In Italy no meal is considered complete without strong coffee and something sweet – or dolce, as the Italians say. If there are such things as national desserts then the Italians have plenty to offer, including gelato, pastries, panna cotta and tiramisu. Italian desserts will often be centred around sophisticated flavours such as coffee, dark chocolate and alcohol, although milk and cream are also commonly used in a variety of forms.

If you came to this collection looking for tiramisu you won’t be disappointed – although perhaps a little surprised - as Fabrizio Marino shares a wonderfully innovative recipe for Vegan tiramisu, blending chocolate mousse and fennel purée together with spiced biscuits. This intelligent, creative approach is common among many of our Italian chefs, and such innovation is acknowledged by the Costardi Brothers in the title of their liquid nitrogen ice cream recipe, Meringue 2.0.

Subverting traditional notions of what a dessert should be is a continued theme throughout this collection of Italian dessert recipes. Aurora Mazzucchelli’s Pineapple ravioli recipe, served with an impressive coffee caviar, offers a sweet twist on a traditional pasta dish, while the Cerea Brothers also nod to other iconic Italian ingredients by creating a spectacular ‘Fake mozzarella’, a beautiful mascarpone mousse recipe wrapped in milk skin to give the appearance of mozzarella. Rosanna Marziale goes one step further still, incorporating real mozzarella into her Blackberry cheesecake recipe.

For something a little more traditional try Andrea Sarri’s stunning Chocolate ganache recipe, a decadent, rich mousse served alongside a refreshing Campari sorbet to bring together the beautiful pairing of chocolate and orange.