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sweet milk gnocchi
Milk Gnocchi/ Gnocchi di latte (custard using sugar, egg yolks, milk, starch and vanilla; re-baked)
Originated from: Italy
Occasion: Any time
Contributed by: Taken from "The Italian Cook Book" by Mrs. Maria Gentile (1919)

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Ingredients

1 quart of milk
9 ounces sugar
4 ounces starch in powder
8 yolks of eggs
A taste of vanilla




Directions

Mix everything together as you would do for a cream and put on the fire in a saucepan, continually stirring with a ladle.

When the mixture has become hard keep it a few moments more on the fire and then pour it in a plate to make it about half an inch thick and cut it into diamonds when it is cold. Put these diamonds one over the other with symmetry in a baking tin or in a fire proof glass plate, with some little pieces of butter in between and brown them a little in the oven.

Serve hot.




Notes

The recipe in this entry was first published in "The Italian Cook Book, The Art of Eating Well, Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine, Pastries, Sweets, Frozen Delicacies and Syrups," compiled by Mrs. Maria Gentile (New York, Italian Book Co., 1919). For the complete copyright-free text visit www.archive.org.... P.S. This is the strangest sweet gnocchi I have ever run across. First the batter is hardened, turned into a sort of custard, then it is cut into diamonds and then it is presented as a sandwich which is baked in the oven. Personally this recipe does not appeal to me. I can't imagine why anyone would want to take so much trouble to do it. Back in 1919 those Italians who could afford to eat this dish (Uses 6 eggs!) must have had kitchen maids who did all the work. Possibly those who worked in the kitchen liked the challenge of presenting desserts which were as complicated to make as they appeared, and if they didn't like the challenge then this dish must have been a real drudgery. Or maybe not. Hard to say. Photo and comments: Mary Melfi.

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