Birthday Cakes Archivi • Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany

Birthday Cooking Class in Tuscany: Black Forest cake & more!

Erika Elia — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:00:27 +0000

Our most recent Birthday Cooking Class in Tuscany was a heartwarming experience, especially since it took place during the cozy winter months.

Instead of traveling

to a villa like we often do with our roaming culinary workshops, this time the celebrants came directly to my cooking school near Lucca, and what a delight it was! We spent the day together making a gorgeous Black Forest cake, Foresta Nera, and other traditional Italian treats. The warmth of the kitchen, the laughter, and the joy of sharing delicious food truly made this birthday unforgettable.

The guest of honor

was someone who loves good food and enjoys creating memories that last a lifetime. We chatted, laughed, and learned together as we explored the art of Italian pastry, and it was clear that for this birthday, nothing was more special than a hands-on cooking experience in the heart of Tuscany.

If you’re considering a Birthday Cooking Class in Tuscany,

or any culinary experience during your trip to Italy, remember that our classes fill up quickly due to the personalized attention we give each group. We’re known as Cuoche in Vacanza (Chefs on Vacation) for a reason—our goal is to offer more than just cooking lessons but to provide an unforgettable, joyful, and intimate experience that will leave you with fond memories.

Contact me now if you’re planning a trip to Tuscany

and want to experience the magic of Italian cuisine firsthand—availability is limited, and we’re often fully booked. Trust me, this is a culinary adventure you won’t want to miss!

Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte)

Ingredients:

For the Cocoa Sponge (Genuine Pan di Spagna, no baking powder):

6 large eggs (room temperature)

240 g (1 ¼ cups) granulated sugar

218 g (1 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour

25 g (1/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder

A pinch of salt

For the Filling and Decoration:

500 ml (2 cups) heavy whipping cream (cold)

50 g (1/4 cup) powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

350 g (12 oz) cherries in syrup (drained, syrup reserved)

3 tbsp Kirsch (cherry brandy) Or Maraschino

Dark chocolate shavings for decoration

Fresh cherries for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Prepare the Cocoa Sponge:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line the bottom of a 24 cm (9-inch) round cake pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and a pinch of salt using an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture triples in volume and becomes pale and fluffy (about 10 minutes).

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Gently fold them into the egg mixture in batches, using a spatula with light, sweeping motions to retain as much air as possible.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan, then remove it from the pan and slice it horizontally into 2 or 3 even layers.

Prepare the Whipped Cream:

Wash the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip.

Assemble the Cake:

Place the first sponge layer on a serving plate. Gently brush it with the reserved cherry syrup mixed with Kirsch (if using).

Spread a layer of whipped cream over the sponge and scatter some drained cherries on top.

Repeat the process with the second sponge layer, syrup, cream, and cherries.

Place the final sponge layer on top, brush lightly with syrup, and cover the cake with whipped cream.

Decorate:

Press chocolate shavings onto the sides of the cake and sprinkle more on top.

Garnish with fresh cherries, if desired.

Chill and Serve:

Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

Enjoy your authentic Black Forest Cake with its rich cocoa sponge, luscious cream, and juicy cherries!

L'articolo Birthday Cooking Class in Tuscany: Black Forest cake & more! proviene da Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany.

#Pisa: Olive Oil Sponge Cake with Mascarpone and Nutella filling; nonna Rossy strikes again!

Erika Elia — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:51:00 +0000

Y’ all know Rossy, my mother-in-law and my ideal partner in our job adventures. You also know that, in our work, traveling a lot is a must: in effect our mission is:

“…We come directly to your holiday home in Tuscany to prepare the tasteful dishes with you” .

Well Rossy (or granny Rossy, as my daughters call her) never says “no”. Need to go to Florence for a cookery course with a shopping trip to the market? Need to go to Radda in Chianti for a private dinner in a vacation home? Need to cross a forest and walking 5Km before arriving in a vacation home where we‘re going to run a cooking class? Rossy always says “yes!” and goes with me …It’s very difficult beeing sure you can trust someone or just rely on her availability, that’s why I appreciate this woman above all else.

Of course, due to our work, what Rossy does best is: cooking! And, like me, she has a dispassionate love for desserts and cakes.
Experimenting with various ingredients that are found here in Tuscany and wanting to replace the butter with tuscan extra virgin olive oil, typical of this area, Rossy has invented many years ago this base for cakes to be stuffed.
She passed me the note with the recipe when my girls were very small and I’ve immediately tested it for their birthday. Since then it has become one of my favorite bases.

