A Word About Italian Dessert

For the most part - it's not worth your time.

In general (excluding gelato, of course) it's just not very good. So far, most of the "cakes" I've tried are actually more like cookies with too much baking soda (which any good baker will tell you yields very "cake-y" cookies...but they're still just cookies - and bland ones to boot). Most of these are dipped in chocolate or have some kind of fruit compote on top, which is fine - but in the land of delicious food, it's like there is no creativity left for dessert. It's just there; completely lacking gusto. (Perhaps after all the gelato and sugar they put in coffee, they have no need for sweets?? I don't know.)

But this week, all that changed: I finally met a dessert worth writing home about.

Imagine, if you will, one of those red beer cups (just go with me on this), only in miniture size. Now take that cup and fill it to the brim tip-top with what is probably a sugar, eggs and cream cheese mixture. Then take that cup, turn it upside down, and excavate the contents onto a plate, sandcastle style (so all the cream cheese is still in the shape of the cup).

Now, instead of cream cheese, imagine the texture to be something wetter and creamier like pudding...only it's firm, like jello. But, it's not translucent (or that jiggly). Flan! It's like the texture and consistency of flan, only it tastes good and it doesn't have that clear liquid layer of "sweat" flan always seems to have. With me so far?

Next imagine thick, creamy, liquid chocolate poured over the top and rolling down the sides in huge, slow, fat rolls until it reaches the bottom and pools on the plate. Then sprinkle cocoa powder on top.

THAT, my friends, is panna cotta (pan-uh-coat-uh). It. Is. INCREDIBLE. I kid you not.

I should have taken a picture (sorry!) but I was so intrigued when it arrived, that I dug right in and gobbled up the deliciousness. And I didn't think showing you a picture of a mostly eaten dessert would be too appealing. I'll try and find it again for you though.

I realize I haven't really described what it tasted like, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on it. I can tell you what it didn't taste like though. Despite only listing cream cheese and chocolate as ingredients, it wasn't like cheesecake at all (plus, it's not baked like cheesecake is...probably just refrigerated). And even though I mentioned it, no, it did not taste like flan. At all. I hesitated to even make the association, but it had to be done. (Flan = bad, panna cotta = good.) It must have had vanilla in it....but it's hard to say. Sigh. This is really outside my area of expertise. You're just going to have to trust me on the delicious part and we'll leave it at that. :)

P.S. I know I'm in the middle of blogging about Cinque Terre right now, but just in case you're curious, I actually had this dessert on my second time through Florence.

P.P.S. Sorry Kristen, this probably is not helping with your "unattainable foods" craving the blog seems to inspire - heh heh. And I know you don't like cheesecake, but you'd like this. It was amazing.