| Recipes |
| Spumone |
| Panna Cotta with Caramel Sauce |
| Ricotta Fritters |
| Chocolate Torte |
| Italian Rice Cake |
| Semolina Cake |
| Custard Pie |
| Amaretti Cream |
| Apple Fritters |
| Rice Pudding |
| SPUMONE (Serves 10-12) |
| 1-1/2 cups heavy cream |
| 1/2 cup sugar |
| 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, diced |
| 3 TB. candied orange peel |
| 1 tsp. lemon juice |
| 1-1/2 qts. vanilla ice cream, slightly softened |
| 1/2 cup chopped almonds |
| 1/4 tsp. almond extract |
| Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in sugar, cherries, orange peel, and lemon juice. |
| Place in the refrigerator to harden, about 1 hour. |
| Combine ice cream with almonds and almond extract. |
| Line a 1-qt. loaf mold or deep bowl with plastic wrap. |
| Press ice cream to about a 1-inch thickness into the bottom and up the sides of the bowl. |
| Fill the center with the whipped cream mixture. Cover and freeze for 12 hours. |
| Unmold onto a serving platter. Cut into slices to serve. |
| PANNA COTTA WITH CARAMEL SAUCE (Serves 6) |
| 2 TB. water |
| 1-1/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin |
| 2 cups heavy cream, divided |
| 1-1/4 cups plain yogurt |
| 1/2 cup sugar |
| Caramel Sauce: |
| 1 cup light brown sugar |
| 1/2 cup dark corn syrup |
| 1/4 cup butter |
| 1/2 cup heavy cream |
| 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract |
| For panna cotta: |
| Combine water and gelatin in a bowl and allow to sit for 15 minutes or until softened. |
| In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup cream, yogurt, and vanilla. |
| In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup sugar. |
| Stir well until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to simmer. Remove form heat. |
| Stir the gelatin mixture into the hot cream. Combine with the cream-yogurt mixture. |
| Divide among 6 ramekins. Refrigerate 6-8 hours. |
| For caramel sauce: |
| Bring brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and cream to a boil in a saucepan. |
| Add vanilla extract. Cool. Unmold panna cotta and serve over sauce. |
| RICOTTA FRITTERS (Serves 4) |
| 8 oz. ricotta cheese |
| 2 eggs |
| 1/3 cup flour |
| 1-1/2 TB. butter, softened |
| 1 TB. grated lemon zest |
| Pinch of salt |
| Vegetable oil for frying |
| Honey for drizzling |
| In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with eggs. Add the flour and blend well. |
| Add the butter, lemon zest, and salt. Beat until all ingredients are well blended. |
| Allow the batter to rest for 1 hour. |
| In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add oil to a depth of 1/2-inch. |
| When oil is hot, add batter, 1 TB. at a time, allowing fritters to fry without crowding. |
| When fritters become a light golden brown, turn them over. |
| Transfer fritters to a paper-towel covered plate to drain. |
| Place fritters on a serving platter and drizzle with honey. Best served warm. |
| CHOCOLATE TORTE (Serves 10) |
| 1-1/2 cups almonds |
| 1/3 cup flour |
| 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped |
| 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature |
| 1 cup sugar, divided |
| 7 eggs, separated |
| Confectioners sugar for garnish |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with waxed paper. |
| In a food processor, finely chop the almonds. Add flour and pulse 10-15 seconds. Set aside. |
| Place chocolate in a small glass dish and microwave on high 1 minute. Stir. |
| If the chocolate is not completely smooth, microwave for additional time. Allow to cool slightly. |
| With an electric mixer, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add yolks, one at a time. |
| Continue beating about 2 minutes until smooth. Stir in ground almonds. |
| With an electric mixer, in another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. |
| Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat an additional 1-2 minutes until stiff peaks form. |
| Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate batter. Gently fold in the remaining whites. |
| Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40 minutes until tester inserted in center comes out clean. |
| Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the cake to loosen. |
| Release the sides of the pan and cool completely. |
| Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. |
| ITALIAN RICE CAKE (Serves 6-8) |
| 3 cups milk |
| 3/4 cup Arborio rice |
| 4 eggs, beaten |
| 1/2 cup sugar |
| 1/4 cup chopped pistachios |
| 1/4 cup chopped walnuts |
| 1/4 cup pine nuts |
| 1/4 cup candied orange peel, finely diced |
| 1/4 tsp. vanilla |
| 2 TB. butter, room temperature |
| Zest of 1/2 lemon |
| Confectioners sugar to dusting |
| In a saucepan over medium heat, bring milk just to a boil. |
| Add rice, reduce to low, cover and simmer about 30 minutes. |
| Remove from heat and allow to cool. |
| Stir the eggs into the cooled rice mixture. Add the remaining ingredients, except the confectioners sugar. |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch round cake pan. |
| Pour the rice mixture into the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. |