Benefits of olive oil sponge base from grandmother Rossy:

It ‘s very quick and easy, in fact nothing need to be weighed
the flavor is quite neutral and therefore lends itself to any type of filling
extra virgin olive oil helps to make it even lighter
can add to the mixture a little ‘cocoa to obtain a chocolate base
although it is soft, although the wet, holds up well and then is also suitable for fondant coatings and the overlapping of several cakee
you can choose to do it at the last minute because you can always find all the ingredients at home
it’s also delicious on its own, perhaps sprinkled with icing sugar

I’m using this base for cakes for 15 years, during many parties and I was not ever disappointed, it’s tested and always safe. A few days ago it was my friend Carlo’s birthday and I made him a surprise preparing the chocolate cake you see in the picture, with a filling of Rocher cream and coating it with dark chocolate.

Can’t tell you his face, he was just excited, and for many days, every time he saw me, kept repeating: “Can’t tell you how much we loved the cake, Erika!”; there’s nothing to do, these are the things that make me happy, and not thank enough my job, which allows me, very often, to experience emotions like that.

Technically I tripled the doses of the recipe and the cake has succeeded without imperfections (who prepares desserts and cakes knows how much is difficult to recalculate the ingredients for a different amount of servings).

I Personally love the Chocolate Ganache, with all its soft texture and slightly bitter dark chocolate: find the recipe here.
But the filling Cream Rocher is always a security and is always definitely good and easy; but in my family are all fans for the Nutella and therefore is the most popular.

What else? I’m handing down to you a family recipe and I am sure everyone will be delighted with this cake!

Don’t forget to comment and telling me your feedback.

Italian Sponge Cake filled with Nutella and Mascarpone cheese (Crema Rocher)

Recipe by Erika Elia (CuocheinVacanza.it)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

10 tbsp flour
10 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp extra virgin oil
5 tbsp whole milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp (a packet) baking powder
5 tbsp sweetened cocoa powder (optional)
2 tbsp whole milk (if put cocoa powder)

Rocher Cream

5 tbsp nutella
1 cup mascarpone cheese

Coating

1 lb semisweetened chopped (or chips) chocolate
1/2 oz unsalted butter

Cooking Directions

whisk the eggs with the sugar
add the flour sifted with the baking powder
stirring constantly add the oil and the milk
end with the cocoa and the rest of milk (if you like obtaining a chocolate base)
bake at 350 °F for about 30 minutes
do the tootpick test (my granny always did it): take a toothpick and insert it into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done
cool on a wire rack
“torting the cake” cutting just one layer

Rocher Cream:

mix together nutella and mascarpone cheese (Rocher cream) until a pale brown color
place a thick layer of Rocher cream around the outside edge of the cake and then fill the inside of this dam with the rest of stuffing

Coating the cake in chocolate:

melt chocolate and butter in microwave (I usually do it in 3 or 4 times of 1 minute at 800W, stirring well each time)
Place cake on a wire rack over a rimmed tray. Pour your ganache evenly over the top of your cake helping you with a putty knife; and coat all around the cake. Once removed the wire rack you can re-use the chocolate ganache that drips onto the tray.
Put the cake in the fridge and remember that the next day tastes better!

Here are some Birthday Cakes made by me and CuocheinVacanza, using the Olive Oil Sponge Cake

Salva

L'articolo #Pisa: Olive Oil Sponge Cake with Mascarpone and Nutella filling; nonna Rossy strikes again! proviene da Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany.

#Ginny’s birthday cake with chocolate ganache and many sugaries…what else?

Erika Elia — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 06:41:00 +0000

Today there will be Ginny’s birthday party (the beautiful girl who often tastes my dishes and you can see in many pictures of this blog), 11 years old and I just finished the cake. Some friends will be here at home, to spend an afternoon together. The cake is a sponge cake stuffed with soft Rocher Cream. It is a really easy cream: a mix between the famous and incomparable Nutella with mascarpone cheese, mix and that’s it.
Then, I’ll cover with a dark chocolate ganache and try to decorate with various bits of chocolate and sugaries.
For the Dark ganache: melt in a double boiler (or microwave), dark chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) and then mix it with cream. I use 1/3 of cream and 2/3 dark chocolate.
For the Chocolate (classic) ganache: melt in a double boiler (or microwave), dark chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) and then mix it with cream. Right proportion for classic chocolate ganache is 1/2 cream and 1/2 dark chocolate. Cool it and whip the mixture with electric whisk.


Enjoing a relaxing time

Then I’ll prepare a lots of small pizzas: here in Italy are a birthday must! Potato chips, popcorn … of course, it was all strictly ordered. Well, tonight I just have to prepare the second dough for pizzas, and tomorrow morning the third. So are delicious and crunchy. Now I just have to enjoy the Christmas tree and a good book.

Some hours after…tadaaaaa! Here is the cake, a sponge one stuffed with Rocher Cream and covered with dark chocolate ganache and many many many many….sugaries.

Sponge soft cake stuffed with Rocher Cream

Salva

L'articolo #Ginny’s birthday cake with chocolate ganache and many sugaries…what else? proviene da Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany.