Amaretti and other Italian desserts

[Wendy DeBord]

First, I've never been to Italy and all my information comes from books and Italian restaurants I've patronized in the States. That's why I seek info. here, I need help.

Is there a difference between a French macaroon and Italian amaretti? The things I notice as different: is the French place two together with a filling in the center, the French use many flavors and the Italians don't and many recipes call for ground amaretti inferring that these cookies are crisp. Perhaps I've looked at too many recipes because I can't find anything consistant ie. proportions or almond flour vs. almond paste.

Please, help me so I can identify and make authentic amaretti.

Also, I have some other challenges. I'm expected to make a "almond and chocolate cake" and mini Italian pastries that must be totally completed one day before serving.

As far as an "almond and chocolate cake" I've seen none in my Italian cookbooks that really fit that description closely. Some authentic Italian cakes have chocolate and almonds in a cheese or whipped cream based filling that are supported by either a pound or a sponge cake. Have I missed something, is there a "almond and chocolate" cake (not torte) that is "known" in Italian dining?

Lastly, mini pastries...that can't be put together on the day of the event only the day before is a challenge. So far all I can think of doing is a take on traditional Italian flavors like almonds, pistachio, lemon and building items that would probably never be sold in an Italian bakery unless someone can update my knowledge on Italy and it's pastries.

Thank-you in advance.

[Craig Camp]

Amaretti and macaroons should be more or less the same. This cookie was created in Venezia during the Renaissance and macaroon is the English name for them coming from the word "macerone" or fine paste in Venetian dialect. However this is just not one type of cookie, but comes in dozens of styles just in Italy. What they have in common are ground almonds, egg whites, sugar. In Italy they also add some bitter almonds and this gives them the unique flavor you find in Italian versions. By the way, torta means cake in Italy. Cakes in Italy tend to have a drier texture and to be less sweet than American versions.

I will say I have never seen an Italian make homemade amaretti as it is much easier to buy the excellent ones available at the local pasticceria - which are almost certainly better than you can make at home (although in the USA this may not be the case). Even Marcella Hazan buys her amaretti for her torta di amaretti e cioccolato and if it is good enough for her...

The Torte di Mandorle (almond cake with chocolate creme) that you will find in La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio by Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene (Knopf) is delicious. For more almond tart recipes look to southern Italian cookbooks as this is a specialty of the south although they are made throughout Italy. You will also find some nice small pastries in this excellent book.

[albiston]

Wendy,

hope this helps, although I'm not very sure it will make things clearer.

1- On amaretti. There is no definitive amaretti recipe/kind in italy. The main problem is that there is no real unified italian cuisine but lots of regional ones. So you find that amaretti can be anything between little brittle 1/4 inch macroons to large 1 inch across moist and chewy ones (sometimes dipped in chocholate). They all have in common the use of bitter almonds in the dough mixture (therefore amaretti, from amaro=bitter). On the other hand the most widespread and famous amaretti (di Saronno) are brittle tasting at the same time quite sweet and quite bitter and ca. 1/2 inch across (maybe slightly more).

2- Regarding your almond chocolate cake I have to admit I don't know any typical italian recipe for something like that... very mice almond chocolate biscuits though, baci di dama.

I've found the following on the net (http://www.dossier.net/cucina/eng/dess04.htm) and it is supposed to be typical of the abruzzi but I've never tried it myself. Or maybe you could look for a nice sicilian almond cake (there are quite a few delicious ones) and serve it with chocolate sauce... not traditional maybe but probably delicious

3- miny pastries: no real help there, i'm much better at eating them then at preparing them

[Wendy DeBord]

Thank-you both! Your posts have helped me.

[Pongi]

Hi Sinclair!

Just my 2 cents.

Basically, there are 2 types of Italian amaretti: the dry type and the soft type.

Dry amaretti, largely available with many commercial brands, have a more ordinary taste and are generally used ground as a flavoring ingredient in sweet, but also savoury dishes. These are the ones you've heard about.

Soft amaretti are more a small pastry than a cookie, and are delicious and rather expensive compared to the dry ones. In Italy you can find them, artisanally made, in many pastry shops. There are also some commercial brands; the most known is "Amaretti del Sassello". Otherwise than dry amaretti, soft amaretti can be easily made also at home, although it's hard to get a "professional" result. If you like, I can send you some recipes!

As for your almond chocolate cake, I'm not sure to understand well what you mean, due to the linguistic gap. Is it a "cake" necessarily made of a sponge and a creamy filling, or can the term define any soft "torta" opposed to pies and tarts? If so, your cake could be the famous "Torta Caprese", a classic of Southern Italian pastry. It's made of toasted and powdered almonds, melted chocolate, egg yolks and whipped egg whites, no flour as the large amount of almonds keeps together the cake. Everything is mixed to a cream, poured in a round mold, baked and sprinkled with icing sugar, and it's absolutely wonderful. Of course I can also send you the recipe...

