Live la dolce vita—the sweet life—with this
delightful guide to Italy’s best sweets.

Join Francine Segan on a lavishly illustrated tour of Italy, with more than 100 recipes for cookies, cakes, pastries, puddings, and frozen confections.

In Dolci: Italy’s Sweets, Segan introduces us to the real Italy. Her recipes come from hip young bloggers and grandmas in remote villages, from important Italian pastry manufacturers (including Bauli, Corsini, and Falanga) and pastry chefs at small cafés. From thousands of recipes, she has selected the very best—a list that includes both the classics and desserts that contemporary Italians prepare in their homes today.

Recipes are drawn from all regions of Italy. Classics such as Cannoli and Zuppa Ingleseare featured along with fresh and unique regional favorites like Sweet Rosemary and Grape Focaccia, Licorice Granita, and the exotic but delicious Chocolate Eggplant. In addition to the beloved Rum Babà and traditional holiday fare like Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake and Pastiera, a Neapolitan Easter Pie, readers will find new innovations, including a light and luscious “updated” Tiramisñ that does not use raw eggs.

Delicious frozen desserts appear in a variety of unexpected flavors, including Spumone with Homemade Hazelnut Brittle, Asti Spumante Granita, and Rosemary Semifreddo. In a delightful twist, there’s also an award-winning Parmesan Panna Cotta with Pears. Of course, this wouldn’t be an authentic Italian cookbook without pasta! Sweet Chickpea Baked Ravioli and Angel Hair Pasta Pie are just two of the dishes that are sure to become favorites.

So that we can all enjoy our sweets in the authentic Italian manner, Segan also includes a chapter on after-dinner drinks that features easy recipes for making liqueurs like Limoncello at home, along with a selection of recipes for special coffees. A basics chapter concludes the book, providing foolproof instructions for classic Italian Pastry Cream, Pie Crust, and Sponge Cake, as well as delicious dessert sauces and jams.

Throughout this handsomely photographed and beautifully designed collection, Segan shares interesting bits of history and food lore that show how intrinsic these sweet dishes are to daily Italian life—it is a sweet life, indeed.