Critically acclaimed cookbook author Anne Bianchi teams up with her Tuscan cooking school partner, Sandra Lotti, for an enticing book of recipes from Italy's most creative gastronomic region. Desserts are the feature attraction, with tempting Tuscan specialities such as Fig Crepes, Chestnut Timbale, Pear Fritters with Rum Cream, and Apple and Frangipane Pie. Bianchi and Lotti reveal how to recreate the wonderful desserts that you thought could only be found in Italian bakeries or cafes-biscotti, gelati, tiramisu and many other traditional Tuscan treats. Beginning with the basics, the authors offer technical information on tools, sugars, liqueurs, yeast, how to beat egg whites, and how to whip cream. They follow with nine chapters full of mouth-watering recipes for Cookies; Cakes and Tarts, Fruit Desserts and Preserves; Ice Creams and Sorbets; Brittles, Fritters, and Crepes; Custards and Mousses; Sweet Breads; Pies and Pastries; and Traditional Holiday Desserts.To start off each chapter, Lotti, Bianchi, and their Tuscan friends muse over topical subjects in spirited essays that capture the essence of the region. Topics include Thinness, Italian Men and Their Mothers, The Definition of Art, and Carnival in Viareggio.With recipes and stories that indulge and delight, Dolci Toscani is a wonderful addition to any cooking library.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Dolci Toscani is distinctly Italian in the way it combines the bitter with the sweet. The sweet part consists of 126 recipes for mostly traditional Tuscan desserts. In counterpoint, an astringent essay by Sandra Lotti, coauthor and a native Tuscan, opens each of nine chapters in this literate book. These pieces focus on attitudes as integral to the notoriously rigid and whiny Tuscan character as the region's legendary obsession with eating well. They range in subject from the close relationship between men and their mothers to the definition of art and the obsession with dieting in order to present la bella figura at the beach each summer.
The book includes an in-depth explanation of ingredients and equipment. It is studded with delectable surprises like fruit-filled, fried Ravioli Dolci and chocolate-chestnut truffles. There is even a chapter of mostly fat- and sugar-free delights such as Pear Risotto and Apricot Bruschetta. But the traditional Tuscan sweets of all kinds are the real stars. There is Zuppa Inglese, layers of seriously liquored sponge cake and custard topped with whipped cream; Diti, the cannoli of Tuscany, crisp puff-pastry tubes filled with ricotta cheese enlightened with custard; Panforte, the dense Christmas confection that combines chestnut honey, candied lime peel and other fruits with nuts and spices; and Chocolate Mousse Meringue, a prime example of the special desserts served at Sunday dinners where Tuscan families gather to feast, criticize, and argue.
Travelers and Italophiles will treasure this book for the achievable authenticity of its recipes. Some do require searching out ingredients like top-quality fresh ricotta cheese, chestnut flour or honey, blood oranges, or vin santo, a dessert wine. Most, though, call for ingredients that are readily available. --Dana Jacobi
About the Author
Anne Bianchi is a food writer who lives in New York and the Tuscan province of Lucca. She is the owner and Director of the Toscana Saporita Cooking School and President of Toscana Saporita Food Imports. She is a featured columnist for Magazine of La Cucina Italiana and has written a number of books, most recently Solo Verdura: The Complete Guide to Cooking Tuscan Vegetables, Zuppa! Soups from the Italian Countryside and From the Tables of Tuscan Women, all published by Ecco. Sandra Lotti is the co-owner and Managing Director of the Toscana Saporita Cooking School as well as the Italian Director of Toscana Saporita Food Imports. Known throughout Italy for her cookbooks on Tuscan cuisine, Lotti frequently contributes to Italy's most prestigious cooking magazines and also conducts private cooking lessons.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Questionable Quality.,
By T.C. (Potomac, MD USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dolci Toscani: The Book Of Tuscan Desserts (Hardcover)
There is a great variety of recipes, and each recipe has a very helpful scale next to it describing the level of difficulty and preparation time, but I give the book only three stars because I have had varied success with the recipes. Whether due to bad recipes or bad proofreading, a number of the recipes appear to be missing ingredients or otherwise faulty. I currently have a large bowl of pudding-like mixture that is supposed to be "Chocolate Chestnut Truffles," but never got firm enough to form into truffles.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dessert-lovers delight!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dolci Toscani: The Book Of Tuscan Desserts (Hardcover)
This is one of the most fabulous dessert-recipe books I've ever come across--and from this sweet-tooth, this is quite a compliment! There is an excellent balance of flavors and dessert ideas here--I go back to it again and again, for all types of occassions. The chocolate desserts are some of my all-time favorites. For real cooks, this book is a good friend.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible book,
By
This review is from: Dolci Toscani: The Book Of Tuscan Desserts (Hardcover)
Very disappointing recipes. One look at the savoiardi recipe's ingredient proportions and you can tell you wouldn't get a batter in the end, but enriched powder. Tried it anyway, and I was right. The amaretto expresso cheesecake turned into sweet sloppy joe the both times I tried that recipe, and I'm a cooking instructor. This book is a waste of time.
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