This elegant but easy dessert is a kind of dressed up version of Angelina’s humble pizza dolce. The basic recipe for this ricotta ‘pudding’ calls for just ricotta, eggs and sugar, and it’s perfectly delicious at its simplest. But, if you like, you can add various the fillings and toppings … Read More
Torta di mele (Apple Torte)
Torta di mele a homely version of an apple torte that could hardly be easier. And believe me, if a non-baker like myself can make this with no trouble at all, you will, too. You just make a simple batter in your trusty mixer, fold in apple slices, pour everything … Read More
Zuppa inglese (Italian Trifle)
Zuppa inglese, literally “English soup”, is actually neither English nor a soup. It is a classic Italian dessert, but the name is apt nevertheless. Its texture is very reminiscent of the bread-thickened soups so typical of the cookery of central Italy, only sweet and cool rather than savory and hot—a … Read More
Ciliegie su ghiaccio (Cherries on Ice)
A quick note on a fine and fun way to enjoy cherries and lots of other summer fruits—su ghiaccio or ‘cherries on ice‘. Fill a bowl a third or half full of ice, place your fruit—however much you’re having—over the ice and add water to come, say, halfway up the fruit. … Read More
Angelina’s Pizza Dolce (Italian Cheesecake)
For most of us, pizza means just one thing: a round disk of dough topped with tomato, mozzarella and other goodies and baked in a hot oven. But ‘pizza’ really just means pie, and can refer also to Italian cheesecake, typically made with ricotta and eggs, flavored with sugar and other … Read More
Ananas alla sambuca (Pineapple Laced with Sambuca)
Here’s a really quick note on a combination that may surprise you but was simply meant to be: ananas alla sambuca, or pineapple and the Italian anise liquor called sambuca. Sprinkle a few drops of sambuca over freshly sliced pineapple, just enough to exalt the flavor of the fruit without drawing … Read More
Bignè di san Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s Day Cream Puffs)
Being a Catholic country, Italians celebrate Father’s Day on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph. The feast is associated with a number sweet and savory dishes, but none more so perhaps than the fancy, sweet version of zeppole usually called, appropriately enough, zeppole di san Giuseppe. Romans make their … Read More
Chiacchiere (Fried “Ribbons”)
I wasn’t much on sweets even as a kid, but these little sugar-dusted ribbons of fried dough—variously known as chiacchiere, nastrini, stracci, cenci, frappe and a myriad of other names—were my one weakness in the sweets department. They are a traditional treat for Carnival, a time for over-indulgence, culinary and … Read More
