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10 Scrumptious Italian Cake Recipes For The Whole Family To Enjoy

When it comes to creating delicious new cakes, there are few better countries than Italy. Seriously, Italy is responsible for an enormous range of tasty, unique types of cake!

Whether you like chocolate, nuts, fruit, cream cheese, or any other food in your cake, Italian cake recipes have got you covered, with a massive range of different styles and ingredients.

10 Scrumptious Italian Cake Recipes For The Whole Family To Enjoy

However, with such a wide selection of Italian cakes available, it can be difficult finding the ones that are going to be best for you and your tastes. How can you narrow them down?

Well, we’ve done all the work for you! In our tasty guide below, we’ve got a list of 10 scrumptious Italian cake recipes for the whole family to enjoy.

Whatever type of cake you’re into, there’s bound to be recipes in our list that whet your appetite. Read on!

10 Scrumptious Italian Cake Recipes For The Whole Family To Enjoy

1. Tiramisu

We’re starting our list off with a total Italian classic, the luxurious and light tiramisu.

If you’ve never had one before, then the key parts of these mouth watering, airy cakes are cocoa, coffee, mascarpone cheese, and ladyfingers. 

As you can imagine from those ingredients, these desserts have a perfect blend of rich, subtle chocolate and strong coffee, all mixed with creamy and sweet cheese.

Additionally, the ladyfingers give the delicious dessert a doughy, spongy texture too. 

The other ingredients in this recipe include baking staples like eggs and granulated sugar.

You also have the option to add some dark rum or wine to the cake too, which we would recommend – as long as it’s only adults enjoying it!

The hint of alcohol really pairs well with the coffee and chocolate flavors particularly. 

The cake is prepared and then left in the fridge for a minimum of three hours, giving it a perfectly chilled feeling when you finally eat it.

2. Castagnaccio

Next on our list is the beautifully rich and nutty castagnaccio, which is a cake that prominently features nuts and raisins.

Obviously, this isn’t going to be a great pick if you or your guests have nut allergies, but it’ll be a delicious pick for those who don’t.

When it comes to nuts, this Italian cake uses both walnuts and pine nuts to give it its strong nutty edge, with many of the nuts wedged into the top of the cake.

Naturally, this is a crunchy one! However, the recipe also uses chestnut flour, which is a sweet type of flour that has been made from (you guessed it!) chestnuts.

As a result, it adds a little bit more nuttiness throughout the dessert. 

The recipe also uses raisins, which contrast nicely with the nuts, and even a tablespoon of vinsanto (an Italian dessert wine), to give the cake just a slight warming kick of alcohol.

Delicious!

It’s an easy cake to make, taking just 10 minutes to prepare, and a further 35 minutes for baking.

3. Almond Ricotta Cake

Our next entry is another nut-based one, this light and gooey almond ricotta cake.

Better yet, the cake has a hint of citrus in it too, whose sharp tanginess complements the nuttiness of the almonds well.

You’ll need a wide variety of ingredients for this recipe, but it’s not a cake that’s hard (or time-consuming) to make.

The nuttiness comes from the inclusion of sliced almonds, almond extract, and almond flour. As you can guess, that last one is flour made from almonds.

It’s a great idea to use nut-based flour for a nut cake, because it means the nutty taste spreads through it even more.

Meanwhile, the light and gooey texture of the cake is helped by the inclusion of whole milk ricotta.

Naturally, this also gives the cake a slight hint of sweet cheesiness, which is a flavor that goes really well with the sharp lemon zest that’s also included.

4. Zuccotto

If you’ve ever seen a zuccotto cake, then you’ll know that this is one indulgent-looking dessert!

Basically, it’s a semi-frozen and chilled cake that’s very light and creamy, and it’s made in the shape of a pumpkin-type dome.

This recipe requires a handful of ingredients, but it’s a cake that’s going to be more than worth the time and effort you put in.

For its rich chocolate flavoring, you’ll need both semisweet chocolate and grated pieces of dark chocolate, as well as some extra grated chocolate to decorate the top.

