Old Italian pastry recipes

[DOMINICK]

I am trying to locate pastry recipes that I grew up with back in the 40's.

1) The Italian rum wedding cake.
2) Partichini pastry
3) Napolitan pastry
All help would be appreciated.

[mudbug]

Welcome to Cheftalk. Can you please describe the Partichini pastry?
What does it look like? What are typical ingredients? Country of origin? Or heritage?


Recipes for Italian Rum Cake:

http://www.google.com/search?client=...ppa+Inglese%22

http://www.google.com/search?num=100...gs&btnG=Search

pastiera napoletana
http://www.ischiamarket.com/english/ricettepastiera.htm
http://www.recipelink.com/mf/2/9542

Neapolitan Cake
http://english.incucina.tv/recipes/r...ke/ricetta.asp

More: http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[DOMINICK]

I find it hard to describe what was in this pastry.
The time I tasted this pastry was back in the 40"s.
It was baked by Salvatore Piantedosi from Avellino, Italy. He opened his bread and pastry business in 1916 in Everett, Massachusetts. His sons now bake and distribute bread only throughout the U.S. from Malden Mass.
The only one I know who makes this pastry is in a small bakery in Woodlawn, Mass. In fact they make all of the above pastries.
I am now in my 70's and live in Florida where bakeries never heard of the above pastries. In my opinion, this pastry was to die for.
I don,t know if this info will help.

[Mezzaluna]

I know where some Italian cooks and chefs hang out: Slow Travel They have a food and cooking forum. One member is a CIA-trained pastry chef who has her own cooking school; she's very personable and may be able to help you. Here is her site. There are many other helpful food enthusiasts with ideas. They're as friendly as we are here.

[DOMINICK]

MEZZALUNA
Thank you for your help. I'll give them a try.

Thanks to all who responded to my questions.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Well, not to show late, but to say I understand what you are after. If not the actual pastries. There are many things of my childhood I enjoyed that have dissapeared with time, and my own mind is a sieve. I can close my eyes and remember a taste or an aroma, but I can not remember a name to save my life

Good luck and keep us apprised of how you make out.

[DOMINICK]

Hi, I'm back.
I just flew in from the North End in Boston and found the pastry I was asking about.
It is called PERUGINI and it's ingredients I'm guessing is as follows:
The top layer is a pastry dough sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Then there is about a 1/4" layer of Italian cream (whatever that is).
The center has some sort of sponge cake between 1" & 1-1/2" thick soaked with boiled run (?)
Then another layer of Italian cream.
Finally a bottom layer of pastry dough.

I don't know if this helps. If it makes sense to you I would appreciate a breakdown of this recipe so I can try to make it myself.
Thanks for all your help,
Dominick

[nowIamone]

epicurious.com had a great italian food forum, you could find most recipes there, and many of them would appear with differant names, as Italian families and regions make there own names for a favorite recipe.

[DOMINICK]

MEZZALUNA
MUDBUG
Did the two of you give up on me?

[jade]

Hi, My grandfather came to this country from Sicliy and settled in the North End of Boston. I have fond memories of him coming to my Dad's house on Sundays with these miniture creampuffs, like a Dunkin munchkin filled with cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Also a sunday favorite was the Parigini made with soft cake layers with rum and topped with powdered sugar. You can find these at Mikes Pastry in the North End of Boston. The website to go to would be mikespastry.com. You probably have already found information, but I thought I would pass this along since I long for these old favorites too. They are hard to find in South Carolina! Thanks for the memories.

Jade