Dessert for Italian meal?

[BeachBum]

We are having a get together with friends the day after christmas. There will be about 15 people and I am in charge of dessert. The meal is Italian, so I would like to follow the "theme".

I know I could do a tiramisu, but it just seems typical (but maybe its so good that's why). Any specific recipes to try?

I also read that the Zuccotto from Everyday Italian was good, but I don't have that cookbook....I'll check to see if it's online. Has anyone tried it?

Any other suggestions or recipes?

[NMG]

What about an Italian Love Cake???? It's definately NOT light - it's a ricotta cheese cake served cold and is so incredibly good - I'm not really sure what else is in it - I just sit back, eat it and enjoy. My DH's aunt makes it and if you'd like I can get the recipe for you.

[blazedog]

Some suggestions

Giada's Almond Cake -- or two

Assortment of Italian cookies perhaps with some gelato

Tri-color
Biscotti
Pignolia Cookies

[GingerPow]

What about an Italian Love Cake???? It's definately NOT light - it's a ricotta cheese cake served cold and is so incredibly good - I'm not really sure what else is in it - I just sit back, eat it and enjoy. My DH's aunt makes it and if you'd like I can get the recipe for you.

I can confirm that those are delish! When DH and I dine at an Italian restaurant and see that on the dessert tray we both go like this :eek: with a smile!

[NMG]

I can confirm that those are delish! When DH and I dine at an Italian restaurant and see that on the dessert tray we both go like this :eek: with a smile!

I will definately post the recipe tomorrow - I would also like it to make for myself - I guess I can share it with my DH and the kids!!

[patissac]

While someone mentioned Giada, I too thought of her but there were 2 different recipes of hers that came to mind.
She recently did a Pannetone Trifle and has a ricotta honey cheesecake that looks devine!

[patissac]

Now I remember this episode, this looked amazing!!!!

Zuccotto

Nonstick cooking spray
1 (12-ounce) loaf pound cake
1/4 cup brandy
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted, coarsely crumbled
Unsweetened cocoa powder

Spray a 1 1/2-quart bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bowl with plastic wrap. Cut the pound cake crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice diagonally in half, forming 2 triangles. Line the bottom and sides of the prepared bowl with the cake triangles. Brush some of the brandy over the cake triangles lining the bowl. Reserve the extra triangles.
Stir the chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup of cream in another large bowl until it is thick and fluffy. Fold 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate. Fold half of the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spread the chocolate cream over the cake, covering completely and creating a well in the center. Cover and refrigerate if not assembling cake right away.

In another clean large bowl, add the remaining 1 cup of cream and almond extract. Using an electric mixer with clean beaters, beat on medium speed and gradually add the powdered sugar. Beat until firm peaks form. Fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the center of the well of the filling.

Brush the remaining cake slices with brandy and arrange them, brandy side down, over the cake, covering the filling completely and trimming to fit, if necessary. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

Invert the cake onto a platter. Remove the bowl and the plastic wrap. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.

[JLCS]

A really easy, make ahead dessert is Panna Cotta, basically "cooked cream".
lots of recipes on Epi for is. Last night we had Lemon Panna Cotta with a blueberry sauce, terrific.

these can be made ahead 2 days, and must be made ahead at least 3-6 hours. Sauce can be made ahead 2-3 days as well. Alas, they are NOT light.

[MISSINDI]

What?! Noone's mentioned Cannolis? :D

[NMG]

Sorry, but I can't get a hold of DH's aunt and won't see her till tomorrow night - if anyone has a Silouettes (sp??) cook book, that's where the Italian Love Cake recipe is.......

[Beth]

I was going to say tiramisu, cannoli, that zuccotto ( I saw that and agree -- it looked amazing) -- and Italian cookies (biscotti, pizzelles, amaretti, etc). Gaida has a pana cotta with berries and a chocolate zabaglione. Also a grilled pineapple with nutella and peaches stuffed with amaretti.

I'm going to make a gingerbread tiramisu later today and made brownie/cranberry recently -- you could play with the tiramisu idea and not make it so standard (boring).

