164 italian dessert recipes

Sicilian cassata cake with a delicate sponge layer, Marsala wine soak, and rich chocolate custard filling. A traditional Italian celebration dessert built in stages.

Italian biscotti with toasted walnuts, orange zest, and black pepper. The savory-sweet hybrid that pairs with dessert wine, cheese, or after-dinner coffee.

Microwave rum cake with devil's food layers soaked in rum, apricot preserves in the middle, and fluffy Italian-style meringue frosting. Retro dessert, updated speed.

A frozen chocolate mousse loaf made with melted Milky Way candy bars, semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate, Italian meringue, and whipped cream. A make-ahead dessert that slices like ice cream cake.

Refreshing Italian ice with fresh lemon juice and zest frozen to icy perfection. Light, palate-cleansing dessert ready in 2 hours with an ice cream maker.

Italian-inspired layered dessert with sponge cake soaked in rum and orange liqueur, sweetened ricotta cream, and fresh berries. A boozy, elegant trifle for special occasions.

Rich flourless chocolate mousse cake spiked with Cointreau or Chambord, baked in a water bath and topped with billowy whipped cream. An Italian-style showstopper dessert.

Strawberries Alberto: ripe sliced strawberries macerated in Chianti with sugar and thin lemon slices. A simple Italian wine-soaked fruit dessert and aperitivo, no cooking required.

Frozen pumpkin mousse: a make-ahead Thanksgiving dessert with Italian meringue, spiced pumpkin, rum, and whipped cream. Chilled in a soufflé dish and served with gingersnaps.

Ricotta pudding baked in individual cups until puffed and golden, made with part-skim ricotta, lemon zest, and a folded egg white for souffle-like lift. A light Italian-style dessert.

Coffee-almond cake with an espresso-cocoa custard baked in caramel, inverted over an amaretti cookie cake layer. A showstopping Italian-inspired dessert with two baked components.

Frozen tortoni with cream cheese, Amaretto, whipped cream, and crushed peanut brittle in foil cups. An elegant Italian-style frozen dessert with no ice cream maker needed.

Italian rum cake with a dense sour cream butter cake sliced into six layers, soaked with dark rum, and filled with lemon pastry cream. A showstopping celebration dessert.

Twice-baked Italian biscotti loaded with almonds and walnuts, spiked with dark rum and amaretto. Crunchy dunking cookies with warm cinnamon spice, perfect for coffee or dessert wine.

Peaches in red wine Tuscan style with blanched peaches soaked in a hot vanilla-sugar wine syrup with roasted almonds and fresh mint. An elegant Italian summer dessert.

An Italian chocolate hazelnut cake from Turin with homemade gianduja paste, whipped chocolate cream filling, apricot jam, and a brandy-liqueur soak. A show-stopping patisserie-level dessert.