As the new line started popping up in the stores, the
history of Neapolitan Ice Cream—the inspiration for our Neapolitan pastry—came
into question. Was it a truly Italian
invention? Did it harken from Naples, or
somewhere else? Who came up with the
brilliant idea to put Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry ice creams together to
make one phenomenal dessert?
 |
| Neapolitan Flavors in an Ice Cream Treat |
While Neapolitan ice cream as we know it in America was not
a traditional Italian dessert, it was an interpretation of another dessert
known here as Spumoni (or spumone in Italy) that was introduced to America
around 1870 by Italian immigrants. Spumone is a traditional dessert that
originated in Naples, and consisted of a variety of flavors of gelato
(typically cherry, chocolate and pistachio) that were shaped into a mold with
layers of nuts and fruit separating the flavors. This beautifully shaped dessert was then cut
and served in thick slices.
 |
| Spumone |
A majority of Ice Cream Shoppes in the US in the 19th
century were owned and operated by Italian Americans, who began to introduce
this concoction. However, over time, the
owners of these Shoppes began to eliminate the nuts and fruit which were costly
additions, and began to develop an American hybrid that would incorporate the
three most popular flavors at the time: Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla. Fans of ice cream began referring to this new
dessert as “Neapolitan” because of its connection to the *real* Neapolitan
dessert, Spumone. Yet another popular “American” dessert
that is said to have originated from spumone
is the banana split. In fact, one might
argue that this is even closer to the original recipe because of the addition
of fruit, nuts and whipped cream to the three flavors of ice cream!
Our Neapolitan Pastry is yet another riff on the original
idea created in Naples long ago, but we think our forefathers would be quite
proud. Two layers of chocolate sponge
cake are separated by a layer of strawberry mousse, then topped with Bavarian
cream (a mixture of whipped cream and cream cheese), chocolate crumbles, and
piped with chocolate ganache and another small dollop of the strawberry mousse.
 |
| Termini's Neapolitan Pastry |
Like its predecessors, the layers are kept separate to
ensure a beautiful presentation, but we personally think it tastes best when
you take a bite with just a little of everything! However you decide to tackle it, we hope you
enjoy our interpretation of this classic Italian-American invention!
All our best,
Termini Brothers Bakery
No comments:
Post a Comment