Italian desserts recipes
91 Italian desserts recipes, each written for this site and each saying what its method turns on.
- 'Nzuddi, sourced from Italy. Hard almond biscuits with orange zest, baked until the outside cracks and the middle stays chewy. Egg, vegetarian.
- Affogato, sourced from Italy. A shot of espresso poured over cold ice cream, eaten in the minute it survives. vegetarian.
- Amaretti di Saronno, sourced from Italy. Crisp almond macaroons with a bitter note, dried before baking so the tops craze. Egg, vegetarian.
- Angel Wings, sourced from Italy. Pastry rolled until you can see through it, knotted and fried for seconds. Egg, vegetarian.
- Babà al Rum, sourced from Italy. A very wet yeasted sponge, soaked cool in warm syrup until it stops taking any more. Egg, vegetarian.
- Baci di Dama, sourced from Italy. Two hazelnut domes joined with chocolate, baked flat-side down so they stay round. vegetarian.
- Baicoli, sourced from Italy. Venetian biscuits baked as a loaf, chilled a day, then sliced thin and dried out. Egg, vegetarian.
- Bensone, sourced from Italy. A dense S-shaped ring cake made deliberately dry, because it exists to be dipped in wine. Egg, vegetarian.
- Berlingozzo, sourced from Italy. A light ring cake raised on whipped eggs and scented with anise, soft enough to tear. Egg, vegetarian.
- Bisciola, sourced from Italy. A dark rye loaf packed with nuts and dried fruit, nearer bread than cake. Egg, vegetarian.
- Biscotti, sourced from Italy. Tuscan almond biscuits with no fat at all, baked as a log and cut on the diagonal. Egg, vegetarian.
- Biscotti Regina, sourced from Italy. Plain little logs rolled wet and then in sesame, which toasts in the oven and is the whole point. Egg.
- Bocconotto, sourced from Italy. Small shortcrust cases filled with jam and ground almond, sealed and baked in moulds. Egg.
- Bombolone, sourced from Italy. An enriched yeast doughnut with no hole, filled after frying so the crumb stays dry. Egg, vegetarian.
- Brutti ma Buoni, sourced from Italy. A nut meringue cooked in the pan before it is baked, which is what makes it chewy rather than crisp. Egg, vegetarian.
- Buccellato, sourced from Italy. A yeasted sweet ring with anise and raisins, proved twice and barely sweet. Egg, vegetarian.
- Budino, sourced from Italy. A stirred custard set with egg alone, cooked just to the point where it coats a spoon. Egg, vegetarian.
- Bustrengo, sourced from Italy. A dense wet cake of leftover bread, cornmeal and fruit, with nothing to raise it. Egg, vegetarian.
- Camporelli, sourced from Italy. Ring biscuits bound with wine and oil instead of egg and butter, so they stay crisp for weeks. vegan.
- Canestrelli, sourced from Italy. Flower-shaped shortbread made short with potato starch and yolks only. Egg, vegetarian.
- Cannoli, sourced from Italy. Shells fried round metal tubes and filled only at the moment of serving. Egg.
- Cassata, sourced from Italy. A ricotta-filled sponge lined with green marzipan and set in a sloped mould. Egg.
- Cassatella di Sant'Agata, sourced from Italy. Small domed cakes covered in white icing with a cherry on top. Egg.
- Castagnaccio, sourced from Italy. Chestnut flour and water with rosemary on top, and no sugar, egg or raising agent. vegan.
- Cavallucci, sourced from Italy. Sienese spiced biscuits built on a sugar syrup, baked once and left soft inside. vegetarian.
- Ciambella, sourced from Italy. A plain ring cake raised with baking powder, mixed in one bowl in five minutes. Egg, vegetarian.
- Ciarduna, sourced from Italy. A fried pastry shell piped full of ricotta only when it is about to be eaten.
- Colomba Pasquale, sourced from Italy. A two-day enriched dough baked in a dove mould under a raw almond crust. Egg, vegetarian.
