There is much more than just beautiful panoramas and stunning attractions in Rome: be ready to taste some of the most wonderful dishes you ever had.
There are not only main dishes that you should try: today I am going to tell you about the beautiful desserts that await in a bakery. Stop over when going through the busy streets of Rome.
Roman desserts are sweet, colorful and amazingly delicious.
After all those sightseeing, we do need to get some power back, don’t we?
Wondering how to find the best spots for tasty dessert when in Rome? I have the solution.
Visiting the city on our customized Rome tour?
Than just ask for some foodie stops to be included in your itinerary.
Now, let’s get right into business.
Start dreaming with my Top 7 desserts you can’t miss when visiting Rome.
1. Bignè di San Giuseppe
My first beloved dessert you can taste in Rome is a special recipe that all families in the city cook, or better fry, around March 19th to celebrate Father’s day.
The recipe includes fried choux dough. Its ingredients are milk, butter, flower, sugar and oil. The inside of every small bignè is filled with a creamy vanilla custard.
Every child loves it: it is super delicious and it is a special gift to their daddy.
Bignè di San Giuseppe is also very similar to another Italian desserts that is prepared before Father’s day: they are called zeppole di San Giuseppe and come from Naples.
Great with coffee or tea, maybe for an afternoon break, order some bignè di San Giuseppe at your favourite bakery.
2. Maritozzo con la panna
Another children’s favourite is maritozzo con la panna. It is a great dessert for the little ones, but also for all ages. In fact, I love it so much!
Oil, sugar, milk, butter and flour are mixed in a nice and soft dough, baked in the oven. Tasty and very sweet, maritozzi are usually eaten as an afternoon snack around all suburbs in Rome.
Those fluffy donuts are cut open and filled with sweet whipped cream, a lot of it.
But there is a small twist that I love even more: in the warm summer days you will be able to order maritozzi filled with ice-cream.
3. Ricotta fritta o condita
This next one, amongst the most delicious desserts that you can’t miss when visiting Rome is the simpler and tastier dish you could possibly have during the trip.
This quick and easy to cook dish also comes in a savoury version with tomato and basil, as if to represent the italian tricolore in the national flag.
But I love the sweet version so much: ricotta cheese is fried and served with honey, fresh or dry fruits, chocolate or nuts.
Simple, but super tasty! Ask your local bakery or café for their recipe: you will easily be able to reproduce it for your friends and family back home.
4. Crostata con le visciole
When you are out and about in Rome, surely you cannot miss out on this delicious traditional dessert. Look around you: most cafes’ and bakeries’ show their crostata in a shelf by the window.
The perfect position to attract all foodies out there!
You can buy a single slice, or maybe the whole cake as it can be a great gift to your beloved back home.
Visciole is a special variety of cherries that grows in the countryside surrounding Rome. They are meaty and juicy, a dark red shade.
Roman grandmas bake crostata con le visciole for afternoon tea. They are able to prepare such a simple dish that forces everyone to sit together at the dining table.
It look amazingly delicious, I let you guess about the taste!
5. Ciambelline al vino
Those delicious biscuits are every roman grandma’s favourite. The simple recipe combines flour, sugar, oil and yeast. Then, this dessert can be prepared in two different twists: with the addition of a glass of white or red wine.
Perfect with an afternoon tea or coffee cup, ciambelline are small donut shaped biscuits that are available in most cafés or bakeries in Rome.
Follow me in one of the many best Rome tours you can book through this website and we can pick the best spots to have a serve of ciambelline al vino with a cappuccino or even hot chocolate.
This dessert is children safe: the alcohol cooks off in the oven, do not worry!
6. Panpepato
Forget your gingerbread: come and taste this delicious Roman dessert. This dessert is very typically eaten in Christmas time, but you are still able to find it in some bakeries in Rome and in the other central regions in Italy.
The best thing is that there is no original recipe: every family likes to give it a good twist!
Almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts, orange zest, raisins, cinnamon, honey and dark chocolate. Wondering why it is called “spicy”? Let me explain you: the last ingredient in this cake is black pepper.
Panpepato is a great dessert that can last (when homemade) at least a week even outside the fridge. Great idea for souvenirs!
7. Gelato
When visiting Rome, one cannot avoid trying the most traditional italian dessert of all times.
Gelato is probably one of the most known italian word and has been exported to a bunch of other different languages.
You in fact might have tried gelato somewhere else. But believe me, there is no such icecream as good as the one you can taste in the streets of Rome.
Great as an after dinner (I even find digestive skills in it) but also to have a break from all that busy sightseeing.
Join me in a Vespa tour and feel that Roman Holiday vibe: we can stop over in one of the best roman gelateria to your choice.
Or for a slice of any other top 7 dessert you can’t miss when visiting Rome.
You will have even more fun and memories to store in your heart forever!
