It's A Delight! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Amalfi lemon

Amalfi lemons are highly prized, and seem to grow in every location possible along the Amalfi Coast. They are seen in pots on balconies, in gardens, and growing on coastal terraces. They are huge in comparison to the lemons that Americans can find at the store, but they honestly look a little deformed as they are covered with little bumps. Their Italian name, "Sfusato Amalfitano", comes from their area of origin, as well as the tapered end, commonly called a "sfusato", or spindle, in Italian. Why do chefs like them so much? They produce about 25% of their volume in juice. And, they are so sweet that it is actually a pleasant experience to eat one that is peeled and just cut into pieces. Really.

There are also other lemon varieties, such as the limone di Sorrento, grown in the area of Campania in Italy, however, they are not as sweet. American recipes suggest substituting the Amalfi lemon in Delizia al Limone for the Meyer lemon found in the U.S., but trust me, it's not quite the same.

Answer: Dome

After mixing the ingredients to make the batter, it is poured into pans with semi-spheres that measure 7 cm in diameter. Why? That is the traditional shape used to make the cake. It allows the air bubbles to expand more while baking, which then paves the way for success in the next steps in its production. I'm not kidding - when going to a pastry shop there are uniform rows and rows of these dome-shaped desserts just waiting for consumption. I think that is part of its charm.

Anyway, I must say that it is possible to find Delizia al Limone made into a larger cake, and that was how it was originally imagined. But isn't it a lot easier to know the exact number you need for the number of people coming to your luncheon? Of course, some might want two of them!

Answer: Sponge

Whipped whole eggs are the leavening agent in Sal's dessert. In his video he recommends whipping the egg and sugar mixture for at least ten minutes, with each minute making the cake lighter and fluffier! In fact, as he is talking, he decides that the eggs and sugar should be mixed at least twelve minutes. This does make the process rather tricky, as the dry ingredients have to be added slowly with special care as to not ruin the fluffiness of the eggs and sugar.

Some recipes suggest using Génoise cake, which is a type of sponge cake that is made the same way with the addition of butter. The butter makes the cake more moist and flavorful.

Answer: Limoncello

Okay! If you want to make a lemon dessert even more lemony, what do you add? More lemon! Limoncello is most often used as an after dinner digestif. Served in a very cold shot glass, it is just the thing needed after an authentic Italian meal. It has been around for so long that no one really knows who invented it!

Many people who live on the Amalfi Coast make limoncello at home, using grappa, a by-product of the wine industry, sugar, water, and lemons. They peel the lemons and allow the rinds to soak in the grappa for a long time - at least twenty days - in a cool, dry place. Then the mixture is mixed with a sugary syrup and is ready for use!

Limoncello is used in the process of making Delizia al Limone mixed with more sugary syrup. Some recipes suggest soaking the cake in the solution, while others say to just brush it on the cake.

Answer: True

I'm not kidding; these lemons are so fragrant that entire towns smell like a citrus grove. Much of the fragrance and flavor comes from essential oils found in the rind, or peeling, of the lemon. And even though the lemons are not certified as being organically grown, the trees are not chemically treated, so the rind is completely edible. Some people say that they enjoy eating it with just a little sprinkle of salt. Even the pith is not especially bitter to taste.

For those of you who think this sound gross, I must remind you that citrus fruits in the U.S. normally have a natural waxy coating, which is washed off when they are being sold commercially. Sellers then apply - hopefully - a natural wax, such as beeswax, to help lengthen the shelf life and make it appear to be pretty. Sometimes a petroleum-based wax (!) is used. Now that can be removed by soaking the fruit in a bowl of extremely hot water and giving it a good rub. But it really doesn't make me enthused about using the peeling for zest, let alone outright eating it.

In watching a video made by Sal de Riso, the pastry chef known for perfecting the recipe, the peel of two lemons is even used in making the whipped cream, and he recommends leaving the mixture in the refrigerator for at least twelve hours before whipping it.

Answer: Crema pasticcera

When making a traditional recipe there is a three-step process for making the filling for the cake. One step involves making a sort of lemon curd, which is commonly called lemon cream in the recipes. Then a custard cream is made, which Italians call crema pasticcera. This is made with milk, cream, lemon zest, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla pods, potato starch, and salt. Then the lemony wonderful whipped cream is added. All three are mixed together to make the cake filling.

Crèma pasticcera can be made with a variety of flavors - like coffee, Nutella, peanut butter or cocoa - and is not only used as a pastry filling, as with Delizia al Limone, but is also good to eat on its own or as a topping for fruit.

Did you know that a pasticceria in Italy is a pastry shop?

Answer: Gummy Bears

While I'm sure that any solid confectionery put on the top of the dessert would not ruin the taste, gummy bears are NEVER seen on a traditional Delizia al Limone. The original recipe used cherries - but it wasn't nearly as lemony as today's version; it is common to see a piece of chocolate, lemon zest, or whipped cream on the top of the little cakes. But - if you want a real treat - find one that is topped with a wild strawberry as seen in the picture.

Wild strawberries may not look like much, but trust me. They are just another one of the gems that are found on the Amalfi Coast! Like many of the other crops in the area, they benefit from the abundant sunshine and rich volcanic soil. They don't even require sugar!

Answer: Whipping cream, lemon cream, custard cream and more cream!

I'm really glad I watched a video because I otherwise would have never believed how such a smooth, creamy coating is achieved. After the mixture is infused into the cake, what is left is used for the coating. More cream is added to make the mixture kind of soupy.

The cakes are removed from the freezer, where they have been about twenty minutes, and are literally dipped into the mixture by hand to achieve the smooth coating. They are garnished with more whipped cream and then they are refrigerated for at least six hours before they are ready to eat! That's a long time to have to wait!

Answer: Minori

The sale of lemon products is an important, booming business along the Amalfi Coast, which stretches for about 40 kilometers (25 miles) and includes thirteen municipalities. I choose Minori because Sal De Riso, the pastry chef who is credited with perfecting the recipe for Delizia al Limone, has a business located there.

The warm sunny climate and fertile volcanic soil found along the Amalfi Coast allow for as many as four crops of lemons to be harvested every year. And the trees are important for another reason as well. Much of the Amalfi Coast consists of rocky terraces. In an area that might be prone to landslides, the roots of the lemon trees help prevent that from happening. Believe it or not, the lemon trees are protected by law!

Answer: False

We know the Romans in the area had lemons available to them from the art they left behind, but scientists do not believe that the ancestors of Amalfi lemons were introduced into the area until traders from the Middle East arrived. By the 1000s, these lemons had been crossbred with oranges, and over hundreds of years they slowly evolved into the famous lemons that exist today. Actually, this delicious dessert was not "invented" until 1978.

Pastry chef Carmine Marzuillo was working for a hotel in Sorrento, Italy, at the time and is credited with creating the first Delizia al Limone. The original dessert was a large cake infused with lemon flavor and topped with cherries. His brother, who was a chef at a nearby restaurant in town, was the one who changed it into the single serving dessert that is popular today. In 1978 Delizia al Limone was awarded a gold medal at the Chef's Association Convention.

Sal De Riso, is credited with spreading the popularity of the dessert, and so is Stanley Tucci; he featured it on his program, "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" (2021).