Chiacchiere are thin, crisp Italian fried pastries made from a simple dough of flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and a splash of grappa or white wine, rolled to near-translucency, cut into irregular rectangles or strips with a fluted pastry wheel, and dropped into hot oil until they puff and blister and turn the color of pale […]

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Cassata is a Sicilian celebration cake built from layers of sponge cake soaked in liqueur, filled with sweetened ricotta studded with chocolate chips and candied fruit, encased in marzipan, and finished with a smooth coating of white royal icing decorated with an extravagant arrangement of candied fruit — whole cherries, sliced citron, fig, pear, and […]

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