Baci di Dama · Baci di Dama di Tortona
Piedmont · dolce · serves 24 · 120 min total · medium
Invented in Tortona in 1906 in the kitchen of Stefano Vercesi — two hazelnut domes joined by a kiss of chocolate. "Lady's kisses". The strict version uses only the IGP-protected Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnut — the same nut that built Nutella. Tortona still hosts a baci di dama festival every May; the rule is that the two domes must be identical to the gram.
Ingredients
- 200 g Piedmont hazelnuts (Nocciola del Piemonte IGP)
- 200 g sugar
- 200 g cold butter, cubed
- 200 g 00 flour
- 1 pinch pinch of salt
- 150 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped
Method
- Toast hazelnuts in a 160°C (320°F) oven for 12 minutes. Rub off the skins in a clean cloth.
- Cool fully. Grind in a food processor with half the sugar until very fine, almost paste — pulse, don't run, or you'll get nut butter.
- Add the rest of the sugar, flour and salt; pulse to combine.
- Add the cold butter cubes; pulse just until the dough comes together. Wrap, chill 1 hour.
- Roll the dough into balls the size of a hazelnut — 8 g each. Be exact: each half must match its partner. Lay on a lined tray, spaced.
- Chill the tray 15 minutes — cold dough holds its dome shape.
- Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 14–16 minutes — pale gold, never coloured. The little domes should crackle on top.
- Cool completely on the tray.
- Melt the chocolate gently (bain-marie or low microwave). Put a tiny dab on the flat base of one biscuit, press a partner against it. The chocolate is the kiss.
- Set 30 minutes for the chocolate to set. Store in a tin, paired.