Italian Spumoni Towers Recipes

ITALIAN SPUMONI COOKIES

Steps:

• Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 5-10 minutes to soften. In a large bowl, beat cookie dough and 3/4 cup flour until combined. Divide dough into three portions., Add remaining flour, cherries and if desired red food coloring to one portion. Add cocoa and liqueur to the second portion. Add pistachios and if desired green food coloring to the remaining portion., Roll each portion between two pieces of waxed paper into an 8x6-in. rectangle. Remove waxed paper. Place cherry rectangle on a piece of plastic wrap. Layer with chocolate and pistachio rectangles; press together lightly. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. Cut chilled dough in half widthwise. Return one rectangle to the refrigerator. Cut remaining rectangle into 1/4-in. slices. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough., Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

VALERIE'S SPUMONI

Steps:

• Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch aluminum loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with plastic wrap on all sides, leaving a 2-inch overhang; the cooking spray will help the plastic stick directly to the sides of the pan.
• In a food processor, pulse the chocolate wafers until very fine, like sand. Add the chocolate sauce and pulse a few more times until the mixture comes together. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and firmly press into the bottom of the pan to create a crust. Freeze for 30 minutes to set.
• Meanwhile, remove the chocolate-chocolate chip gelato from the freezer to soften. After 30 minutes, remove the loaf pan from the freezer and spread the chocolate gelato over the crust; use a small offset or rubber spatula to spread the gelato into a flat, even layer. Return the loaf pan to the freezer for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, let the vanilla bean gelato soften at room temperature.
• When the vanilla gelato has softened, transfer it to a bowl and stir in the sliced Amarena cherries, the Amarena syrup and the red food coloring if using. Mix until the cherries are evenly dispersed and the food coloring is completely incorporated. Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and evenly spread the cherry gelato over the chocolate gelato. Place back in the freezer for at least 1 hour more; it takes longer for the cherry layer to set.
• Thirty minutes before the cherry layer is set, remove the pistachio gelato from the freezer to soften. When softened, spread in an even layer over the cherry gelato; the pistachio layer should come up nearly to the top of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
• When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the top of the pan and invert the spumoni onto a cutting board. Gently lift the loaf pan away and remove the remaining plastic wrap. Slice the spumoni into 3/4-inch slices, using a chef's knife dipped in warm water; dip the knife in the warm water between each slice. Serve immediately.

SPUMONI TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of three greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper. Prepare cake mix batter according to package directions, adding almond extract before mixing batter. Transfer to prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool as package directs., In a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Place 1-1/2 cups whipped cream in each of 3 bowls. In a another bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix 2 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold pudding into 1 bowl of whipped cream. In second bowl of whipped cream, beat in 3 tablespoon cream cheese, cocoa and remaining confectioners' sugar until combined. In third bowl, beat in maraschino cherries, almond extract and remaining cream cheese., Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with pistachio filling. Top with another cake layer; spread with maraschino filling. Top with remaining cake layer; spread with chocolate filling. Refrigerate until serving.

ITALIAN SPUMONI TOWERS

Steps:

• Using a round cookie cutter or small can, trim the sliced pound cake into disks. Layer, starting with a slice of pound cake, then a small scoop of chocolate ice cream, a slice of pound cake, then pistachio ice cream, a slice of pound cake, and strawberry ice cream, finishing with a slice of pound cake to form spumoni towers. Individually wrap and freeze to set. To serve, place on a rack set over a baking sheet, and pour sauce over top to cover. Transfer to dessert plates and serve.

ITALIAN INN SPUMONI

Steps:

• Soften the ice creams in a large bowl. Fold in 1 cup dried fruit of choice, pecans and brandy.
• Just barely fold together so that the ice creams.
• do not mix with each other completely.
• Refreeze. Cook time is estimated freezer time.