A year or so ago I took my two adult sons with me to Italy. Given the busy schedules of two 20-somethings, I didn’t get to choose when they would visit – late August was my only option, the height of tourist season and a time I usually don’t recommend. But with proper planning, we still managed to have a fun-filled trip without dealing with crowds of tourists. Italy still has so many exceptional places well worth visiting, they just haven’t yet been discovered by the guide books or Frances Mayes.
We did visit Florence, but with a private local guide and scheduling visits late in the day, we avoided the crowds. We headed north, rented a BMW M4 and spent 4 days driving through the Dolomites and Alps. That time of year the typical towns and mountain passes that are recommended to most visitors are crowded with cars, packs of motorcycles and tour buses all slowly crawling up these narrow passes, headed to the same sights. When you get to the top, the parking areas are full. Not the way I want to experience the natural beauty of this region!
We were able to find areas in these majestic mountains that were off of the standard tourist radar. Sitting in traffic was not an option, we wanted roads where we could open it up a bit and enjoy putting our high performance car through its paces. And we found plenty here – challenging curves, precipitous drops, little traffic, even in August. We then visited the lovely city of Mantova, few tourists here. Tuscany is crowded and hot in August, but we stayed at an elegant wine resort in the Valpolicella region where we sampled some of Italy’s best wines in an enjoyably tranquil setting. On to Maranello, near Bologna, to spend an hour behind the wheel of a Ferrari (as you may have guessed by now, my sons enjoy fast cars.) Almost two years later, my eldest son commented that this was the best vacation he had ever had. Sharing this experience with them certainly makes it one of mine.
Every morning began with a great breakfast buffet. A favorite cake that brought back the fond memories of this vacation is a Pear and Chocolate Cake that made its way to our table on many mornings, from the Dolomites to Bologna. It is a treat that can go from accompanying a cup of coffee for breakfast to afternoon tea, to an after dinner sweet with a nice pear liqueur or grappa. This particular version comes from Al Di La Restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Torta di Pere e Cioccolato – Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, at room-temperature4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 pears, peeled, in a small dice
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch cake or springform pan and dust with flour, set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on high speed until pale and very thick, at least five minutes in a heavy duty stand mixer; longer with a hand mixer.
While the eggs are whipping, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and cook it until the butter browns and smells nutty (about 6 to 8 minutes). It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Remove from the flame but keep in a warm spot.
Add the sugar to the eggs and whip a few minutes more.
Just as the egg-sugar mixture is starting to lose volume, turn the mixture down to stir, and add the flour mixture and brown butter. Add one third of the flour mixture, then half of the butter, a third of the flour, the remaining butter, and the rest of flour. Whisk until just barely combined — no more than a minute from when the flour is first added — and then use a spatula to gently fold the batter until the ingredients are combined. It is very important not to over-whisk or fold the batter or it will lose volume.
Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle the pear and chocolate chunks over the top, and bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch, about 40 to 50 minutes, or a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack, then remove from pan and serve.