| Cool to lukewarm and unmold onto a serving dish. |
| Before serving, dust with confectioners sugar. |
| SEMOLINA CAKE (Serves 8) |
| 1/2 cup finely diced candied orange peel |
| 4 TB. rum |
| 2 TB. butter |
| 4 cups milk |
| Pinch of salt |
| 2/3 cup semolina |
| 1-1/3 cups sugar |
| 1/2 cup chopped pistachios |
| 4 eggs, beaten |
| Combine orange peel and rum. Set aside. |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 6-inch soufflé dish. |
| Place milk and salt in a saucepan over low heat and bring just to a boil. |
| Add semolina slowly, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. |
| Continue stirring until semolina thickens and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. |
| Remove from heat, add sugar, and stir additional 1-2 minutes. |
| Add orange peel, rum, and pistachios. Stir in eggs. Pour into soufflé dish and bake 1 hour. |
| Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 30 minutes -1 hour and unmold onto serving dish. |
| CUSTARD PIE (Serves 8) |
| 2 cups flour |
| 1/3 cup sugar |
| Pinch of salt |
| 1/2 tsp. baking powder |
| 8 TB. butter |
| 2 eggs, beaten |
| Pastry Cream: |
| 4 egg yolks |
| 2/3 cup sugar, divided |
| 1/2 cup flour |
| 2 cups milk |
| 2 tsp. grated orange zest |
| 2 tsp. vanilla extract |
| 1 cup cherry jam |
| For dough: |
| In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. |
| Using a pastry blender or fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Stir in eggs. |
| Transfer the mixture to a floured surface and knead just to form a dough. |
| Press into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. |
| For cream: |
| In a bowl, beat yolks until light and creamy. Beat in 1/3 cup sugar. Sift in flour and stir until smooth. |
| In a saucepan, bring milk, zest, and 1/3 cup sugar to a boil. |
| Whisk a third of the milk into the eggs then whisk the eggs back into the milk . |
| Continue cooking and whisking over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. |
| Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold. |
| To assemble pie: |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. |
| Divide the dough in half and roll one piece into a round that will cover the bottom and sides of the pan. |
| Place dough in pan and trim even with top of pan. |
| Spoon in half of pastry cream. Spread jam over cream and cover with remaining cream. |
| Roll remaining dough into a 9-inch circle and place on top of pie. |
| To seal, use a small knife to tuck the top crust into the pan around the edge. |
| Bake 45 minutes or until brown. Allow to cool in pan before removing. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. |
| AMARETTI CREAM (Serves 6) |
| 1 TB. powdered unflavored gelatin |
| 4 TB. water |
| 7 TB. sugar |
| 2 cups heavy cream, divided |
| 4 TB. Amaretto liqueur |
| 4-5 amaretti cookies |
| Sprinkle the gelatin over 4 Tb. water and allow to soften about 15 minutes. |
| In a saucepan, melt the sugar over low heat until caramel color, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. |
| In another saucepan, heat 1 cup cream to just a simmer. Gradually stir the hot cream into the caramel sugar. |
| Add the amaretto and gelatin. Allow to cool to room temperature. |
| Whip 1 cup of remaining cream until stiff. Gently fold it into the caramel mixture. |
| Spoon the mixture into 6 custard cups and refrigerate about 3 hours. |
| Crumble the amaretti cookies in a food processor. |
| Sprinkle the top of the custard with the crumbs and serve. |
| APPLE FRITTERS (Serves 4-6) |
| 3 apples |
| 2 TB. rum |
| 1 TB. grated lemon zest |
| 2/3 cup flour |
| 1 cup water |
| Vegetable oil for frying |
| Confectioners sugar for dusting |
| Peel and core the apples. Cut into 1/4-inch slices. |
| In a bowl, combine the sugar, rum, and lemon zest. Add the apples and toss to coat. Set aside for 1 hour. |
| Combine the flour and water to form a batter with the consistency of pancake batter. |
| In a large, wide sauté pan, heat 1/2-inch of oil over high heat. |
| Remove the apple slices from the bowl and dip them into the batter. |
| Place as many into the hot oil that can fit without crowding. Fry to golden brown, turning once. |
| Transfer to a paper towel covered dish. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve. |
| RICE PUDDING (Serves 6) |
| 3 cups milk |
| 3/4 cup rice |
| 3 cups half and half |
| 3 eggs |
| 3/4 cup sugar |
| 1 tsp. vanilla |
| 1/2 cup currants |
| Cinnamon for dusting |
| In a saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a simmer. |
| Add rice, stir, cover and simmer 30 minutes or until milk is absorbed. Remove from heat. |
| Stir in half and half and sugar. |
| In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, then stir into the rice mixture. |
| Return the saucepan to medium heat and stir until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. |
| Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and currants. |
| Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle with cinnamon. |
| Chill 3-4 hours before serving. |
| 1 tsp. vanilla extract |
| 1/3 cup sugar |
 |
| MORE GREAT ITALIAN DESSERTS |
| Pastry Dough: |