There’s no mistaking an Italian baked good for anything else. Almond extract holds center stage, enriching treats with its creamy, nutty, and almost cherry-like bouquet. Strips of lemon and orange zest perfume batters and fillings with their invigorating essential oils. Espresso becomes a lightning rod that awakens chocolate. Little jewels of sparkling candied fruit adorn cakes like a royal crown. The country’s dessert case of sweets is eye-catching and alluring, with a pattern of flavors, colors, and scents that play in endless riffs.
These four recipes highlight just some of those aromatic through lines. A homey crostata is filled with sweet-tart apricot jam and showered in a layer of snappy sliced almonds. Ornate cassata gets transformed into a simple-to-assemble slab cake cloaked in a sheet of bright green marzipan dotted with a kaleidoscope of candied fruit. A lusciously jiggly riff on panna cotta, imbued with bold espresso and rich cocoa, calls back to the beloved flavors of tiramisu. And a giant yeasted bun is drenched in a sweet-and-sticky boozy glaze, turning the gentle, pillowy cake into a fiery baba au rhum showstopper. Each one is a loving take on a classic treat and a delicious testament to maximalist sensorial delight.
Almond-Apricot Crostata
Consider this understated beauty a celebration of the almond. A touch of fruity-floral almond extract is used in the dough, perfuming a crisp crust made with a portion of blitzed nuts. To finish, a blanket of sliced almonds develops deep golden color and intense toasted flavor atop the crostata as it bakes.
Cassata Slab Cake
A trifecta of orange, lemon, and Marsala wine gives this Sicilian cake a fresh, citrusy quality that proves just as bold as its decoration. Underneath a covering of soft green marzipan, two layers of tender, wine-soaked cake sandwich a creamy ricotta filling studded with mini chocolate chips.
Giant Baba au Rhum
Rum and orange liqueur are used without restraint in this towering dessert. The duo provides an invitingly sweet alcoholic heat that sinks into the crumb of the brioche-like cake, giving each bite a literal burst of flavor.
Tiramisu Panna Cotta
Tiramisu’s beloved battalion of flavors—milky mascarpone, booze, coffee, and chocolate—fit together perfectly in this wobbly, no-bake dessert mash-up. It’s bittersweet, bold, and almost recklessly caffeinated.