Italian Christmas Cakes & Sweets

A booklet that introduces you to Christmas baking Italian-style and five delicious seasonal cake and sweet recipes that will put a sparkle in your festive season!

Learn about the Christmas desserts that Italians enjoy every year and how to make them yourself.

The booklet begins with an introduction to the Italian desserts during the festive season and a short essay on how one Italian family celebrates Christmas.

Delve into a short seasonal Italian dessert cookbook, with five classic recipes:

1. Learn how to make panettone - the Italian Christmas cake. Panettone is actually a cross between a rich egg bread and a cake. Buttery and studded with dried and candied fruit, panettone makes the perfect breakfast on Christmas morning!

2. Learn how to make panpepato, a traditional chocolate, nut, fruit and spice sweet with a fudge-like consistency - Christmas in a bite!

3. Discover the 'Spoletan Christmas Cake' - a traditional Christmas sweet from Spoleto in Umbria, Italy. This is a large pinwheel pastry filled with fruit, chocolate, spice and liqueur. A very special Italian Christmas cake!

4. Make your own marzipan! Follow an easy recipe for marzipan paste that is far more delicious than the bought variety. Ice your Christmas cake with it, or use marzipan Italian-style and shape it into little colored fruits. A perfect Christmas gift idea that children love to make (and eat!).

5. For something a little bit lighter, try the Christmas Tree Tart. This is a wonderful combination of a sweet shortcrust pastry flavored with lemon zest, baked in a Christmas tree shaped tart tin. The pastry is then topped with a thick lemon pastry custard and decorated with french fruit.

The author, Samantha Charlton, is a passionate Italian cook. She lived in Italy for many years (Rome and Umbria) and, upon returning to New Zealand began her own Italian Cooking school - Gusto!. This collection of Italian Christmas cakes and sweets became her most popular cooking class!