As some of you might know, I have a little shop that I bake in. For the last 6 years I've mostly done coffee, sandwiches & desserts. I just started decorating cakes about 3-4 months ago. Anyway, there is a restaurant opening up and the executive chef called me for a meeting. He came in last night and said he wanted to carry some of my desserts. Some of the area restaurants carry my cheesecakes and cakes so this is probably how he knew of me. He wants italian cakes, cheesecakes, & cookies. HELP!! I am not familiar with italian desserts at all. I have to make up a sample tray for him this weekend and I would appreciate any help. If anyone knows of any great Italian cakes, cookies, etc I would appreciate it. Even if you don't have a recipe for it, I can look it up. I know it sounds funny, but I can't think of anything Italian off the top of my head. I've googled to find some, but I would really like someone who's made these desserts to tell me which ones they like. Thanks in advance....you guys are always a great source of information!
oh, i have an amazing tiramisu recipe...it's at home though...i'll pm you when i get home and send it to you...i have TONS of italian pastry recipe's...wow..i'm so excited...I can definately help u with italian deserts...its in my blood 
First of all CONGRATS!! To be known like that must feel amazing!!! I'm sorry I know nothing about Italian foods.. BUT I do watch alot of Food Network. Everyday Italian is one I love watching..She is a true Italian, check out her recipes.. Good Luck!!
http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/searchResults?searchString=italian%20desserts&site=FOOD&searchType=Recipe
This includes some recipes from Mario Batali too..
Cakefairy, I forgot to mention that they will be doing tiramasu, gelato (sp?), & creme brulee in-house. He wants cakes, cheesecakes & cookies from me. Anything you have would be appreciated...I would still love the tiramasu recipe now that I think of it. Maybe I'll make it for the shop. Thanks for your help, I'm really at a loss.
Briansbaker: Thank you so much..its nice to be recognized, but a little nerveracking also. Those look like great recipes, especially the espresso brownies - yum! I'll have to try some of them out.
WOW! Congratulations. Sounds like a great opportunity. In my house we grew up on cannoli and pizelle cookies. Both are easy and classic Italian. 
The only one that I have is call an Italian pillow cookie. DH grandmother who was from sicily gave it to me before she passed away. If you want the recipe for it I will PM it to you. It is very good. I also have one that is called italian holiday cookie if you want to try that one also let me know
sterlingcakes: thank you...I've never heard of pizelle cookies(can you tell I'm not italian )..they sound interesting. If you know of any good cannoli recipes I would love to try them!
mpitrelli: I would love the recipe for both cookies. I like the sound of an Italian pillow cookie - of course I've never heard of that either. I swear I need to get out more! Thank you very much.
Here is a recipe for cannoli shells and the traditional ricotta filling. You can also buy cannoli shells or use puff pastry and bake instead of deep frying. Cannoli tubes can be found at kitchen stores or on-line for about $10 for four.
Cannoli Shells
(Makes about 1
3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3 TB. shortening
2 eggs, well beaten
2 TB. white vinegar
2 TB. cold water
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Sift together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut shortening in with a pastry blender until the pieces are the size of small peas. Stir in eggs. Blend in the vinegar and cold water. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Add additional flour, if needed, to get a smooth dough.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Set out 6 aluminum cannoli tubes. Heat oil in a deep saucepan to 360 degrees F. Cut an oval shaped pattern from cardboard about 6x4-inches. Roll chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Place the cardboard pattern on dough and cut out as many as will fit on the dough. Wrap dough loosely around tubes slightly overlapping opposite ends. Seal ends by brushing with egg white and pressing together. Fry only as many shells as will float uncrowded in the hot oil. Fry until light golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove cannoli shells to paper towels to drain. Cool slightly and remove the tubes. Cool shells completely. Using a pastry bag or a small spoon, fill the shells with the filling from both ends. Do not fill the shells until up to an hour before serving, as the filling will make the shells soggy. Sprinkle ends with reserved chopped pistachio nuts and dust with confectioners sugar.
Traditional Ricotta Filling
4-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar
1 TB. vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips *
1/2 cup pistachio nuts,coarsely chopped
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Combine ricotta, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Stir in chocolate chips or candied fruit. Reserve pistachios and confectioners sugar for garnish. You can use 1/2 cup of finely chopped semisweet chocolate. Chopped candied orange peel or citron can be substituted for the chocolate chips or you can use 1/4 cup of each.
Pizelle cookies require a pizelle iron (kind of like a waffle iron with a very delicate, intricate pattern). If you want more information on that, let me know.
A twist on the cannoli shells that I get rave reviews on is to use pizzelles instead. While they are still warm, roll them around the cannoli tube and set seam side down to cool. People seem to like them more b/c they aren't fried. You can still dip the ends in chocolate.
Pignolis are great italian cookies as are biscotti and both can be made in several different ways. Bowties are popular too. I know I have more suggestions in my head but am drawing a blank right now! If I remember to get back on later, I'll add more suggestions!
Congratulations!
How about biscotti and Amaretti. These are classic Italian cookies. You can find recipes on line or in most Italian cookbooks.
I think I read that Almond Biscotti are the most traditional, but there are a zillion kinds these days.
