It’s almost that special time of year again. This Mother’s Day, take the opportunity to show your mother how special she is with a unique gift, lavish lunch or leisure celebration at home surrounded by those who fill her heart with joy and love. Here are some inspiring ideas and tips to help you celebrate your mother this year, Italian style.
Creating Mother’s Day Magic at Home
Should you choose to prepare a lunch at home, make sure to not allow her to do any housework or cooking. We have the perfect Mother’s Day heart-shaped Italian cake recipe to round off the meal on her special day.
Amoretti Heart Shaped Cake Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 8)
- Butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray
- 2 x 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups slivered almonds
- 2 cups baby amoretti cookies
- 2 x 2/3 cups sugar
- 4 teaspoons grated orange peel
- 8 large eggs
- Unsweetened cocoa powder, for sifting
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Spray 2 x 22cm spring form pans the nonstick spray. Refrigerate.
- Microwave the chocolate until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds, for about 1 minute.
- Combine the almonds and cookies in processor. Pulse until the almonds and cookies are finely ground. Transfer the nut mixture to a medium bowl.
- Add the butter and sugar to the processor and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Add the grated orange peel and pulse briefly, until incorporated.
- Add the eggs 1 at a time. Blend until the eggs are incorporated. Clean the sides of the mixing bowl and blend again.
- Add the nut mixture and melted chocolate. Pulse until blended. Clean the sides of the bowl. Blend again.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the center puffs and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the cake to a platter. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.
- Cut the cake with a heart cookie cutter in 8 servings.
Creating Mother’s Day Magic – Eating Out
While it’s not always easy to find the perfect gift, we think a leisurely lunch at a wine farm or lavish six-course meal at her favourite restaurant should do the trick.
Restaurants Offering Special Mother’s Day Lunches
Johannesburg and Pretoria
- Athol Place Restaurant (Atholl)
- Batala Restaurant (Randpark)
- Café Cielo at Avianto Hotel (Muldersdrift)
- Flames Restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel (Westcliff)
- 16th Lintel Restaurant (Centurion)
- Le-Si Restaurant at Casa Toscana (Lynnwood Manor)
- Meadow Green Restaurant (Centurion)
Durban
- 9th Avenue Bistro (Morningside)
- Jeera (Suncoast Casino)
- Moyo (uShaka Marine World)
- The Ocean Terrace at The Oyster Box (Umhlanga Rocks)
- The Sugar Club (Umhlanga Rocks)
Cape Town
- De Grendel (Durbanville)
- The President Hotel (Sea Point)
- Stardust (Woodstock)
- The Square at the Vineyard Hotel (Newlands)
- Top of The Ritz (Sea Point)
Credit: Eat Out
Top 10 Italian Restaurants to celebrate Mother’s Day in SA
Method
- Casalinga Ristorante (Johannesburg, Muldersdrift)
- Ristorante La Trinita (Midrand, Kyalami)
- Gemelli’s (Johannesburg, Bryanston)
- Caraffa (Pretoria, Alphen Park)
- Alfie’s (Pretoria, Hazelwood)
- Il Leone Mastrantonio (Cape Town, De Waterkant)
- 95 Keerom (Cape Town, City Centre)
- Villa 47 (Cape Town, City Centre)
- Bel Punto (Durban, Umdloti)
- Spiga D’oro (Durban, Windermere)
Say “I Love You” this Mother’s Day, Italian Style
Whether your mother is from Italy or would like to be, whether she has Italian in her roots or she’s just a lover of all things Italian, below are some handy words and phrases to help you along the way.
- Mamma – Mom
- Madre – Mother
- Maternità – Motherhood
- Figlio – Son
- Figlia – Daughter
- Bigliettino Di Auguri – Greeting Card
- Regalo – Present
- Fiori – Flowers
- Festeggiare – To Celebrate
- Buona Festa Della Mamma – Happy Mother’s Day
- Tanti Auguri, Mamma – Happy Mother’s Day
- Ho Un Regalo Per Te – I have a present for you
- Ti voglio bene, Mamma – I love you, Mom
Beautiful Mother’s Day Quotes
Looking for the meaningful ways to show gratitude to the person who has had the biggest impression on your life? When your own words don’t feel sufficient, these Mother’s Day sayings depict a mother’s sacred love – a perfect message for the perfect Mother.
“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.”
~ Stevie Wonder
“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.”
~ Mitch Albom
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.”
~ Cardinal Meymillod
“I can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood.”
~ Lance Conrad
“I will look after you and I will look after anybody you say needs to be looked after, any way you say. I am here. I brought my whole self to you. I am your mother.
~ Maya Angelou