- Cornetto, sourced from Italy. A laminated breakfast pastry, softer and sweeter than a croissant, folded three times. Egg, vegetarian.
- Crostata, sourced from Italy. Pasta frolla handled cold and as little as possible, under a lattice of jam. Egg, vegetarian.
- Cuccìa, sourced from Italy. Whole wheat grains boiled soft and folded through sweetened ricotta.
- Cuccidati, sourced from Italy. Sicilian biscuits enclosing a dark fig and nut paste, left to mature before baking. Egg, vegetarian.
- Cupeta, sourced from Italy. A hard almond brittle poured between wafers or onto lemon leaves while still molten. vegetarian.
- Florentine Biscuits, sourced from Italy. Lace biscuits of caramel and nuts with a chocolate base combed into waves. vegetarian.
- Frittelle, sourced from Italy. Fritters built on rice cooked soft in milk, with no yeast and no rolling. Egg, vegetarian.
- Frutta Martorana, sourced from Italy. Almond paste modelled and painted as fruit, cooked on the hob rather than mixed cold.
- Gelato, sourced from Italy. A churned custard with more milk than cream and less air than ice cream. Egg, vegetarian.
- Gelo di Melone, sourced from Italy. Watermelon juice thickened with starch and set in the fridge, never frozen. vegan.
- Gianduiotto, sourced from Italy. A hazelnut and chocolate paste set in an ingot shape, with no added cocoa butter. vegan.
- Giurgiulena, sourced from Italy. Toasted sesame set in cooked honey and cut into strips while still warm. vegetarian.
- Graffe, sourced from Italy. Yeasted potato dough in rings, fried and rolled in sugar. Egg, vegetarian.
- Granita, sourced from Italy. A syrup frozen without a machine and raked with a fork into coarse crystals. vegan.
- Grattachecca, sourced from Italy. A solid block of ice scraped by hand, with syrup poured over the shavings. vegan.
- Maritozzo, sourced from Italy. A sweet enriched bun split and overfilled with unsweetened whipped cream. Egg, vegetarian.
- Marron Glacé, sourced from Italy. Chestnuts candied over several days, the syrup strengthened a little at a time. vegan.
- Melanzane al Cioccolato, sourced from Italy. Fried aubergine layered with chocolate sauce and served as a pudding. vegetarian.
- Mustacciuoli, sourced from Italy. Spiced honey diamonds glazed in dark chocolate, rested before baking. vegetarian.
- Necci, sourced from Italy. Chestnut flour batter pressed between hot iron plates and rolled round ricotta.
- Nocciolini di Chivasso, sourced from Italy. Hazelnut meringues the size of a peppercorn, dried rather than baked. Egg, vegetarian.
- Pan Meino, sourced from Italy. Small Lombard maize-flour buns scented with dried elderflower. Egg, vegetarian.
- Pandoro, sourced from Italy. A Veronese star-moulded sweet bread with no fruit in it at all. Egg, vegetarian.
- Panettone, sourced from Italy. A Milanese fruited sweet bread hung upside down to cool so the crumb survives. Egg, vegetarian.
- Panforte, sourced from Italy. Nuts and candied fruit bound by cooked honey, with barely any flour and a lot of pepper. vegetarian.
- Panna Cotta, sourced from Italy. Set cream with the least gelatine that will hold it, so it barely stands.
- Parrozzo, sourced from Italy. An Abruzzese almond dome baked in a bowl and coated in dark chocolate. Egg, vegetarian.
- Pasticciotto Leccese, sourced from Italy. Small lard-pastry shells of crema, eaten warm from the oven. Egg.
- Pastiera Napoletana, sourced from Italy. A wheat-and-ricotta tart under a lattice, left three days before it is cut. Egg.
- Pevarini, sourced from Italy. Stiff honey and pepper biscuits, rolled and cut rather than pressed. vegetarian.
- Piada dei Morti, sourced from Italy. A flat enriched bread studded with nuts and dried fruit, rolled thin and baked quickly. vegan.
