Mouth-watering recipes for Italian desserts
I made the best blueberry-lemon cake recipe I ever had the other day. It was so moist it melted in my mouth and it is so easy to make. I used a Betty Crocker yellow cake mix, fresh blueberries, and freshly-squeezed lemon juice. Yumm! I also baked it in a bundt cake pan, which makes it look even prettier.
It’s September and it is apple picking season here in the Northeast which means we will be eating apple pies, applesauce, apple cake, etc. for the next few weeks.
An Easter tradition in Italy is to make a dove-shaped sweet bread, or Colomba di Pasqua, which symbolizes peace and the Holy Spirit. It is to Easter what panettone is to Christmas. It is usually made in a dove-shaped pan, but if you don’t have one you can shape the dough by hand.
This recipe uses fiori di Sicilia, which is a citrus and vanilla flavored extract with essence of flowers. It can be hard to find so you can substitute vanilla and orange extracts for it.
It also uses pearl sugar, a type of sugar which looks like Brioschi (remember those? We used to eat them like candy when we were little!) but is actually a hardened piece of sugar which does not melt easily during baking.
Naples and Amalfi Coast Tours
Ingredients
1/4 c warm water
1 T active dry yeast
1/2 c warm milk
2/3 c granulated sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 T grated lemon zest
1 tsp fiori di Sicilia
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
4 1/2 to 5 cups all purpose unbleached flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg white, slightly beaten
2 T almonds
1 T pearl sugar or coarse brown sugar
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Top Photo credit – Giulia Robert @Flickr.com
Sfinci, or sfingi as they are sometimes called in southern Italy, are delicious little cream puffs filled with sweet ricotta cheese. They are usually served on the feast day of St. Joseph, which is March 19th.
The feast of St. Joseph is very important to Italians. It was set up to honor St. Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and caring foster father of Jesus Christ, after the people of Sicily were saved from a severe drought by praying to him and asking for his help.
Ingredients
Sfinci:
1 c water
1/3 c unsalted butter
1 T granulated sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt
1 c sifted all-purpose flour
2 T baking powder
4 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
maraschino cherries
Filling:
2 c ricotta cheese
1/2 c confectioner sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 c grated dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)
2 T finely chopped pistachios
Preheat the oven to 400º F.
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Thimble cookies, so called because originally bakers used a thimble to make an indentation in the cookie dough to fill it with preserves, are very simple to make. All you need are 5 ingredients. (They are also known as thumbprint cookies because you can use your thumb to make an indentation.)
Ingredients:
1 c butter, room temperature
2 c flour
4 T confectioner sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
preserves, any flavor
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Rainbow cookies, also known as Venetian cookies and Neapolitan cookies, are a three layer cookie (or 7 layers if you count the layers of preserves and 2 layers of chocolate) made of colored sponge cake made with almond paste, apricot or raspberry preserves, and chocolate. They were not invented in Italy but rather by Italian-American immigrants who came here in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.
Biting into one of these sweet, tasty treats reminds me of when I was a little girl and would go shopping with my mother on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx and stop in one of the many bakeries to buy these cookies, along with loaves of Italian bread and lard bread (prosciutto bread), and pignoli cookies.
Addeo Bakery, in the Bronx. Photo credit: changsterdam via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
Although here in the United States we call them rainbow cookies, the colors actually symbolize the colors of the Italian flag, red, white, and green. They are usually made only during Christmastime in Italian households because they take time to make, but can be found throughout the year in Italian bakeries and grocery stores.
Make sure to use almond paste and not marzipan or almond pastry filling in this recipe because they are all different. Almond paste is made of ground up almonds with a little bit of sugar and is very gritty. It is not very sweet and needs to be mixed with other ingredients to be used as a filling. I personally like to use Solo almond paste but you can find many other brands in the grocery store or on online.
Almond Paste
Marzipan is made of ground up almonds (less almonds proportionally than almond paste, actually) with a lot of sugar and glucose, and is smooth. It can be eaten as is and is usually molded into different shapes.
Marzipan Candy –
Photo credit: Claire Elaine@Flickr.com
Almond pastry filling, or frangipane, is made of ground up almonds, sugar, and cream, among other ingredients, and has a creamy consistency. It is used as a filling for cakes and pastries.
