Vanilla

It’s impossible to walk into any bakery in Italy without seeing a lattice-covered jam-filled tart called a crostata, so when I penciled out a short list of the desserts I would want to make at Mozza, it was only natural that crostata was on that list. For the longest time, I just couldn’t decide how I wanted to serve it. An unadorned crostata seemed fine for a bakery, but it looked too naked on the plate to serve alone at the Pizzeria. At the same time, I was struggling with how to incorporate another Italian favorite, panna cotta, into our repertoire. Somehow, in the course of all of my experimenting, I got the idea to substitute the creaminess of gelato, the most obvious accompaniment to a fruit tart, with the creaminess of panna cotta, and I put the crostata and panna cotta together. It worked, solving both problems at the same time. We drizzle the panna cotta with saba, Sardinian grape must. What we created was a dessert built of all Italian elements that, though you would never see them together in Italy, somehow work. I’m proud of that. The recipe makes twelve crostate, four more than you will serve with the panna cotta. I based the yield on the number of crostate the dough would make—and I figured you could find someone to eat the extras. You will need twelve 1/2-cup miniature brioche molds to make the panna cotta, though you could use 2-ounce ramekins—your panna cotta will taste just as good, it just won’t look as pretty. The crostata dough is the same as the Pasta Frolla (page 276) with toasted sesame seeds added. Dahlia and I got the idea when she was working on a sesame-seed biscotti. We didn’t like the biscotti enough to include them in our repertoire, but we really liked the subtle flavor and crunch that the seeds added to the dough.

Americans think of vanilla as “plain” ice cream, the connotation often being that it is boring. But vanilla, if it’s done well, is neither plain nor boring. Although they are expensive, it’s worth the extra money to buy large, plump vanilla beans, which will impart significantly more flavor than lesser-quality beans. My favorite are Tahitian.

These are chewy caramels with the rich, mellow flavor of pure vanilla.

Madagascar grows some of the world’s most flavorful vanilla beans. Bourbon vanilla is not made with bourbon at all. It is named after the Bourbon kings of France, who brought vanilla cultivation to Madagascar during their rule. When vanilla and chocolate are combined, the flavor of both is enhanced and deepened.

The fluffy exterior of this cake conceals a delicious pink filling, made simply by combining some of the frosting with raspberry jam.

The crêpe batter can be made through step 1 up to 1 day in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. When assembling the gâteau, do not spread the cream and jam to the edges on the bottom layers, because the weight of the top will push out the filling. The gâteau should be assembled no more than 2 hours before serving.

The frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Before using, bring to room temperature; beat with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed until smooth.

The cake layers can be wrapped well in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days; trim tops just before assembling. The frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Before using, bring to room temperature; beat with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed until smooth. The frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Before using, bring to room temperature; beat with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed until smooth.