The very authen­tic dessert of Tuscany is the cantucci al vinsanto. History and dedica­tion are the basis for this Tuscan classic. Cantucci are delicious oblong almond biscuits. Tradi­tio­nally they are very dry, which in former times was important to keep well. For this reason, before eating, they are briefly immer­sed in vinsanto with a gesture of religious symbo­lism. So they melt on the tongue. Vinsanto is a liqueur-like wine made from air-dried, parti­ally raisi­ned grapes, aged in wooden barrels. Because it is such a fine drop, still today, vinsanto is only served in the small gottino glass. Histo­ri­cally, it is said to have origi­na­ted from altar wine. Accor­ding to legend, in the 14th century a Franciscan monk, in a despe­rate attempt to heal the plague victims of Siena, adminis­te­red the Mass wine to the dying. Proba­bly this didn’t save them from the plague, but at least they experi­en­ced a moment of bliss.

In the past, a typical dessert for the rural popula­tion of Tuscany, inclu­ding for child­ren, is the simple pane vino zucchero. A slice of dry bread is drizz­led with red wine and sprink­led with sugar. However, this tradi­tion has been develo­ped further and nowadays in Tuscany we opt for more sophisti­ca­ted crostate alla marmel­lata. At holiday home Podere Palazzone we prepare these short­crust cakes with homemade jams. For example, made of apricots, grapes or figs from our garden. Delicious cakes are also the classic choco­late cake, the apple pie and the fruit cake with straw­ber­ries and fragrant crema pastic­ciera.

On the one hand, creamy Italian desserts are surely not the lightest. But, on the other hand, they are proba­bly the most delicious desserts Italian cuisine has to offer. Who doesn’t get tears of joy when dipping his spoon into a cocoa sprink­led tiramisù? Also, whose mouth doesn’t water at the sight of a mousse al ciocco­lato? How can you not get in a good mood when crack­ing the caramel shell of a crema catal­ana? Not to mention our panna cotta with homemade coffee syrup. If that’s not enough, you can try the choco­late covered profi­te­r­oles or the salame al ciocco­lato. Likewise, at carni­val we enjoy the fritelle di carne­vale. These are small fried dough­nut, just big enough for one bite. Try them filled with crema pastic­ciera and you will wish the carni­val season would never end.

Not only for child­ren ice cream is a favou­rite dessert in holiday home Podere Palazzone. Because, what is more refres­hing than an ice cream with or without a crunchy choco­late crust? When it comes to the sorbet, a specialty of the Mediter­ra­nean, imagi­na­tion knows no bounds. You will get deligh­ted by our sorbetto alla salvia. Not to mention the classic sorbetto al limone, the sorbetto alla menta and the sorbetto al basilico. Obviously, made with herbs from our garden. Refres­hing, delicious and digestive.

Fruit is usually the healt­hiest way to end a meal. Just near to our Agritu­rismo we collect cherries, figs and apricots. We also trans­form part of it into jam. Thus we enjoy a kind of spring feeling 365 days a year. From Terri­ciola, just behind Volterra, we get excel­lent straw­ber­ries. Instead, during summer all is about melons, be it water­me­lons or honey­dew melons. In winter, small street vendors bring the best oranges straight from Sicilian citrus farmer. A typical Italian dessert is the macedo­nia, a mixed fruit salad. For this purpose, we use a variety of seaso­nal fruits, mainly from the Maremma. But also peaches from Sardi­nia, apples from Trentino or kiwis from Romagna.

Tuscany is a region of excel­lent wines. There­fore, it is also a region of good grappa. At holiday home Podere Palazzone we refine grappa with rue, a culinary herb with great medicinal proper­ties. With our olives, on the other hand, we prepare an interes­t­ing, sweet olive grappa. Perfect for ending dinner at our restaurant. A sip of it from the cicchetto and then we look forward to bed.