whole egg and yolk and mix well, then transfer the mixture to the work surface and continue kneading until smooth and homogeneous. Form into a loaf, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
In the meantime, go back to the filling: take the jam, add the almond flour and dark chocolate, which you have previously chopped with a knife, and mix well. Keep the filling in the refrigerator for the duration of the resting time of the pastry.
After this time has elapsed, lightly flour both the work surface and the dough and roll it out to a thickness of about half an inch. Using the bocconotti mold, with an upper diameter of 8 cm, cut out a total of 7 discs, kneading and rolling out the scraps again as well. Then cut out another 7 discs, this time using a 9-cm-diameter ramekin. At this point, butter the molds and lay the smallest disc of shortcrust pastry (8 cm in diameter) on the bottom, making it stick well to the sides as well, then add about 2 teaspoons of filling. Finally, cover the molds with the larger (9 cm diameter) disc of shortcrust pastry and pinch the edges together to seal them. Transfer the molds to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a static oven preheated to 180° for 20 minutes.
After the baking time has elapsed, take the bocconotti out of the oven and let them cool, after which gently remove them from the molds, sprinkle them with powdered sugar and enjoy them with friends!
source: www.giallozafferano.it
photo: www.pixelicious.it