Mini pastries...do you mean our "pasticcini"? If so, do you mean the fresh or the dry ones? In Italy, the first type includes the usual items like choux, puff pastries, cannoli, bavaroises, small tarts and so on, but also many items that can be surely made in advance, like small shortcrust pastries with jam or custard filling, or small rice cakes, or chocolate pastries. As for the small dry pastries, they're almost countless, and very popular everywhere in Italy. The most known are just that "Amaretti" and "Baci di Dama" above mentioned.

I'm not a professional baker, so mine is a poor help as I generally EAT pastries more than making them, but I can dig up something for you from my books or google italian sites.

Pongi

[Pongi]

OMG...Wendy, I didn't see the signature! Is it you?

If so, I can't teach the teacher...but I'd be glad to give you some help!

Pongi

[Wendy DeBord]

Pongi, it's great to see your posts here.

Yes please advise me!!! I begin baking these items tommarrow so I have no more time to do reference work. My attempts at finding more Italian desserts always lead me to the same problem, none are meant to be frozen or made well in advance (other then cookies).

I'm doing some work for a young chef whom probably isn't familar with any real Italian pastry other then the famous tira misu. He requested I make 4 chocolate almond cakes, 3 hotel pans of tira mi su, cannoli and 5 mini pastries for an Italian night buffet.

I've made some Italian pastries previously but unforunately none fit what I was asked to make by this chef. Due to my schedule everything will have to be prepare two days ahead- and that's really a challenge!

But here you are to my rescue-please tell me more about mini pastries you have in Italy so I know what I make will belong on an Italian buffet. Your previous post indicates that your bakeries have some pastrys that seem be multi-national (choux puffs, mini tarts). Would you mind describing your favorite mini pastries what their made of (I can put together the recipes myself tommorrow)?

For instance:

The choux puff recipes I've seen either fill the puffs with pastry cream or a ricotta filling much like a cannoli. Is that correct? If so do they place any chocolate or sauce on top of the puff after it's filled?

What is a small rice cake?

What types of bavarian desserts do you buy and like? Do you mean something like a pistachio bavarian in a tart shell? How do they present the cream as a mini pastry? Do they look like what the French make? If not how are they different?

Is a shortbread crust with jam or custard a shortbread tartlet like with raspberry jam and frangipane filling? Is a custard tart like ricotta custard baked in the tart shell?

Sorry I have so many questions, any help is good help! Thank-you!

[Pongi]

Wendy, I'm sorry of answering you back so late, but I've been far from my PC for two days (yesterday I tried to post you something but had problems with the server and couldn't do it). It's likely you have already managed your challenge, but I'll try answering to your questions anyway, for next occasions.

Most small pastries usually sold in Italian pastry shops are "international", but there are some regional items which have become so popular that can be found everywhere now. I'm speaking, for example, of Cannoli and Cassatine alla Siciliana (with Ricotta filling), Sfogliatelle Napoletane, mini Babas au Rhum, Soft Amaretti, Baci di Dama.

As for the others:

Choux are generally filled with pastry cream or chantilly cream or a custard (chocolate/hazelnut/zabaione are the most popular). Ricotta filling isn't used, probably because it's considered too heavy for choux puffs. They are generally topped with a glaze or with icing sugar. Which changes a lot depending on the areas is the size: Southern Italian choux puffs (and mini pastries in general) are huge, while Northern Italian ones tend to be very tiny, so you can decide whether you like more to be "Northern" or "Southern"

The same fillings are also used for puff pastry cannoli.

The same flavors are used for Bavarians, which in most cases are enclosed in two layers of puff pastry and cut in squares. As for cream, if you mean whipped sugared cream (what we call, with the French, Chantilly cream) it's generally presented into choux puffs ("cavolini") or into two shells or meringue (also meringues are very popular in Italy) sometimes dipped in chocolate.

Shortcrust or pate brisee tartlets are generally filled either with pastry cream and fresh fruit, or with apricot/cherry compote or candied cherries or marrons glaces. Otherwise they're filled with a truffle cream and glazed with chocolate (if I'm correct they're called "Africani").

As for small rice pies (I was wrong, they're not "cakes") they're small tartlets filled with a sort of rice pudding firmed up with eggs and flavoured with powdered almonds. They are typically Northern Italian and I mentioned them both because I love them and because they can be surely made in advance. The same for small "Pastierine napoletane" which can be included in an Italian sweet buffet as well.

Pongi