Meanwhile, espresso coffee powder is also used to make the cake even richer, with a heavy hint of coffee flavor.

As for the creamy lightness of the cake, that’s achieved through the use of heavy whipping cream and Italian pastry cream.

However, you have to make the Italian pastry cream yourself, using a small assortment of ingredients and the guide of the recipe.

The recipe includes a tablespoon of liqueur, too, because a touch of alcohol is a key ingredient for a lot of Italian cakes. 

5. Italian Apple Cake (Torta Di Mele)

You may have had plenty of delicious apple cakes in your time, but have you ever had the Italian twist on the classic?

You simply must! Apple cake is already one of the best fruity cakes out there, because the sweetness and juiciness of the apple is the perfect partner for a soft sponge, and the Italian version is even better.

This is an easy cake to make, taking just 15 minutes to prepare and an hour to cook. You’ll need a range of ingredients, including cake baking staples like large eggs, sugar, and self-raising flour. 

In addition to these, you’ll need 4 apples to give the cake its unmistakable fruit flavor.

However, the recipe also includes a bit of lemon juice, whose tanginess will help to contrast with the sweet apple flavor.

Bakes have the choice to add some cinnamon to the recipe too, and we’d recommend you do this!

Cinnamon is often paired with apple, because its warm, subtle spiciness goes brilliantly with the juicy sweetness of the fruit.

6. Sicilian Orange Cake (Pan d’Arancio)

Another delicious fruit cake for our list, this Sicilian orange cake is soft and full of mouth watering citrus flavoring. 

However, while the cake has orange in its name, this actually isn’t the only source where it gets its citrus flavor from!

In addition to using the zest of a Sicialian orange, the recipe also uses the zest from an Amalfi lemon.

With that being said, these are just traces of citrus, because the main citrus flavor is from 90 ml of fresh orange juice and a bit of lemon juice. Refreshing!

Besides these fruity flavorings, the only other ingredients you’ll need are eggs, butter, self-raising flour, and caster sugar. This cake couldn’t be easier!

7. Italian Grape Cake

This is a tasty variety of cake that you may not have necessarily thought of before – grape cake! But why not?

After all, grapes are succulent, juicy, and refreshing. Why not use them in baking?

You’ll need a big list of ingredients for this recipe, but they;re all things that help to make this a totally delicious Italian cake.

You’ll need a couple of cups of small seedless grapes for a start, but some orange zest adds some extra juiciness to the flavor too.

The cake also has a slight nuttiness to it, too, so make sure to adjust the ingredients if you have a nut allergy.

The recipe lists some sliced almonds, as well as a teaspoon of pure almond extract and even the use of almond milk.

All of these help to give the grape cake a subtle nutty edge that pairs well with the juicy sweetness of it.

8. Italian Almond Cake (Torta Sbrisolona)

Next on our list is an almond cake, which has a biscuity and crumbly texture to parts of it that goes really nicely with the relative softness of the sponge. 

It’s a recipe that’s easy and quick to follow, taking just 15 minutes to prepare the cake and then a further 40 minutes for baking it.

You’ll need a variety of ingredients,  including baking staples like egg yolks and all-purpose flour. 

In addition to these, you’ll need some finely chopped almonds, some lemon zest for a hint of citrus, and vanilla bean to add flavor.

9. Cassata Cake

This Italian cake has become very popular in America, and the styles and contents of the cake can frequently vary. 

This recipe, however, uses strawberries and whipped cream as its key ingredients, along with a citrus and ricotta cheese filling. Delicious!

10. Cannoli Pound Cake

We’re finishing our list with the cannoli pound cake, an Italian twist on the classic pound cake.

Cinnamon and nutmeg help to give this cake an edge of spicy warmth, making it a perfect dessert to make at Christmas!

Additionally, some mini chocolate chips make it rich.

Final Thoughts

Italy is responsible for so many delicious and unique cakes – use our guide for the best Italian cake recipes!

Anna Ingham
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