Almond Pastry Filling (Frangipane) –
Photo credit: Sarah@Flickr.com
Ingredients:
1 8 oz. can of almond paste (NOT marzipan)
1 c granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 12 oz. jar of apricot (or raspberry) preserves
1 1/2 c (3 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs, separated
2 c all purpose unbleached flour
10 drops green food coloring
8 drops red food coloring
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate (or 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips if layering on bottom also)
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Above Photo credit: World to Table via Foter.com / CC BY-NC
Pignoli cookies are the Italian version of macaroons with the addition of pine nuts. They originated in Sicily but are very popular in the US in Italian bakeries. The cookies can be eaten throughout the year but are mostly served at Christmas time since they can be quite expensive to make or buy because of what goes in them, pine nuts, or pignoli, and almond paste.
Pine nuts can usually be found at a grocery store in the baking aisle along with other nuts. They are actually the nuts of pine cones, so you would think they would be cheap, but, unfortunately, they are not easy to harvest. They only grow in the northern hemisphere and can take up to 3 years to mature. Once they are harvested from the pine cones, they need to be cracked open from an inner shell. It’s not an easy task – I did it many years ago while I was in the pineta of Selvacava, a large pine forest up in the mountains in Aurunci National Park. I remember having to smash each individual nut with a big rock!
Make sure to use almond paste and not marzipan nor almond pastry filling in this recipe because they are all different. Almond paste is made of ground up almonds with a little bit of sugar and is very gritty. It is not very sweet and needs to be mixed with other ingredients to be used as a filling. I personally like to use Solo almond paste, but you can find many other brands in the grocery store or online.
Almond Paste
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Ingredients (yield: 3 dozen)
12 oz almond paste
½ c granulated sugar
1 c confectioners’ sugar
4 egg whites
1 ½ c pine nuts (pignoli)
1 T of flour if the dough is too soft
1. Preheat oven to 325 °F (165 degrees C).
2. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil; lightly grease foil.
3. Mix almond paste and granulated sugar in food processor until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar and 2 egg whites; process until smooth.
4. Whisk remaining 2 egg whites in small bowl.
5. Place pine nuts on shallow plate.
6. With lightly floured hands roll dough into 1” balls. If the dough feels too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour. Coat balls in egg whites, shaking off excess, then roll in pine nuts, pressing lightly to stick. Arrange balls on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly to form a 1 ½ “ round.
7. Bake 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over them before serving. Store them in an airtight container.
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Struffoli are little sweet fried dough balls covered in honey and sprinkles, and sometimes with candied fruit. They are usually served during the holidays, especially during the Christmas season and Easter. It has a long history, originally created by the nuns of Naples to give as a thank-you gift to the aristocracy for their charitable donations to the poor.
About 15 servings
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
4 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 T baking powder
vegetable oil for frying
1 small jar of honey (or to your liking)
1 tsp lemon juice (can leave out)
candy sprinkles
This cake combines 2 healthy ingredients – chocolate and zucchini. Yes, chocolate (dark chocolate to be exact), in moderation, can be considered healthy because it is full of flavonoids which are antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. Zucchini is rich in vitamin A, magnesium, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids. So, enjoy…
Serves 8 to 10 people
Ingredients
3 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 c chocolate chips
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/4 c sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 c buttermilk or sour cream
1 1/2 c grated zucchini or summer squash
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or bundt pan and dust with some unsweetened cocoa powder.
2. Melt the chocolate along with the oil in a double boiler or in a saucepan over low heat – be careful not to scorch.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk or sour cream, beating until combined, then fold in the chocolate and oil mixture, and the zucchini.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack, then invert it on the rack, remove the pan, and cool completely.
5.Serve with your favorite icing, dusted with confectioners’ sugar, or with fresh fruit on top.
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Photo credit above: ukcsa@Flicker.com
This is an authentic Italian recipe for creamy and delicious cheesecake. It does not use cream cheese like the American version but rather whole milk ricotta cheese and mascarpone cheese.
Ingredients 10 to 12 servings
2 Tbsp softened butter
1/2 c graham cracker or lemon flavored cookie crumbs
5 large eggs
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 c ricotta cheese, drained
1 c mascarpone cheese
zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Brush an 8 inch springform pan with butter on the sides
and bottom and coat with the cookie crumbs.
3. Using a whisk attachment on a mixer, beat together eggs,
sugar and salt at high speed until foamy, about 2 minutes.
4. Add ricotta, mascarpone, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix at
medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
5. Place the spring form pan on a baking sheet and pour batter into
pan. I usually put a little bit of water in the baking sheet so
that the top of the cheesecake does not dry out and crack.
6. Bake about 1 hour, until the center of the cheesecake is a little
soft and the edges are golden brown. Cool before serving.
Serve with fresh fruit or fruit filling on top.
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