Make Your Easter Treats With Honey

The first aspect to bear in mind is that honey is sweeter on the palate than sugar. This means that the dosage must be calculated differently, decreasing it by about 20% to avoid the end result being too sweet. Secondly, it can be very useful to 'weigh' the honey using a soup spoon. How? Very simple: a soup spoon collects about 20 g of honey. It then becomes much easier to calculate the right amount to add to our ingredients. Another practical tip that can make a difference directly concerns the consistency of the mixture. Honey itself already contains liquids, so it is good practice to reduce the others in the recipe, such as water and milk.

To these general tips must be added some more specific ones, strictly related to the type of honey to be chosen for preparation. It is certainly a good idea to choose a honey with a delicate flavour that is not too strong. This ensures that it does not cover the other flavours, perhaps making the final result unpleasant. So what are the types of honey to prefer? Acacia honey is the clearest, lightest and most delicate. It is definitely the one preferred in confectionery. The aroma is not particularly incisive. For this reason, it is also very popular with children. Orange and citrus honey has a very pleasant flavour reminiscent of the plants from which it comes. It is associated with a floral scent that changes to more fruity notes over time. The miele millefiori encapsulates the aroma of the flower varieties from which it is produced. For this reason, each type can be different.

We certainly cannot say that the Italian culinary tradition is stingy. Each region, in fact, has its own typical Easter sweets, all of them delicious and strictly high-calorie. Fiadoni: typical raviolini from Abruzzo, are characterised by their cheese filling. The pastiera: there is no history, the Neapolitan pastiera is one of the best known and most popular desserts in Italy. Its creamy filling and characteristic orange blossom scent make it appreciated by all palates. Cuddura cu l'ova: in Sicilian dialect, Cuddura means crown. It is precisely from this land that this twisted donut-shaped cake originates. Cassata al forno: special mention for another typical Sicilian dessert: cassata al forno. It is nothing more than a shortcrust pastry shell containing a ricotta cream. The chifeletti di patate: typical of the Trieste area, these are potato doughnuts.

Campanaccio and Nepitelle: both typical Calabrian sweets, the former involves a very simple, doughnut-shaped dough. The most characteristic feature is definitely the hard-boiled egg in the centre. Nepitelle, on the other hand, are ravioli filled with dried fruit, jam, cocoa and spices. Pardulas: these ravioli filled with ricotta and saffron are typical of Sardinian cuisine. The honey brushed on gives a characteristic touch to the dish. Chocolate and rice cake: this Tuscan dessert is nothing more than a tart filled with dark chocolate, rice, sugar and dried fruit. Pizza dolce di Pasqua: despite its name, this traditional Roman and Abruzzese cake is similar to panettone, with a smooth, dark surface. The custom is that it is prepared for Easter morning and eaten with cold meats and chocolate.

The Easter dove is a typical traditional Italian cake. Its origin is linked to many stories and legends. The most famous sees it originated in Pavia, in the first half of the 6th century, when King Alboin was offered it as a sign of peace by a merchant. It is certainly not an easy cake to prepare, which is why the shelves of supermarkets and pastry shops are full of it these weeks. However, deciding to prepare it at home can be very satisfying! As with panettone, there are several variations of the Easter dove: among the best known are the stuffed dove and the chocolate dove. The traditional one, on the other hand, has candied orange peel in the dough and its very scent is reminiscent of the citrus fruit. The process of preparing the colomba is certainly not simple. The recipes of the great confectioners call for as much as 3 days of preparation of the dough! However, one can decide to 'fall back' on simpler and quicker cakes that are within everyone's reach.

Simple ricotta tart: ricotta tart is a typical Sicilian dessert, composed of short pastry and ricotta cream enriched with citron and orange candied fruit. A sprinkling of cinnamon gives it an extra kick. Rather simple to prepare, it can also be varied by adding chocolate or jam. Easter eggs: Easter eggs are an alternative to the classic fried sweets. They are very simple and quick to make. The richest and most calorific version of this cake involves a chocolate filling. The greater presence of salt in the mixture creates a very pleasant contrast to the sweetness of the sugar.

Many of these recipes we have presented to you already call for the use of honey, but cooking is also for experimenting, and perhaps replacing sugar with honey itself will give an extra touch to the desserts we all know by now. We have seen how the choice of the right honey is essential. A quality ingredient will certainly give a better result. You can therefore rely on your trusted beekeeper or choose one of the 3Bee hives! Discover all our beekeepers and the varieties of honey their bees produce!