Here is an Amaretti recipe, but I haven't tried it.
http://www.italianmade.com/recipes/recipe365.cfm
Good Luck!
here is the recipe for the italian pillow cookies
1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 tea vanilla
1/4 tea salt
4 eggs
4 hard cooked egg yolks
3 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 (10 oz) jar orange marmalade, divided
1 egg white
cream shortening in large bowl, add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt beat well. Add 4 eggs (one at a time) beating after each addition. Press egg yolks thru a sieve onto cream mixture; stir until well blended.
add flour to mixture alternating with the cream. begining with and ending with flour. Stir well after each addition. cover and chill dough overnight.
work with one-forth of dough at a time keeping remaining dough chilled until ready to use. roll to 1/4 inch thick on a well floured surface, cut into 2 inch squares. place 1/4 tea of marmalade in center of each square. fold dough into a traingle, and presss edges together with tines of a fork. brush tops of cookies with egg whites. place on a greased cookies sheet 2 inches apart bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. spinkle with powder sugar when cool.
here is the italian holiday cookies
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 tea vanilla
1 c. + 2 tbl all-purpose flour
1/2 tea salt
1 egg white beaten lightly
1 c. flaked coconut
cream butter in large mixing bowl, gradually add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. add egg yolk and vanilla and beat well
sift together flour and salt gradually add to creamed mixture, stiring well. chill dough until easy to handle about 2 hrs.
shape dough into balls dip in egg white and roll in coconut. place on greased cookie sheet. press thumb into it to make a small well (not too big) bake at 300 for 20-25 minutes cool. add any flavor of perserves you like to fill the thumb print
I love this site http://www.recipegoldmine.com/
They have some really good recipes and TONS of different types of cheesecakes !!http://www.recipegoldmine.com/cakecheeseswe/cakecheeseswe.html
Congratulations and the best of luck! Sounds like you will be very busy!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
itsacake and mamafrogcakes: thank you both!! I appreciate the links...I will definitely check them out.
mpitrelli: thank you so much for the recipes...they look good and fairly simple to make - just what I was looking for. I'll let you know how they turn out. Just one question though -
What is a sieve and how do you push eggs through them?
SquirrellyCakes: Thank you! Lets just say I don't see getting out of the kitchen any time soon
itsacake and mamafrogcakes: thank you both!! I appreciate the links...I will definitely check them out.
mpitrelli: thank you so much for the recipes...they look good and fairly simple to make - just what I was looking for. I'll let you know how they turn out. Just one question though -
What is a sieve and how do you push eggs through them?
SquirrellyCakes: Thank you! Lets just say I don't see getting out of the kitchen any time soon
I will keep watching CNN for live coverage, "Woman held hostage by Kitchen Aid"!
Oh and a sieve is a wire mesh screen looking thing usually with a handle, sort of looks like a mesh pot. Some folks push flour and things through it instead of a sifter, it is also used to strain things or to make them fine and get rid of lumpy thingies. How is that for technical, haha!
Hugs Squirrelly
SquirrellyCakes: you are so funny!
Thanks for the explanation of the sieve. My favorite words to explain things are: thingy....thingamabob....thingamajig...or whatchamacallit.
Heehee, you and me are on the same technical wave length.
One of my favourite Italian desserts has different names, my Italian friend called them"Taiplates" have no idea of the correct spelling. But you make them on an iron, that you dip into a batter and then deep fry. They are flavoured heavily with anise, sort of have the same texture as an ice cream cone. You usually sprinkle powdered sugar on them. I know they exist in different cultures with different names.
Hugs Squirrelly
Baklava is a good dessert and Sandra lee on the food network had a really simple and delicious recipe for it.
I also love homemade cream horns if you are interested in the recipe i have it just email me [email protected]
Good Luck you will do fine they have so many simple recipes on food network that you can use. Italians do a lot of pastries/cakes with Phyllo dough.
Italian Anise Cake - Chombolini
1 c. butter or margarine
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
3 1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. milk
1 (1 oz.) bottle anise extract
1 drop lemon extract
1/3 c. orange juice
1 c. chopped dates
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
Cream together margarine and butter. Add eggs and mix. Alternate the flour mixture and the liquid (milk and orange juice) and mix well.
Add the extracts and blend. Add the dates and walnuts and mix batter well.
Grease and flour a tube pan or Bundt pan and pour cake batter into it.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Cake is done when springs back or cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes - then remove from pan onto rack to cool.I
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you everyone!!! I usually like to thank everyone individually but there have been so many responses 
I appreciate those who posted recipes and suggestions for me...and thank you to those who wanted to wanted to drop in and say congratulations. I think I have some good cakes and cookies to start with - hopefully I will do the recipes justice I'll keep everyone posted on how the sample tray turns out and the response that I get. Hopefully they will lean more toward the cakes and cheesecakes instead of the cookies...I'll let you in on my secret - I hate making cookies! 
Squirrellycakes, that sounds like pizelles. You can make them with or without anise. My son likes them without.
Haha, thanks for pointing that out, I wondered. It is the same thing with perogies, different names in different countries or regions. I have no idea why she calls them taiplates, all I know is that she has a very old iron that has the date forged into it, I believe it is from the 1800's. I just love them with anise!
I am very multi-cultural when it comes to eating, haha! SO many great traditions and foods from so many different cultures!
Hugs Squirrelly
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