Dozens of press releases end up in my inbox almost daily about new products being released, inventions being patented, conventions, interviews, etc. A few weeks ago, an email about Baci Perugina confections along with included recipes and photos caught my eye. Who doesn’t love chocolate, right? I sent a quick response and was sent some Baci of my own to try out in recipes.

Baci means “kisses” in Italian. Each chocolate has a message of love wrapped around the individual candy. The outside of these confections are dark chocolate, and the inside is made of gianduia, a whipped chocolate filling blended with chopped hazelnuts, and then topped with a whole hazelnut. These little chocolates have a lot packed in them!

The recipe below was developed by Viola Buitoni of the famed pasta and chocolate family.

Tortino di yogurt ai Baci (yogurt and Baci loaf cake)

by Viola Buitoni

Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 Baci
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup brown raw sugar
• pinch of salt
• grated zest of an orange
• 3 eggs
• 1 six-ounce container plain full fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• powdered sugar

Directions:

Unwrap and chop the Baci, and then line a loaf pan with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and zest together. Mix in the eggs, then the yogurt, and finally the olive oil. Next, mix the chopped chocolate into the batter and pour the mixture into the lined loaf pan.

Bake at 375ºF for about 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Unmold the cake from the loaf pan and let cool on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

I made this loaf cake for Christmas day dinner with family. It was moist and dense with plenty of chocolate. Personally, I love the taste of yogurt in baked goods; it’s sweet and tart. The orange zest gave really exotic overtones. This is definitely something I plan to make again! You can learn more about Baci at Perugina.com.

Would you try this loaf cake? What are some of your favorite baked desserts?

Note: I received complimentary chocolates to test out some recipes. I was not otherwise compensated.