Here is a small collection of desserts from all over Italy. Some of them
may be new to you and are made with some ingredients you wouldn't ordinarily think of putting in a dessert!
Sanguinaccio - Pork's Blood Pudding
Every part of the pig is used in Italy and this sweet stars pork's blood - in Sardenga there is a variation on this recipe using goat's blood. You may have difficulty procuring this recipes' main ingredient as you need to start stirring the blood as soon as it drains from the pig to stop it from clotting - this will affect the consistency of the pudding. Do not store blood more than 24 hours before cooking.
2 liters of Pork's Blood
2 liters of whole milk
140 grams of Sugar
13 eggs
50 gr. of Sweet Coca
1 glass Anice liquor
Lemon Peel of one lemon
Cinnamon
Nutmeg to taste
1 pinch of salt per egg
Separate the yoks and whites from the eggs. Whip the egg whites.
Boil a cup of water with the lemon peel, cinnamon and nutmeg and let cool.
Pour this concotion in a bowl containing both the blood and milk. Mix adding sugar, salt, liquor, Coca and egg yolks and whipped egg whites. Cook the mix slowly in a double boiler stirring constantly. It should cook for at least two hours but never boil.
Torta Di Sangue Di Maiale - Pork Blood Pie (Basilicata)
1 lt. fresh pork blood
600 gr. milk
300 gr. sugar
200 gr. melting chocolate, grated
grated orange zest
a pinch of cinammon
a bit of vanilla
1 glass of vin cotto
1tsp of lard (additional lard for decoration)
1 glass of anice flavored liquer
Mix everything in a bowl and cook it in a bain marie until it becomes
dense, about an hour.
Pour into a piecrust, decorate it with the melted lard and bake it for
about one hour.
Banane con Gorgonzola e Rum - Bananas with Gorgonzola and Rum
200 gr. of Gorgonzola
2 mature bananas
1/2 glass of rum
some strawberries
Peel the bananas and put them in a bowl. Mash them well with a fork, add
the Gorgonzola and the rum and work it into a cream. Put it into a
serving dish and put that into the refrigerator.
Just before serving, add stawberries cut in fan shapes and bring to the table.
Serves 4
Cannoli alla Siciliana - Sicilian Cannoli
Shells can be purchased at any Italian bakery
3 cups Ricotta
1/2 cup Confectioners sugar
1/4 cup Cinnamon
1/2 square unsweetened Chocolate grated OR
1/2 tbsp. Cocoa (both optional)
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
3 tbsp. Citron peel, chopped
3 tbsp. Orange peel, candied,chopped
6 Glazed cherries, cut up
Mix ricotta thoroughly with sifted dry ingredients. Add vanilla and fruit
peel. Mix and blend well. (A little grated pistachio may be added if
desired).
Chill in refrigerator before filling shells. Fill cold cannoli shells;
smooth filling evenly at each end of shell. Decorate each end with a piece
of glazed cherry and sprinkle shells with confectioners sugar.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
These are best if they are filled just before you company arrives.
Serves 12
From Adriana's Traditional Italian Recipes
Torta di Polenta con Creme Fraiche - Cornmeal Cake with Creme Fraiche
1cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 2/3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoon buttermilk
3 tablespoon sugar
Powdered sugar
Berries
To make the creme fraiche, stir 2 tablespoons buttermilk into 2 cups heavy
cream. Place in an airtight container, and let sit in a warm place, such as
on top of the refrigerator, for 12-16 hours, or until it has thickened, but
is still pourable. Chill for up to three weeks.
To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350�F. Lightly butter 10- or
11-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom with
parchment paper. Butter parchment. Dust pan with flour; shake out excess.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add
eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and stir
to combine. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Stir in
cornmeal. Add to butter mixture and beat just until blended. Mix in lemon
peel and extract. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until cake is
golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs
attached, 30-35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack, cool. Using knife, cut
around pan sides to loosen cake.Turn cake out. Peel off parchment.
Whip 2-3 tablespoons of sugar into the creme fraiche, and lightly beat
until it forms soft mounds.
To serve, sprinkle powdered sugar on cake. Garnish with creme fraiche and
berries.
Serves 6-8.
Ravioli di Ricotta
Flour 35.5 ounces
Ricotta 17.5 ounces
Sugar 14 ounces
vegetable oil 7 ounces
Pumpkin or sweet squash 7 ounces
Crumbled Chocolate 7 ounces
Powdered Sugar
Powdered Cinnamon
Mix the flour, Crisco, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of tepid water
until you get a soft dough.
