Buo ngiorn o

Sweet baked goods and strong coffee go hand-in-hand for breakfast in Italy. Our recipes for custard-fi lled croissants, gelato in brioche buns and more will have you craving for this combination every day

Cornetti (croissants) are a typical Italian breakfast food served with an espresso. They can be filled with a number of fillings. This custard is a quick and easy way to turn a plain croissant into an indulgent breakfast.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes: 4

For the custard

300ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

40g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

20g corn flour

125ml cream

To serve

4 SpinneysFOOD Croissants

VEGGIE

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, for dusting

1 Place the milk and vanilla essence in a saucepan and bring to a boil. 2 Separate the egg yolks from the whites. 3 Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and corn flour in a separate pot.

4 While whisking, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg-yolk mixture and combine completely. Place the pot on a medium heat and cook until thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. 5 Pour the mixture into a piping bag. 6 Pierce three holes through the bottom of the croissants and fill them with the custard.

7 Serve the cornetti with a dusting of icing sugar.

Swap out the crema di pistacchio for Nutella or jam.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 8

4 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs, at room temperature

250g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

1 orange

1 lemon

4 tbsp hot water

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Organic Natural Honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

180ml SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil

400g ‘00’ flour

15g baking powder

150ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

200g crema di pistacchio

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, for dusting

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease a 24cm Bundt tin. 2 Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until very light and fluffy – approx. 8 minutes. 3 Meanwhile, zest the orange and lemon. 4 Add the hot water, zest, honey, vanilla extract and salt to the bowl and beat again. Gradually pour in the oil while whisking, making sure it’s well incorporated. 5 Sift the flour and baking powder together then spoon into the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. Whisk until just combined. 6 Pour into the greased tin and bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely. 7 Place the crema di pistacchio in a piping bag fitted with a straight nozzle. 8 Using the long end of a wooden spoon, poke holes in a ring on the top of the cake reaching the centre of the cake. 9 Insert the piping bag and fill the holes generously to create a centre filling. 10 Unmould the cake and serve dusted with icing sugar.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 1 hour

Makes: 30

250g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Cinnamon

40g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

5g instant yeast

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

1 tbsp milk

To serve Jam or Nutella

1 Grease a standard-size loaf tin. 2 Combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, sugar, egg, yeast, water, butter and salt to form a sticky dough. Form into a sausage big enough to fit into the loaf tin. Cover the dough and allow it to rise until it’s quite puffy, approx. 2 hours.

3 Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5.

4 Brush the top of the dough with the milk then bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

5 Slice into thin pieces 1cm wide then place on baking sheets. 6 Mix the remaining cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the toast. 7 Preheat the oven to 160°C, gas mark 3. 8 Bake the fette biscottate for 30 minutes until crisp. 9 Serve alongside jam or Nutella.

This crostata can be frozen after it’s baked or before. If baking from frozen, add 5-10 minutes to the overall baking time.

Prep time: 30 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 35 minutes

Makes: 3-4

For the pastry

340g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour, sifted

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

200g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter, cold

3-4 tbsp water

For the filling

300g almonds

240g SpinneysFOOD Super Fine Icing Sugar, sifted

1 egg white

¼ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

For the topping

400g strawberries

1 SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Egg

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Demerara Sugar

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Strawberry Preserve

1 To make the pastry, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Cube the butter. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Rub the butter and flour mixture between the palms of your hands to create thin sheets of butter, which will create flaky layers. Add in iced water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Then knead it on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour. 2 Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the almonds and icing sugar in a food processor and blitz. Add the egg white and salt and mix until combined. 3 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Place a large oven tray or pizza stone in the oven to preheat. 4 Divide the pastry into 3 or 4 rounds (depending on the desired size). Roll out the pastry rounds on a lightly floured surface to approx. 2mm thick and roughly 20cm in diameter. 5 Spread the almond mixture over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border. 6 Hull, halve and finely slice the strawberries then arrange them top of the almond mixture. Fold the pastry border over the strawberries to partially enclose them. 7 Brush the pastry edges with egg wash and sprinkle demerara sugar over the crust. 8 Place the crostata on a piece of baking paper and transfer to the preheated tray or pizza stone. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C, gas mark 4, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the crostata is deep golden in color. 9 Brush the preserve over the still-warm strawberries to give them a glaze and serve while still warm.

This is a typical Sicilian breakfast in the hot summer months – a soft pillowy bread roll filled with gelato. It can also be served with a topping of whipped cream. Prep time: 35 minutes (plus proofing time)

Cook time: 20 minutes

Makes: 12 buns

100ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

5g instant yeast

1 orange

1 lemon

2 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

500g cake flour

50g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter, softened

50g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

25g SpinneysFOOD Honey

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

2 SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

25ml non-alcoholic rum

2L SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying

To serve Gelato

1 Place the milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to dissolve. Finely zest the orange and lemon. 2 Add the eggs, flour, butter, sugar, honey, salt and zest to the bowl.

3 Using a dough hook, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until a soft, smooth dough forms. Cover with cling film and allow to rest for 15 minutes. 4 Separate the egg yolks from the whites. 5 Add the egg yolks and non-alcoholic rum to the dough and knead well. Cover again and allow to rise in a warm place until puffy and doubled in size. 6 Knock the air out of the dough by kneading it gently then divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. Cover and prove in a warm place until doubled in size and puffy. 7 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. 8 Glaze the dough balls with the egg whites. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden. Allow to cool. 9 Serve with gelato of choice.