Mostaccioli

Make the dough

1. Put the flour, sugar, cocoa, pisto, bicarbonate of soda and orange zest in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the ingredients and mix until fully combined. Warm the honey in the microwave; about 20 seconds will be enough to soften it. Add the warm honey to the dry ingredients, along with the water and the vanilla. Mix with a spoon and, when the dough starts coming together, turn it out onto a clean and dry worktop and knead gently by hand until smooth and homogeneous. The dough will be stiff and only slightly tacky. Wrap it in cling film (plastic wrap) and let it rest in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

Make the filling

1. Finely crush the biscuits by hand in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the ingredients. Add the cocoa, candied peel, raisins, hazelnuts and vanilla.
2. Put the quince paste and rum in a small microwave-safe bowl, and warm them in the microwave for about 40 seconds to soften the paste. Combine the paste and rum with a fork until homogeneous, then add to the biscuit mixture and mix thoroughly to form a firm paste. Lay a 40-cm (16-in) long sheet of cling film (plastic wrap) on the worktop, tip half of the paste onto it and shape it as a 30-cm (12-in) long sausage by rolling it on the cling film. Wrap it in the film and twist the ends. Repeat with the remaining paste to make a second wrapped sausage then chill them both in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Assemble

3. When ready to bake, set the shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 180°C static (350°F/Gas mark 4). Line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat.
4. Divide the chilled dough into two halves. Set one half aside and roll the other to 5mm (¼in) thickness over a lightly floured, 35-cm (14-in) long sheet of baking paper. Shape the pastry as a rectangle, about 10 x 30cm (4 x 12in), and position it on the worktop with a long side facing you. Unwrap one of the sausages of filling and place it on the dough. Use the baking paper to lift the dough and wrap it around the filling slightly overlapping the joint; press very gently on the overlap to seal it. Using the baking paper under the pastry, flip the whole log over so that the seal is on the underside. Flatten the log gently with the palm of your hand to about 3cm (1¼in) thickness.
5. Trim off the two ends to neaten them then cut the log into 6 equal pieces, slicing at an angle so that each one is diamond shaped. Repeat the process to make a second batch of 6 biscuits, then arrange them over the lined tray. Bake for 15–17 minutes, or until they have slightly puffed up and the surface looks dry.
6. Leave the biscuits cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. I recommend leaving them to dry out for a few hours (or, better, overnight) before coating them with chocolate.
7. Put the chocolate and oil in a small bowl and microwave it for 1 minute, then stir well and keep microwaving in 10-second bursts, stirring it well between subsequent bursts until completely melted. Arrange the mostaccioli on a sheet of baking paper, then dip the tops in the melted chocolate. Allow the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl then place the mostaccioli back on the baking paper to set. Mostaccioli keep for up to 2 weeks in a biscuit tin.