[hAndyman]

Zuccotto is lovely and rich, same for tiramisu, same for my favourite cheesecake, Gianduia (Italian for the flavour that results from combining chocolate and hazelnuts). I'm not a really big fan of hazelnuts on their own, but when combined with chocolate the flavour is divine. The toasted hazelnuts that go into the smooth creamy hazelnut butter that flavours the chocolate give that gianduia flavour that is found in numerous European chocolates that we find so scrumptious.

Gianduia Cheesecake

...Makes ~16 to 20 servings
from "Dinner Party" by J. Freiman

Crust
1-1/2 Tbs soft butter;
6 oz. chocolate wafer cookies
2 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs warm melted butter
Coat bottom and sides of 9" springform pan (see notes below!) with soft butter. In food processor, process cookies with sugar to fine crumbs. With motor on, add melted butter. Press crust evenly on bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate 5 minutes. Bake 5 minutes at 350°. Cool completely.

Filling
2 cups (1/2 lb) hazelnuts
1/2 lb semisweet chocolate
1/4 lb milk chocolate
2-1/4 lb. cream cheese, softened (1 kg, 4x250 g)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup Mascarpone or sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup Frangelico
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Bake hazelnuts at 350° about 10 to 15 minutes, until skins blister. Rub in a towel to remove skins. Cool completely. Melt chocolates. Grind cool hazelnuts to a smooth paste. Add cream cheese to hazelnuts and process until smooth. Add sugar, whipping cream, mascarpone (or sour cream), vanilla, and liqueur. Process, but do not overprocess. Stir smooth cheese mixture into warm chocolate. Stir in lightly beaten eggs. Pour over crust. Bake at 325°about 60 to 75 minutes, until centre is just set and shimmers slightly. Cool slowly. Refrigerate. Serve chilled.


Andy's notes: If using a 9" pan it must be tall! A 9-1/2 or 10" pan works well. The hazelnuts will slowly turn to a thin paste that is pourable (it will take a few minutes in a processor). I use homemade chocolate hazelnut cookies for the crust. I've used full fat sour cream in place of Mascarpone and it was fine, though mascarpone does make it richer and creamier. I use bittersweet chocolate in place of the semisweet chocolate. I find that the cake takes 75 or more minutes to bake in a 10" pan, following which I turn the oven off and use an oven mitt to hold the oven door open a little bit to slowly cool the cake. I spread a thin layer of Nutella over the top and sides of the cheesecake, and then arrange a ring of toasted hazelnuts, tips then topped with a curlicue of Nutella dabbed on top of each nut, around the outer edge of the cheesecake; decide beforehand and space the nuts evenly around so each piece gets a nut, or make it a continuous ring of nuts.

Hazelnut Butter
Roast 2 cups, about 1/2 pound, hazelnuts at 350° in a single layer in a pie pan or cookie sheet for about 10 to 15 minutes - after 10 minutes remove 1 or 2 nuts and split in half to see if the interior colour has changed from the creamy white in the raw nut to a light golden brown; toast a couple more minutes and repeat if necessary until nuts are lightly golden brown (toasted) on the inside. Remove from oven and pour nuts onto a clean dishtowel; allow to cool a few minutes until they can be handled, then enclose nuts in towel and rub the nuts in the towel vigourously to remove most of the skins. Don't worry if not all the skins are removed. Allow to cool completely. When cool, add nuts to food processor and process until the nuts liquify, a few minutes or so. Voilà! Homemade hazelnut butter for use in the cheesecake or on toast or wherever.
Note: if decorating the cheesecake with toasted hazelnuts, toast some extra with the 2 cups needed for the hazelnut butter, and then choose as many skin-free ones to use for decorating as you want to use.


Make homemade mascarpone by bringing 1/2 cup whipping cream (non-UHT organic is best) almost to a boil (scalded, bubbles appear around outer edge of cream when heated), then stir 1/2 tsp tartaric acid into the whipping cream and allow to cool to room temperature. Line a sieve with a paper coffee filter, set sieve over a bowl, and pour cream into the filter. Allow to rest, covered with a cloth, overnight, until thick. Scrape mascarpone gently from the coffee filter laid on a flat surface, and refrigerate cheese until needed.

[hAndyman]

I'll add the tiramisu recipe I make, BeachBum - my glass bowl presentation of it (see my notes) makes it far more of a special occasion dessert than when it is in a rectangular pan - it looks fabulous when brougt to the table.

