Iguanodon & Chameleon

Zabaglione is traditionally served with fresh, ripe figs and, in Italy, is known as zabaione or zabajone – the name varies depending on the country. It may have originated in Venice where honey was used instead of sugar, but most likely Piedmont is the Italian region of origin.

Some say the Italian dessert dates back to 1471, when Captain Baglioni (often called ‘Zvàn Bajòun’), short of food, managed to muster up random ingredients of eggs, sugar and wine, with which he made this creamy concoction. Another story tells that it goes back to the sixteenth century, when it was created in honor of St. Pasqual Baylón (hence similar dessert names sambayon and zabajone), the patron saint of cooks and pastry chefs, who recommended that wives give it to their “tired” husbands (interpret that how you wish). And, believe it or not, more explanations of the dessert’s origins still abound.

Traditionally…

Cannoli cheesecake is a combination of two true Italian classics. You get to enjoy two delicious Italian desserts and never need to choose which to have- you can have them both!

So how did cannoli cheesecake come to be an, most importantly, how can you make such a fantastic dessert?

Those questions will be answered right here! Let?s start by taking a look at cannoli and then move on to cheesecake before combining the two into the mouthwatering dessert you likely are craving already.

What are Cannoli?

Cannoli is the plural word for cannolo which means ?little tube? it Italian. The dessert is now usually referred to simply as ?cannoli?, even if there is only one pastry. The dessert is essentially a fried tube of dough that is then stuffed with a sweet cream filling.

The ingredients of the filling may vary depending on where you purchase the dessert…

Capri, where this cake originated, is famous for it?sLimoncelloand that?s probably why it was used initially.

However, I cannot imagine the cake made without it. It?s delicious, very easy and very quick to make during the Easter break.

You?ll notice it contains no flour and consists entirely of roughly chopped chocolate and nuts with only the eggs to hold it all together ? take care, it could be crumbly when it?s hot so take care with it.

It?s probably a very good idea to allow the cake to rest somewhere cool until it reaches room temperature before you serve it ? it tastes far better then, anyway.

Michelle and I were feeling adventurous this holiday so we kicked up the traditional pecan pie a notch. I had seen an episode of Pati’s Mexican Table where she combined Mexican flavors with American classic foods and Dulce de Leche Chocolate Pecan Pie was one of her recipes. It looked good but a little sweeter than my tastes run, so we switched out the crust and made a couple other minor adjustments.

You lose a little of the top to the foil but leaving it off makes the pie darken too much. Here it is perfectly browned.

Decadently good with the caramel adding a lovely flavor with the toasted pecans. As my friend Charlotte learned, don’t go with too big of slices as it is so very rich it will be hard to finish in one sitting.

We served it with Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream. Recipe HERE.