Rules of Thumb: Secrets to Italian Recipes

Secrets to Euro-Italian Recipes Part I

Desserts & Dough's

Many times you may have fumbled through sites with Italian recipes, or asked a friend how to make an Italian dessert, or even bought an Italian cookbook with enough recipes to last you a lifetime or perhaps more. But have you ever wondered silently...what are the fundamentals of these recipes? Have you ever thought what makes them Italian, what they have in common, or what are the basic rules you need to know to stay within the guidelines of the Italian-style of cooking?

Have you ever been confused between Americanized Italian recipes to that of real Italian recipes? Here I will give you some basic guidelines and ideas as to what constitutes European - Italian recipes. Sometimes, stereo-typing steps in the way, to blunder our discernment of how these recipes should really be. You may think about Italians as the pastry kings of the world - and yet, they are not even big on sugary foods. You may think if you add basil to any dish that it suddenly turns Italian, and this is just not so.

For now, we take a glance into the world of desserts and start with some simple basic principles that compose Italian fruit desserts, cookies, cakes and pastries.

To give you an example, here are the ingredients to a typical Italian cookie:

Pinoli Cookies:

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• Llemon peel
• 3\4 cup of flour
• Butter to butter pan.
• Powdered sugar

You will notice that very often they add lemon or orange peels, and powdered sugar. Sometimes they even add a bit of liquor. Recipes vary, but for the most part they basically follow in a pattern.

Comparing Cakes Recipes

Here is a list of ingredients:

1. Zuppa Inglese Cake - Italian

• 3\4 cup of Pan di Spagna
• 3\8 cup flour
• 1\2 cup powdered sugar
• 4 eggs vanilla
• Orange rind
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3\8 cup flour
• Rum
• Milk

*There is no milk, no crisco, no margarine, and a mere 1\4 cup of sugar.

2. German Chocolate Cake-German or Americanized German

• 4 oz of baking chocolate
• 1\2 cup water
• 1tsp vanilla
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1\2 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk

If you compare the two, the second German or Americanized German cake contains: 2 whole cups of fat - Plus the 2 cups of sugar which = 4 cups of fat!

The Italian cake contains: 1 1\2 sugar and virtually no other fat makers. Interesting you think? Maybe I'll switch to Italian desserts.

There is a selection of ingredients favored in Italian dessert making:

Spices - The most common spice ingredients found in desserts are; cinnamon, and vanilla.

Liquors - You will usually find that many call for some kind of liquor or wine such as; rum, Marsala, Maraschino, red or white wines and sometimes Cognac or other liquors. These types are used most often in fruit dessert recipes, sometimes in cookies.

Coupled with apricots you will find; rum - with apples; rum or white wine - and with pears; maraschino.

Marmalades, Raisins & Nuts - Marmalades are widely used for cookies and "Crostata" pie-sized tarts. And many other desserts Italians make are baked using nuts; pinoli, hazelnuts, almonds or sometimes pistacchi. Raisins are used in cakes, many times coupled with rum.

Apricot Cookies:

• Flour
• Eggs
• Powdered sugar (less than 1\2 cup)
• Baking powder
• Lemon milk
• Butter
• Apricots
• Marsala wine

Cheeses - Soft mild cheeses are often used in making cakes and pastries. Mascarpone is one more commonly known, and is used often in the making of "tiramisu" a delicious and typical Italian dessert made with savoiarda cookies soaked in espresso and layered with an egg cream. The well-known ricotta cheese is used in crafting cannoli; the Sicilian tube cookie filled with sweetened ricotta tossed with flakes of chocolate and candied fruit. Certosino is another soft cheese that is used by the Bolognese to make a cake along with; cocoa, cinnamon, pinoli and almonds. This cake is a specialty of Bologna and made during Christmas and New Year's.

*If Italians had the world's biggest sweet tooth, they would certainly be adding more sugars to their dessert recipes.

Dough's

They use several different dough bases, this depending on the particular dessert. Here are some examples:

Pasta Frolla: This is used more often to make Crostate or pastries, and gnocchi

Babà Dough: This one takes alot of energy, is fantastic and light, and contains similar ingredients as the others. But the secret to this dough is in uniting the sugar perfectly with the egg, and by adding the flours very quickly thereafter.

Pan di Spagna: Used for layer cakes and in certain puddings

Brioche Dough: This dough is simple to make, but requires care and patience in the rising stage

Savoiarda: This dough is used to make savoiardi cookies (used in making tiramisù)

Sfogiata: This one is the most difficult. You might as well say it's the fundamental dough of the dessert arts. With this dough base they make a dessert called "Millefoglie," which is a light pastry that is covered with traces of pastry cream and dribbled with chocolate.

Savoiardi Cookies

• 3 eggs
• 1\3 cup sugar
• 1\3 cup sugar
• Dash of salt
• 4 tsp powdered sugar
• Butter to buttering pan

Don't forget that Italian desserts are accompanied by homemade grappas, lemoncello, sweet dessert wines or delightful liquors. This is always expected and really adds a wonderful accent to the end of a lovely meal.

By Jackelin J.Jarvis