Italians are enthusiastic roasters, happy to cook just about anything savory over the coals or in the oven if that's what they have. When it comes to desserts, however, at home people are much more likely to make a pudding than bake a cake. Tiramisu of course comes to mind, but there are many other treats as well, including zuppa inglese, panna cotta, and... gelato.
The word
tiramisu means "pick me up," and though you will find suggestions that it was a favorite with Venetian courtesians on the Web, it's actually much more recent -- the pastry chefs of Treviso claim the honor of having invented it and they likely did. The courtesians
would have liked it, however. Want more?
Check the collection!My father-in-law's favorite dessert! Though Italian cookbooks wonder at the origins of the name, it really is an English trifle, in other words a pudding made by interlayering cake with cream and other ingredients. It's especially common in Tuscany, because the English who lived in the region a century ago often asked for it, but you will find it throughout the Peninsula. It can be served either chilled, or partially frozen, though if you take that route be careful lest it freeze solid.
Panna Cotta is an extremely simple Piemontese dessert, a delicate creamy white pudding that is good on its own, but becomes heavenly when topped with a wild berry fruit sauce.
This is another quick, easy recipe -- it took the chef on a cooking show 10 minutes -- and it is extremely refreshing in the summer months. Do be certain to use perfectly ripe cantaloupe, however, or it will taste flat.
This is quite obvious, but it's also very good, and refreshing either at the ned of the meal, in mid-afternoon, or even between courses. For a surprisingly different treat, use limes instead of lemons.
More about ice cream and many recipes.
When the strawberries reach that perfect ripeness in June, what could be nicer than a sformato made with them?
Though Bavarian creams obviously have a link with Germany, they are extremely popular in Italy too, and people make all kinds. This particular recipe simply calls for a half pound of freshly pureed fruit, so you can vary it to suit your tastes and the season.
This is a simple cream made with egg yolks, sugar and Marsala, and it's one of the tastiest things there is for dipping cookies into.
Yet another classic recipe; it gains depth from crumbled savoiardi (or ladyfingers) that add a pleasing crunch tang.
There's something wonderfully exotic, and slightly decadent about pears cooked in wine, and it's also a dessert one can enjoy year-round changing types of pears with the seasons.
