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By Root 787 0

eggs and sugar until well combined.Very slowly add eggs to milk mixture, mixing constantly with a wire whisk. Strain mixture into a clean bowl and pour into prepared molds. Place molds in a large baking pan and add enough water in pan to come halfway up sides of molds. Cover with aluminum foil and place pan on middle rack of oven.

Bake 20 minutes, then turn pan around and bake 15 minutes more. Turn pan around one more time and bake 5 to 10 minutes more. Test doneness of custard by tapping side of mold. If custard wiggles, cook 5 minutes longer. Cool custard. (Custard can be prepared several hours or a day ahead. Refrigerate tightly covered.)

To serve, run a thin knife around rim of bowl, detaching custard from bowl. Place a round dessert plate over mold and invert to unmold. Pat gently and lift up mold.The custard will have a glaze of caramel over top and sides. Serve at once.

EGG CUSTARD GELATO

Gelato di Crema

The Italian egg custard gelato is soft and voluptuous. Serve it alone or topped with some hot melted chocolate.

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART

3 cups milk

8 large egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

Put milk in a medium saucepan and bring to just below a boil over medium heat; do not let it boil.Turn off heat.

Meanwhile put egg yolks and sugar in top part of a double boiler or heatproof bowl, and beat with a wire whisk or electric hand beater until pale yellow and thick. Gradually pour hot milk into beaten eggs in a thin stream, stirring constantly with whisk.

Place over a few inches of slowly simmering water (do not let water boil) and cook, stirring constantly with a spatula, until custard thickens and thickly coats back of a spoon, about 15 minutes.

Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Set bowl over a larger bowl of iced water and cool completely. Cover bowl and refrigerate until cold.

Freeze mixture in an ice-cream freezer according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or freeze until needed.

ALMOND COOKIES

Amaretti

Many of the trattorie in the Emilia farmland serve, at the end of a meal, fragrant, addictive homemade amaretti cookies. And many are the homes that keep these small cookies in their cupboard and serve them when an impromptu visitor shows up. When my husband and I spent a few days at Villa Gaidello, a lovely guest farm in the countryside of Castelfranco Emilia, a little plate of amaretti would materialize immediately each time we would sit down for a cappuccino or an espresso. This recipe comes from Villa Gaidello.

MAKES 25 TO 30

½ pound blanched almonds (about 2 cups)

2 tablespoons plus ⅔ cup sugar

2 egg whites at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Spread almonds on a baking sheet and bake until they are lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Cool almonds and place in bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and pulse machine on and off until almonds are very finely chopped but not pulverized. Set aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 325F (165C). Butter a large baking sheet and line it with parchment paper (the paper will be held in place by butter).

In a large bowl, mix chopped almonds and ½ cup of the sugar. Beat egg whites with remaining sugar until stiff peaks form, and fold them a little at a time into almonds.

Spoon up mixture with a tablespoon, filling it only halfway, and make small mounds on prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each mound. Place baking sheet on middle rack of oven and bake until amaretti are thoroughly dry, and they just begin to color, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.They can be kept in a cookie jar for several days before serving.

ITALIAN RUM CAKE

Zuppa Inglese

This is one of Italy’s most popular desserts.

MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

Fruit Salad

5 cups any prepared fruit in season

½ cup chopped candied fruit

2 tablespoons rum

3 tablespoons sugar

Hot Zabaglione, page 229, substituting ⅓ cup rum for wine

1 cup whipping cream

12 ounces pound cake, cut into medium-thin slices

½ cup