Italian Sweets

Sweet Italian delicacies run the gamut from traditional to cutting edge. Take a tour of some of Italy's treats and add them to the menu at your next gathering.

Turin for Gianduja.

The birthplace of the FIAT, Turin has been Italy's headquarters for chocolate for centuries. It is famous for gianduia, the famous Piedmontese concoction of hazelnuts, cocoa and sugar. The traditional Gianduiotto are supple chocolate pralines that resemble an upside-down boat, have a velvety softness and intense hazelnut flavor and are wrapped in colorful foil.

Artisan chocolate maker Guido Gobino of Turin is the real rock star of the moment, producing exceptional gianduja confections. Gobino's "adult" gianduja paste contains 34 percent Piedmontese hazelnuts. Another Piedmont gianduja favorite is the vast line from Venchi Spa, which produces traditional treats and some more recent avant-garde selections. The company's novel Cuban cigar made of gianduja, truffle with toasted hazelnuts, or truffle with candied Sicilian orange, is incredible.

Exotic Milk Chocolate in Emilia-Romagna.

The Gardini Brothers produce traditional chocolate products, making up their L'Artigiano line, which they produce slowly without compromising its artisanal quality. The sole importer of Gardini's entire L'Artigiano line is Fruit of the Boot, in Gainesville, Fla. The line's masterpiece is the new milk chocolate bar with extra virgin olive oil and sale dolce, a sweet salt harvested from an ancient Roman saltpan on the Adriatic Sea. The full line of single origin and blended chocolates also includes bars infused with cinnamon, pepperoncino, ginger, rhubarb, licorice, cardamom and one that is filled with fossa cheese from Emilia-Romagna-a cheese that is aged in underground pits, an Italian tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages.

Nuances of Nougats.

It is not clear if torrone dates back to ancient Rome, or the city of Cremona in Lombardy, where it was molded in the shape of Cremona's bell tower known as Torrione. Either way the nougat comes in second to gianduja on the list of popular Italian confections. Made from cooking honey into a dense syrup, with the addition of beaten egg whites and toasted nuts and/or fruits, torrone can be firm and crunchy or smooth and chewy-often softer, chewier versions hail from the south. Most often torrone is pressed between edible wafers, however in certain parts of Italy, it is iced with flavored glazes or chocolate. A popular soft torrone from Sorelle Nurzia in Bazzano L'Aquila in the Abruzzi region is based on traditional 19th-century recipes but with a twist; the company is known for its chocolate-covered torrone with almonds and pistachios. It also makes flavored versions such as coffee and orange.

Abundance of Almonds.

Hailing from Siena and similar to fruitcake in texture and appearance, panforte literally means strong bread. The traditional and best-selling version is torta Margherita, which is redolent of its custom spice mix and bursting with candied fruits and whole almonds. Other varieties include torta al cioccolato, a minced panforte that is enriched with cocoa, candied cherries and dark chocolate and torta al marzapane, made with almond paste, Tuscan spices and an essence of citrus.

The father and son team at Pasticceria Marabissi in the town of Chianciano Terme, exclusively sell their Panforte Margherita, Torta al Cioccolato & Torta al Marzapane through New Jersey-based Italian Products USA.

Featured as part of the Sicilian table since the 8th and 9th centuries, marzapane or marzipan-blanched, ground almonds and sugar-is a year-round draw. Common marzipan additions may be flavors of rose water or orange-flower water. The most popular use for marzipan in Sicily is for frutta martoran, hand-sculpted and hand-painted fruits and vegetables.

Confetti are fine sugared almonds created from a centuries-old tradition in Sulmona, Italy. Magliulo imports numerous colors of these Sicilian almonds sourced from William di Carlo in Siracusa d'Avola, Sicily. Although traditionally made of almonds, confetti is also made from hazelnuts, chocolate, fennel seeds and more.—Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.