Piedmontese Desserts

Simplicity at its finest, this softly set pudding takes almost no effort to make, yet is nothing short of amazing! Even though panna cotta (lit. cooked cream) wasn't mentioned in Italian cookbooks until the 1960s, today it is considered a traditio... READ MORE

Piedmont's signature pralines are made with gianduia — a silky smooth cocoa, sugar, and hazelnut paste that owes its unmistakable flavor to roasted Piedmontese hazelnuts of the Tonda gentile variety. Even though some source... READ MORE

Baci di dama, meaning lady's kisses, are traditional hazelnut butter cookies with a layer of chocolate-hazelnut spread sandwiched between them. They originated in pastry shops in Tortona, Piedmont (famous for its hazelnuts), in the second... READ MORE

One of Italy’s most spectacular desserts, the luscious zabaione is a velvety custard cream of relatively obscure and mysterious origins. According to one legend, it was invented in Turin around the 16th century and was originally named c... READ MORE

Bonèt is a traditional dessert that can be traced back to the 13th century. Rich, creamy, and soft, the dessert consists of amaretti cookies or hazelnut biscuits, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, milk, and rum. The whole concoction is typically d... READ MORE

The decadent, chocolate-laden Torta Novecento (cake nine hundred), was created by a renowned Canavese master pastry chef Ottavio Bertinotti to celebrate the turn of the 20th century – hence the name. This seemingly simple cake, consisting of... READ MORE

Krumiri are typical Piemontese cookies dating back to 1870, when they were invented by a confectioner named Domenico Rossi. These handmade cookies are made with a combination of fresh eggs, flour, sugar, butter, and vanilla. When the texture becom... READ MORE

This classic flavor combines hazelnuts and milk chocolate into a rich, smooth gelato. Though similar to the bacio flavor, gianduia is typically prepared with milk chocolate and does not incorporate crushed hazelnuts. It was modeled on READ MORE

Cornmeal is widely used in northern Italian cuisine, in dishes which can be either savory or sweet. The region of Piedmont is renowned for their paste di meliga (meliga is a local name for polenta), crunchy cornmeal shortbread-st... READ MORE

Pesche al forno is a traditional dessert that's especially popular in Piedmont. It's usually made with a combination of large peaches, butter, crumbled amaretti, sugar, almonds, Marsala, and dark chocolate. The peaches are cut in half and half of ... READ MORE

Along with honey, sugar, glucose syrup, and egg whites, the other main ingredient in torrone di nocciole is the local Piedmontese hazelnut. Cities in the region have their local version of torrone di nocciole, most noted of which are torrone A... READ MORE

Biscottini di Novara are traditional Italian cookies originating from Novara. The cookies are usually made with a combination of flour, sugar, eggs, salt, and corn starch. The ingredients are kneaded into a dough, and the dough is then formed into... READ MORE

Amaretti, the famous Italian almond cookies are so popular in their homeland that almost every region has their version of the recipe, using different proportions and combinations of the basic ingredients: sweet and bitter almonds, apricot kernels... READ MORE

Canestrelli Biellesi have been produced in the picturesque Piedmontese town of Biella since the 1800s. They consist of two thin, crispy chocolate wafers joined together with a layer of chocolate-hazelnut cream in the middle. This luscious chocolat... READ MORE

Nocciolini di Chivasso are traditional Italian cookies hailing from the town of Chivasso in Turin, Piedmont. These tiny cookies are made with only three ingredients – Piedmont IGP hazelnuts, sugar, and egg whites. They were created by a conf... READ MORE

Baci di Cherasco are crunchy, irregularly-shaped Piedmontese sweets made with dark chocolate and renowned hazelnuts of the Tonda gentile delle Langhe variety that are first toasted, then crushed together with sugar and cocoa butt... READ MORE

Canestrello Novese is a crunchy, hard cookie prepared around the municipalities of Novi and Ovada in the Piedmontese province of Alessandria. Made with flour, olive oil, white Gavi wine, yeast, sugar, and salt, these ancient ring-shaped c... READ MORE

The Piedmontese version of canestrelli is a waffle-shaped hard cookie made with white flour, butter, eggs, and lemon zest, named after canesterlè, a type of iron press in which they were baked. The small ball of dough was placed in... READ MORE

Torta gianduia, or gianduia cake, is a traditional dessert from Piedmont, Italy, made with chocolate, cream, and hazelnuts. Its name honors the gianduja carnival mask, reflecting the region's cultural heritage. This rich and indulgent cake combine... READ MORE

This simple, rustic Italian cake hails from Monferrato, the hilly area near Asti. It's usually made with apples, pumpkin, sugar, chocolate, rum, eggs, amaretti, and dried figs, although there are numerous recipes for this cake. Due to the fact tha... READ MORE

Tartra is a traditional dish originating from Piedmont. It consists of a baked savory custard that's infused with onions and herbs. Although there are many variations, it's usually made with a combination of heavy cream, milk, butter, onions, eggs... READ MORE

Arsumà is an old Italian custard and a close cousin to the more famous zabaione. It originates from Biella in Piedmont as a dish of workers who would enjoy it for breakfast. The custard is made by whisking whole eggs with sugar and either d... READ MORE