Flatten out the dough with a rolling pin and cut into 2 equal sheets.
Mix the ricotta, sugar, pumpkin (or sweet squash), and crumbled chocolate
into a thick cream.
On one of the pasta sheets, distribute the cream in small drops but
maintaining equal distance one from the other.
Cover the pasta sheet with the second sheet and cut the ravioli. Fry in oil
and then powder the ravioli with the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
From Adriana's Traditional Italian Recipes
Frittelle di Riso - Rice Fritters
Frittelle di riso are an Easter specialty, delightful bursts of voluptuous
flavor to let the tongue know that Lent's privations are at an end.
They're wonderfully light, and perhaps even
tastier the day after they've been fried.
3/4 cup rice
1 quart milk
The zest of one lemon
3-4 Tablespoons sugar
A walnut-sized chunk of butter
3 eggs
1 jigger of rum or sweet wine i.e. vin santo
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Oil for frying
powdered sugar
Simmer the rice in the milk until it's quite done, then stir in the sugar,
lemon zest, and butter and let cool.
Separate the eggs and whip the whites to soft peaks. Stir the yolks and the
rum or wine into the rice mixture, then fold in the egg whites, flour and
baking powder. Drop the batter a teaspoon at a time into hot oil and fry the
frittelle until they are a rich golden brown. Drain them on absorbent paper,
and when they have cooled dust them with powdered sugar.
Italian Rice Custard
1/2 cup rice
1 cup boiling water
4 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a large saucepan, add rice to boiling water; reduce heat. Simmer,
covered, over low heat 8 minutes. Add milk and butter; bring to a boil.
cover and cook 1 hour over very low heat. In a small bowl, combine eggs,
sugar and vanilla.
Remove rice from heat. Slowly add egg mixture, stirring constantly until
thickened. Serve warm or chilled.
Serves 8
Sfinci
1000 grams of flour
1 liter of water
30 grams of yeast
100 grams of sugar
Cinnamon (Whatever quantity desired)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Grated lemon peel
Powdered sugar
Dissolve yeast in a little cup of warm water and combine with all the
ingredients except the olive oil. Blend thoroughly.
Add oil to mixture and beat well.
Allow to leaven.
Drop dough (one tablespoon at a time) into a frying pan with filled halfway
with olive oil and fry until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
From Adriana's Traditional Italian Recipes
Castagnaccio con Uva Nera - Castagnaccio with Red Grapes
2 cups chestnut flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup walnut pieces
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 cups red grapes, seedless
1 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, place flour, sugar and walnuts. Add 1/2 cup cold
milk and slowly add rest of milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps to form
in batter. Grease pan with 1 tablespoon oil and pour in batter. Drizzle top
with remaining oil and distribute rosemary evenly over top. Bake for 45
minutes, or until a toothpick pierced in the center comes out clean.
While castagnaccio is cooking, place grapes and sugar in a small saucepan
over medium heat. Cook until quite soft and bubbly, about 10 minutes.
Remove castagnaccio and serve either warm or cool with grape sauce.
4 servings
Torte di Miele - Honey Cakes
1 1/4 pounds sifted flour
4 ounces butter
2 heaped Tbsps sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 egg yolks
1/2 pint milk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 egg white
1/2 pint thick heather honey
3 tablespoons ground almonds
1/2 pint melted heather honey
Rub butter into flour. Heat sugar and honey
gently until well mixed, stir in powder. Add
to flour mixture, alternating with egg yolks
beaten with milk. Mix very well, add salt and mix
again. Roll out very lightly on floured board,
cut into rounds or shapes. Put on greased baking
sheet, bake in oven 350F (180C), about 20
minutes. Remove to a rack, paint tops with
lightly beaten egg white. Mix thick honey with
ground almonds, spread over painted tops. Put in
very cool oven for no longer than 5 minutes to
set. Eat either hot or cold, or Serve hot from
oven with warm, melted honey poured over. Makes
about 24 cakes.
Sweets in England are sweeter than sweets in America and sweets in Italy
are less sweet than those in America. Why? I do not know. However, in
the case of Italian sweets, I am guessing that they are less sweet because
Italian food already provides the essential sugars and most Italians do
not feel the need for additional sweets. Interestingly, most Italian desserts come from Southern Italy. In general, Italians serve sweet desserts are served only on
special occasions.
