Desert Italian Style in Sorrento, Italy

 From Santa Anna Sorrento Lingue:   Let them eat cake!

The first thing most people think of when they think of desserts in Italy is gelato. Who wouldn’t? It has the cool, creamy sweet taste we all know and love in ice cream, but somehow it’s just better in Sorrento. Maybe it’s the scoop they use to place the delicious creation in a simple sugar cone or mini paper cup and how it looks nothing like the ice cream cones in the U.S. It could be that not only do you not feel strange asking for two flavors but in fact, they encourage it.   Pineapple and coconut? Delicious.   My personal favorite, mint and milk chocolate. It’s like a Junior Mint in ice cream form.    What could be better?

Or maybe what makes gelato so much better than ice cream is the fact that you can get gelato in Sorrento whenever you want. Eleven A.M? Sure. Two in the afternoon? Absolutely. Midnight? Why not? Whenever you have a hankering for it, there’s always somewhere right around the corner to grab a few scoops. Other delicious desserts in Sorrento include Tiramisu, cannolis, lemon cake and the delicious waffles served at David’s Gelateria. Nutella and whipped cream on a giant homemade waffle, what could be better? 

Autumn has fallen here in Sorrento. The wind has picked up, temperatures have dropped, and the humidity has finally broken. Though the leaves on the trees haven’t drastically changed color, there are only four short weeks left in the month of October. Starting in November and lasting throughout the winter months in Sorrento Torroncini is a popular dessert for natives and passersby.   Made with pure fresh ingredients:  honey, sugar egg whites and nuts, torroncini is made in two ways, hard and crunchy or soft and chewy. Some toroncini   is even covered in chocolate.  This treat is so popular it can be purchased online and delivered to your door!

With the holidays fast approaching tourists and locals alike are starting to think of how they will be celebrating in true Italian fashion, with food!

Being in the heart of historic Sorrento makes the options endless. If you’re in the mood for a light flaky pastry with a bit of chocolate added for some extra decadence, mustacciuoli is the way to go.

If you are looking for something with more of a salty, nutty taste, rococo would be a fabulous option as it is a pastry with almonds. It still gives that light texture of a traditional Italian pastry while giving just the right amount of salt and nutty taste with a little extra crunch!  For something a bit more adventurous try sapienza a dessert featuring biscuits, nuts, and oversized citrus fruits such as lemons.     Of course lemons, this is Sorrento after all!

Some Italian candy and dessert companies have recently made their way across the pond to grace to red white and blue with their scrumptious treats. Bindi is a dessert and pastry company that distributes their products from a plant in Italy as well as one in the United States. The company began in Milan in 1946 when founder Attilo Bindi opened his first location, a small storefront. Now more than sixty years later, Bindi is a worldwide distributor of some of the best sweet treats Italy has to offer.

Sometimes the easiest go-to gift after going on an exotic trip is a gift basket. It embodies the essence of your experience in the simplest yet elegant way. Walking the streets of Sorrento it is clear that gift baskets are just as popular here as they are around the world. As a town with an influx of tourists from June until the end of October shopkeepers know what their clients look for when shopping for souvenirs. They create gift baskets filled with cheese, wine, limoncello and sometimes dried fruit, pastries, crackers or breads.

Traveling to Sorrento is a magical experience filled with some of the most delicious desserts you’ll ever try, especially during the fall and winter months. Bringing gifts home can be the perfect way to remember the magic of your Italian adventure while bringing it home to share with others. Hopefully, once you share the food and stories with loved ones back home, they’ll want to come with you on your next trip!

by Shannon Devaney