While mascarpone is preferable, you can substitute either ricotta or cream cheese for the mascarpone; I've used both substitutes myself, and prefer cream cheese over ricotta for it's smoothness and richness (I wouldn't go to the trouble of making this fabulous dessert and not pack as many calories into it as I possibly could!). If using cream cheese and you want more richness (mascarpone is much richer) beat 1/4 lb (125 g) unsalted butter into 3/4 lb (375 g) cream cheese. Another possibility is to make your own mascarpone (using whipping cream, preferably organic - I have 1 or 2 recipes).
Here's the recipe for Tiramisu that I've made many times. It's adapted from Canadian Living, Dec., 1991.

Tiramisu

6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brandy or more
1/3 cup Marsala (or coffee) or more
1 lb. Mascarpone or 500 g cream cheese or ricotta cheese
1-1/2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup strong coffee
24 giant Italian ladyfinger (or 2x150 g pkgs.)
4 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

In bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until light, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/4 cup each of brandy and Marsala. Transfer to a double boiler over gently simmering water; whisk for about 7 minutes or until thickened (about as thick as wood glue). Let cool. Beat cheese until smooth (especially if using ricotta); fold in egg mixture. Whip cream; stir one-quarter into cheese mixture. Fold in remaining cream. Combine coffee and remaining Marsala and brandy. Arrange half of the ladyfingers in 11"x7" glass baking dish; brush with half of the coffee mixture. Spread with half of the cream mixture. Repeat layers. Top with chocolate. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Can be frozen up to 2 weeks. Let thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.) Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Note: I recommend using Marsala- it adds so much flavour (then you can make Chicken Marsala, etc.) . Use a good quality chocolate, like Swiss Lindt or a Belgian, if you can.
I prefer a different, more attractive (imo) presentation. I use a round glass or crystal bowl with straight or nearly straight sides. I arrange ladyfingers on the bottom, brush them with the coffee/brandy/Marsala mixture, spread with half of the cream, and then place ladyfingers, brushed with the coffee mixture, around the outside of the bowl, standing straight up (which becomes trickier as the coffee penetrates and softens the ladyfinger. You've got to work quickly, and don't try to fix things up too much after assembly is complete because you shouldn't touch the soggy ladyfingers after it's all together). Sprinkle some chocolate over top of the cream mix. Cover with another flat layer of ladyfingers, brush with coffee mixture, then cream mix, then sprinkle with chocolate.
I often make a Frozen Lemon Meringue Torte (my dw's favourite dessert, bar none) to use up the 6 egg whites leftover from the Tiramisu - it'll keep in the freezer if not needed at the same time as the tiramisu.

[BeachBum]

I've put the other recipes in my "to try" file for later, thanks for sharing. That cheese cake and Tiramisu look great!

I decided to do the Zuccotto, just because it looked pretty easy. It was, and it was quite tasty. I didn't have brandy, so I used amaretto--worked fine.
It was a nice change (for me) in types of dessert. Very creamy...strong almond flavor. A little bit hard to serve, but I would make it again.

[bethchef]

I know this is too late for BeachBum's original event, but maybe it will help someone else someday!

Giada's Peaches Stuffed with Amaretti Cookies
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26403,00.html

They're ridiculously easy but out-of-this-world delicious. Just something to keep in mind for future Italian-style gatherings!

Beth

[Sue1]

I came across this recipe several years ago and have made it several times. It is very rich and frankly tastes better the next day.

Italian Cream Cake


1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
5 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup flaked coconut
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
cream
flaked coconut
chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees F). Grease three 9
inch round cake pans.

2 Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk.

3 Cream 1/2 cup of the butter, the white sugar and the shortening
together until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla,
coconut, baking powder, and flour. Stir until just combined. Pour
batter into the prepared pans.

4 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Let cakes
cool before frosting and assembling.

5 To Make Frosting: Cream together the cream cheese, remaining 1/2
cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the confectioners' sugar until
light and fluffy. Mix in a small amount of cream to attain the desired
consistency. Stir in chopped nuts and flaked coconut to taste. Spread
between layers and on top and sides of cooled cake.

Makes 1 -3 layer 9 inch round cake

[Missi]

CL's Italian Cream Cake is AMAZING! :)