The Art of Dessert

By Loretta Barra and Indigo Bloome

Curl up with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy one of the delectable, mouthwatering desserts from this enchanting collection of not-too-difficult family recipes.

Two sisters take you on a journey down memory lane using watercolor paintings of the desserts they've enjoyed over the years. Who can resist this banquet of fifty fabulous mostly Italian desserts? They include an easy tiramisu, a simple cannoli, two kinds of biscotti, along with a number of non-Italian but equally delicious tried-and-true recipes such as almond praline meringue cake, linzer torte, and even French macarons.

The whimsical watercolors that go along with the recipes were created by award-winning watercolor artist, Loretta Barra. Contributing recipes and text is her sister, Joanne Pence, an award-winning USA Today bestselling author. They hope this unique and easy-to-use cookbook will become a permanent part of any cookbook collection.

What readers are saying:

"This is not your typical cookbook - the wonderful illustrations add a sense of whimsy and fun - much more enjoyable I think, than the standard photographs of food found in many cookbooks. Best of all, the recipes look delicious!"

"What a fun, beautifully designed cookbook! I'm a sucker for dessert cookbooks and this one 'takes the cake.'"

"I too am Italian and grew up in San Francisco. My grandmother was an amazing cook but I regret that we didn't write down her recipes. I'm so grateful you pulled your family's delicious recipes together for all of us to enjoy! Also, I loved the illustrations!!! Brava!"

"Wow! What a find! Great recipes for fantastic desserts. I can't decide which I like best. Illustrations are both fun and charming. A really good gift solution - which is why I am ordering 2 more copies!"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quail Hill Publishing
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201553425

Book preview

Part I

Something Italian

1

Easy Tiramisu

tiramisu

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The literal translation of tiramisu is pull me up. Whether this derives from the caffeine content of the coffee and chocolate, or from the liqueur, is anybody’s guess. A great creamy dessert to serve after a nice Italian meal. We once made this dessert with the Italian-American Club in Boise, Idaho.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brewed espresso coffee (or triple-strength regular coffee), cooled

1/4-1/2 cup liqueur (brandy or rum is most often used)

24 (or more) ladyfinger cookies (hard ones work best)

4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 pound mascarpone cheese (do not use cream cheese as a substitute)

6 ounces (or more) semisweet chocolate, grated.

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Directions:

Combine the cooled coffee with the liqueur. Arrange 12 or more of the ladyfingers in a flat-bottomed serving dish with high sides, covering the entire bottom of the dish. Sprinkle or lightly soak the ladyfingers with half of the liqueur/coffee mixture.

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In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Set them aside.

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In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture thickens and turns light in color. Stir in the mascarpone to combine thoroughly. Gently fold the egg whites into this mixture. Spread half the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers in the serving dish. Sprinkle half the grated chocolate on top of the mascarpone mixture. Be generous with the chocolate—you might need more than 6 ounces depending on the size of your serving dish. You should be able to still see the mascarpone below, but make sure the mixture is fairly well covered.

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On a separate plate, lightly soak the remaining ladyfingers with the remaining coffee/liqueur mixture and use them to create another layer of ladyfingers on top of the chopped chocolate. Add the rest of the mascarpone on top of the lady fingers, and then add the rest of the grated chocolate.

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Cover the tiramisu with plastic wrap and chill overnight, or for at least 5 hours. Serves 6-8.

2

Cannoli

Cannoli

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Don’t forget the cannoli, is our brother Lewis’s favorite line from The Godfather movie. So you never forget the cannoli, here’s a simple recipe to make your own, using store bought cannoli pastry shells.

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Ingredients:

1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds

1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur*

12 cannoli shells

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

12 maraschino cherries

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Directions:

Stir ricotta cheese with sugar in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add almonds, chocolate chips and amaretto. Stir to combine.

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Carefully spoon into cannoli shells (or pipe from a pastry bag), filling from the center out. Put a maraschino cherry into filling on each end of each cannoli. Sprinkle cannoli with powdered sugar and cocoa.

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*Note: 1/8 teaspoon almond extract mixed with 1 tablespoon water can be substituted for the almond liqueur.

3

Italian Napoleon

Napoleons

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Every year at Christmas time, our mother would buy napoleons and other pastries (not sure why she didn’t just buy napoleons since we all fought over who would get them) from an Italian bakery shop in the North Beach section of San Francisco. Here’s an easy version. Rather than traditional puff pastry it uses phyllo dough brushed with butter. The napoleons turn out every bit as flaky as the originals.

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Preheat oven to 375 o

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole milk

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1-1/2 teaspoon rum or rum extract

9 sheets frozen phyllo pastry, thawed

1/3 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Seedless raspberry jam

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Directions for Custard Filling:

In a saucepan bring 1/2 cup milk to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1/4 cup milk with egg yolks and sugar, when combined, add flour and continue to