From hearty inland crops to fresh food of the sea, the Venetian region covers it all. Host Michael Bonacini of Gusto TV’s ‘Bonacini’s Italy’ whips up a stunner of a dolce. Whether you’re in the mood to share or feeling a little selfish, Michael’s Giant Almond Crumb Biscuit (Fregolata) covers it all. Buttery, sweet, and satisfyingly crumbly, this biscuit is sure to cap off a memorable dinner!

Serves 8

gustotv.com/recipes

INGREDIENTS
½ cup (120 ml) whole, blanched almonds, plus more for serving
1 ½ cups (350 ml) flour, plus more if needed
6 tablespoons (90 ml) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) cold butter, cut in squares
1 egg, whisked
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) almond extract
2 tablespoons (30 ml) whipping cream, plus more if needed
Icing sugar, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

Toast almonds in a hot skillet until fragrant and golden.

Pulse toasted almonds in a food processor until ground medium-fine. Add flour, sugar, and salt to food processor and pulse to combine.

Add butter and pulse briefly until mixture is grainy in texture.

In a separate bowl, combine egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, and cream and whisk to combine.

Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients in the food processor and pulse until pebbly and crumbly (add more flour or cream to adjust texture if required).

Line a 10-inch (25.5 cm) tart pan with parchment paper.

Use fingertips to drop fingerfuls of batter into the tart pan until entire bottom is covered. Press down gently to spread.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or golden brown.

Allow biscuit to cool before removing from tart pan and serving. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Sprinkle with additional almonds.

Tiger Pound Cake uses sour cream to make the cake moist. Use ice cream scoops to plop the chocolate batter on the orange batter as a swirling mechanism.

Serves 10

patijinich.com

INGREDIENTS
2 cups unsalted butter plus more to grease a 10 x 3.5 inch bundt pan
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more to dust the bundt pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch kosher or coarse sea salt
8 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a bundt pan and coat with flour, dusting off any excess flour.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter using the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until soft and creamy, anywhere from 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy and puffy.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the eggs with vanilla and sour cream.

Reduce the mixer speed to low, and take turns adding flour mixture and egg mixture. Continue beating until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula if need be. Transfer 1/3 the dough to another bowl, leaving the remaining 2/3 of the dough in the mixer.

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the hot water and cocoa. With a rubber spatula, fold the cocoa mixture into the 1/3 of the batter set aside in an extra bowl until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

To the batter left in the mixer, add the orange zest, almond extract and orange juice, and beat until completely mixed.

With two ice cream scoops or measuring cups, alternate dropping the chocolate batter and the orange-almond batter into the bundt pan. When all the batter is in the pan, run a butter knife or a skewer through it to create the marbled look.

Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes, until springy to the touch, lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out moist, but not wet. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool.

Once cool, run a butter knife around the cake and invert onto a platter. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Low-fat and from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS
3 large eggs
1 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 18″x12″x1″ baking sheet. Combine first 4
ingredients in bowl of heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with a paddle
attachment. Beat until well blended. Mix flour, almonds, cinnamon, baking
soda and salt in medium bowl. Gradually add to egg mixture, beating until
blended (dough will be soft).

Turn dough out onto floured surface and gather together. Roll dough between
palms and work surface into 16-inch-long log. Transfer to prepared
sheet.Flatten log to 1-inch thickness. Bake until light brown and cracked on
top, about 30 minutes. Transfer sheet to rack; cool log 10 minutes. Reduce
oven temperature to 325 F.

Transfer warm log to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut log on sharp
diagonal into 1/4 – to 1/3 – inch thick slices. Arrange on baking sheets.
Bake 10 minutes per side. Transfer to racks and cool. (biscotti will harden
while cooling).

Can be made ahead. Store airtight up to 1 week.