Back in that fanciful time known as childhood so many things were unknown and exotic. Not only to me, but to the world in generally. I grew up in the epoch of time known as AMERICA IN THE 1960’S. I was there for all of it, whether I was conscious of it or not. I mean how many 3 year olds remember what they were doing the day Kennedy was shot? Not this one.
So many things commonplace today, were then new and exotic. I remember the family’s first microwave oven. A behemoth stainless steel and glass “Amana Radarange”. It was a gift from my brother living in Ohio. I think it was unpacked, and left on the dining room table to be gawked at for quite a long time. No one wanted to be the first to risk using it I guess.
New foods were also being introduced that were also rather exotic. The avocado springs to mind. I’m not even sure we got ripe ones because I just don’t recall anyone being particularly thrilled with it. Coconuts were widely available for some reason and we usually had one in the house. No one was sure how to open it, so often we would just have them so long they would eventually crack from the internal pressure caused by the rot inside. Hey they look like they could withstand direct mortar fire.
Italian food was very popular. I’m not sure if it was all that exotic, but seeing as we weren’t of Italian heritage to us, it sure was. Mom really knew how to make a mean lasagne and spaghetti and meatballs. And oh the garlic bread! Many years later I remember when she learned of Baked Ziti! New and exotic!
If you wanted an Italian dessert you will be sadly disappointed to hear that we had to have to suffer for decades before anyone introduced us to Tiramisu. Back than there was a choice of two Italian desserts: Spumoni or Biscuit Tortoni.
The former was not a favorite in my house even though it was readily available. Spumoni was more or less the fruit cake of the the ice cream dessert kingdom. It was usually a slab of chocolate, vanilla and pistachio ice cream done in layers with candied fruits and nuts usually in the green, pistachio layer. The pistachio was also heavily flavored with bitter almonds which just added to this kid’s “ick” factor.
The other Italian dessert exists mainly on the periphery of my memory. A hazy, fond memory. A name out of the mists. For years, to me, it was “the other one”. The “not spumoni” one. It was the “good one”. I think that, as a kid, I could not remember the name “Biscuit Tortoni”. Or if I could, perhaps I thought it was a distant relative.
Say hi to Auntie Biscuit kids!
Only in my adulthood, and thanks to the dear old Auntie Internet, am I able to form a more distinct picture of that lost treasure. It too was flavored with almonds, but somehow also with something boozy, and had bits in it that were actually delicious and not something to spit out and leave on the plate. There were a lot of disgusting foods developed back in that exploratory decade but Biscuit Tortoni was not one of them.
Now that I knew what it was I, of course, had to make some because I sure couldn’t buy any. A few years ago I was reading various recipes and there are many. They all have different levels of complexity and vary in what bits and pieces go into it. The long and the short of it is that Biscuit Tortoni is ice cream with stuff in it.
My first batch was a cheat of sorts. I took the best vanilla ice cream I could get my hands on, softened it, mixed in some bits and then refroze it. Mistakes were made but on the whole the taste was similar to what I was aiming for. One of the charms of Biscuit Tortoni was that it was made and served in little paper cups. I didn’t have any so I froze the whole mess in one huge tupperware container. The problem with that is the bits kind of settled out. Not the effect I was going for.
I kind of forgot about this dessert after that. My curiosity satisfied. Then, this summer out of the blue, my partner announced that all he wanted for his birthday this year was a batch of Biscuit Tortoni. EEP!
Determined to make the real stuff I went into research mode and came up with a base recipe that seemed to fit my needs. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted so I modified it a little.
I wrote all of this mainly for my own benefit so that I could memorialize the successful recipe. Months from now if it comes up again I’ll hopefully be able to recreate it. I’ll include the link to the inspiration for my recipe at the end. So without further ado:
LOUNGEBOY’S BISCUIT TORTONI
Cup o’ Biscuit Tortoni
4 Large eggs (separated)
1/2 cup almond paste or Marzipan
1/2 cup + 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 -4 tablespoons Ameretto liqueur
1/2 package Amaretti cookies (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams)
1/4 cup Amarena cherries
15 4 ounce paper cups
**Please note this recipe is made with raw eggs. Pasteurized eggs are the safest way to proceed. I used fresh local eggs from a trusted source. Use your head and proceed as you see fit.
Put slivered almonds into a toaster oven and toast them for a few minutes and set aside. Put the cookies in a medium bowl and coarsely crush them with your hand (very easy to do). Cut almond paste into small pieces (1/4″ cubes work) and put them in with the cookie crumbs. Cut cherries into 1/4’s and place them in the bowl with the almond paste and cookie crumbs. Add the almond slivers to this as well and them mix it up with your hand. This will be the “bits” that go into the ice cream base.
Start with a clean mixing bowl and add the egg whites. Using the mixer, start whipping them and toss in 2 tablespoons of sugar. Whip until it forms stiff peaks. Scrap this into a large bowl.
Using the same bowl you just used to whip the egg whites (no need to clean), add the heavy cream. Start whipping this and add 2 tablespoons of sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Scrape this into a clean bowl.
Using the whipped cream mixing bowl, add the egg yokes and sugar. Mix these until they are light and foamy with a nice lemon yellow color. To this, add the extracts and the Ameretto and mix well.
Now fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Then fold the whipped cream and the dry bits into that. Save some of the dry mix to sprinkle on the top of the finished product. And there you have Biscuit Tortoni batter.
Using a ladle or large spoon, fill the paper cups with the batter. Sprinkle some of the reserved dry mix on top and put a cherry in the middle as the topper. Wrap each cup with cling film and freeze. The unfrozen batter is delicious so feel free to lick the bowl!
ps- feel free to play with the amounts of dry bits. We love the taste of the freshly toasted almonds so I added more of that. I also used Amarena Cherries instead of the traditional Maraschino Cherries because to us they taste better and are still very Italian. ENJOY!
As promised, this link features my inspiration
The Fat of Now 