# Italian Desserts



## jamesaeaa (Dec 11, 2007)

I need some help on putting together some new desserts where I work. It is a rustic neopolitian place. I have done tiramisu, panna cotta, pane di choc, fruit tarts and some more small stuff but the menu has changed and I am in charge of the desserts so if anyone can help me please do the desserts have to be rustic.
Thanks
James


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

Zuppa Inglese (somewhat like English trifle, possibly the origins of the name)

There's an Italian cheesecake-like concoction that uses ricotta instead of a cream-cheese-like item (think it's called pastiera)

Pannetone with fresh cream, a rum raisin sauce, fresh fruits

Semifreddo

Cannoli


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## tommybza (Dec 2, 2007)

I have some thing that could help ,when i would carmelize tirimisu, freeze it then burn it with your butane torch ,make pannetone in a sheet like fociccia slice it in half and make a napolioen . dried figs in marsella then roll it in a thin crepe use a coffee flavored youhurt creme . biscotti with citrus and annise then drench in grappa ?


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## pjm333 (Nov 6, 2001)

A good italian dessert is a cassatta, there is a baked cassata and a cold one. Nick Malgieri's book "Great Italian Desserts" is a very good book.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

One usually associates cassatta with Palermo. In fact, it's usually called cassatta Siciliana.

There's a fairly easy cheesecake made with ricotta called "crostata di ricotta." Decorate the top with pine nuts, and a lattice crust cut with a ripple wheel, and it will look rustic as all h*ll. These were a favorite with my customers when I catered.

I'm attaching a link to a recipe that is almost identical to the one I used (which I got from the Time-Life series -- back in the day). The only functional difference is that I used a liqueur called Strega for the crust, rather than marsala. Use more or less anything, it won't make much difference. Tip: You'll get a better crust (pasta frolio) with lard than any other shortening. One last thing, you want rustic? Serve it with grapes.

astray recipes: Cheese pie {crostata di ricotta}

Another simple favorite is zabaione, which originated in Piemonte.

Bravo,
BDL

ON EDIT: I'd only scanned the recipe before I linked it. Now that I've read it more carefully, I'm pretty sure it was plagiarized from Time-Life. Excellent, if unethical.


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## cvejic jovan (Mar 13, 2008)

You can prepare "Baba" it is clasical Italian dessert from Napoli...
you can also prepare "fondante ciocolate" ,semi fredo or something like that...


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Interesting. I thought as far as anyone knew _savarin_, which is what the _baba_ itself is, was developed in Paris in the early 1800s, as well as the _au rhum_ sauce by the same family bakery shop. Also that the whole rum-soaked cake thing was credited to King Stanislas who was hanging around Alsace in the 17th C, banished from Poland. In a story that sounds mighty apocryphal -- but at least suggests that the word _baba_ owes its derivation to the Polish _babka_ -- Stanislas first tried the big dunk with a _kugelhopf_.

Go figure,
BDL


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