Bring a taste of old-world Italy to your family's holiday table with this favorite from Verona, Nadalin.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr5 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12
Calories: 348kcal
Author: Chef Dennis Littley
Ingredients
17.6ozor little less than 4 cups all-purpose flour
6ozbutterat room temperature and cut into small pieces
¾cupsugar
4large eggs
1tablespooninstant dry yeast
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
1teaspoonsalt
1.4ozpine nuts
confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
In a big bowl or on a flat surface, sift the flour and make the well.
In the center of the well, put the eggs and lightly beat them incorporating a small amount of the flour.
Then add all the other ingredients, except for the pine nuts.
Mix all the ingredients fairly quickly until you obtain a compact dough. (don’t overwork it!)
Shape the dough into a ball and put it in a big bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for about three hours, or until the dough has doubled in bulk (if you do not have time to finish the job on the same day, you can let the dough rise overnight at room temperature).
When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350F degrees and proceed to shape the dough.
Place the dough on the back of a cake pan sprinkled with flour. I made a few cuts into the dough and then stretched it in all direction. (If you like very defined and pretty dessert, I suggest you buy a star shaped mold)
When you are done with shaping (or un-shaping) the dough, sprinkle the pine nuts on top, pressing them into the dough a little bit.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the crust starts getting golden (my oven bakes very slowly and it took me almost an hour).
Let the Nadalin cool on a cooling rack completely and then sprinkle with abundant confectioners’ sugar.
Notes
One note: in theory, you should store the Nadalin in a plastic bag for 5 days before eating