- Pignolata, sourced from Italy. Small fried dough knots turned in warm honey and piled into a cone. Egg, vegetarian.
- Pinolate, sourced from Italy. Almond paste rolled in pine nuts and baked soft, with no flour at all. Egg, vegetarian.
- Pinza Bolognese, sourced from Italy. A short pastry roll enclosing dark quince and apple jam, slashed along the top. Egg, vegetarian.
- Pizzelle, sourced from Italy. A thin batter pressed flat in a hot patterned iron, a few at a time. Egg, vegetarian.
- Raviola di Ricotta Nissena, sourced from Italy. A sweet fried ravioli of sheep's ricotta, dusted with cinnamon sugar.
- Ricciarelli, sourced from Italy. Almond paste rested overnight and baked low, so the icing sugar crust cracks. Egg, vegetarian.
- Sanguinaccio Dolce, sourced from Italy. A dark chocolate cream set with pig's blood, which must never boil. Pork.
- Seada, sourced from Italy. A fried semolina pastry round a disc of fresh cheese, eaten hot under honey.
- Semifreddo, sourced from Italy. A frozen mousse that stays spoonable because the air goes in before the freezer. Egg, vegetarian.
- Sfogliatella, sourced from Italy. A paper-thin sheet rolled into a log, sliced, and pushed out into a cone of leaves. Egg.
- Spumone, sourced from Italy. Three frozen layers set one at a time in a mould, then sliced to show them. Egg, vegetarian.
- Stracciatella Gelato, sourced from Italy. A milk gelato with warm chocolate trickled into the churn so it shatters. Egg, vegetarian.
- Struffoli, sourced from Italy. Pea-sized fried dough balls in citrus honey, built into a ring. Egg, vegetarian.
- Sugolo, sourced from Italy. Grape juice thickened with flour and set in the fridge, made at the vintage. vegan.
- Tartufo di Pizzo, sourced from Italy. Two gelati shaped by hand round a molten chocolate centre and rolled in cocoa. vegetarian.
- Tiramisù, sourced from Italy. Savoiardi dipped for a second, under a cooked yolk and mascarpone cream. Egg.
- Torrone, sourced from Italy. Honey and whipped whites cooked for hours to a white nougat, set between wafers. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torrone Nurzia, sourced from Italy. A soft chocolate nougat from L'Aquila, cut rather than snapped. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta 900, sourced from Italy. Two thin cocoa layers and one thick chocolate cream, chilled hard and cut cold. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta Barozzi, sourced from Italy. Flourless, shallow and deliberately underbaked, so it sets as it cools rather than in the oven. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta Caprese, sourced from Italy. A flourless almond and chocolate cake, deliberately damp in the middle. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta della Nonna, sourced from Italy. A double-crusted pastry case of lemon crema under toasted pine nuts. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta delle Rose, sourced from Italy. A brioche rolled, cut and stood on end so it bakes into a bunch of roses. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta Mimosa, sourced from Italy. Covered in crumbled sponge so the surface looks like mimosa blossom. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta Monferrina, sourced from Italy. Pumpkin and apple cooked down together before they ever meet the flour. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta Paesana, sourced from Italy. Stale bread soaked to a slurry in milk, baked into a dense dark cake. Egg, vegetarian.
- Torta Setteveli, sourced from Italy. Seven distinct layers assembled frozen and glazed in one pour.
- Zabaione, sourced from Italy. Yolks, sugar and marsala whisked over water until they treble in volume. Egg, vegetarian.
- Zelten, sourced from Italy. A flat Trentino fruit loaf that is mostly fruit, with the dough as binding. vegetarian.
- Zeppole, sourced from Italy. Yeasted dough rings dropped into hot oil and rolled in sugar. vegan.
- Zuccotto, sourced from Italy. A dome lined with soaked sponge and filled with two ricotta creams. Egg.
- Zuppa Inglese, sourced from Italy. Sponge soaked in red alchermes under two cooked cremas, one vanilla and one chocolate. Egg.
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