We finally made it to the Amalfi coast (Costiera Amalfitana) that I always used to look up on the internet and now I was there for real. What a feeling, what a sight!
I was blown away with colorful houses literally carved into the rocks right on the edge. Fascinating.

Except sightseeing, I had a goal to visit a very famous ''pasticceria'' Del Riso. And so I decided to call Signor Salvatore Del Riso and see if we could meet him and visit the bakeshop. Let me tell you, I started learning Italian for the first time 6 months ago, but talking on the phone with him was quite a challenge. No one at his company spoke english, so I had to struggle, which was actually a good thing.
At the end I was very proud, because I organized a meeting, tour, with the understanding of the location, and all of that with my broken Italian :)



On this photo I wanted to show you how they grow lemons. Everything underneath that house are lemon trees! It's unbelieveable how many of them there are.
The whole Amalfi coast is like that, it's no wonder they utilize it to the maximum. The bakeshop was a dream. If I haven't seen that before I wouldn't think a place like that exists. They are just renovating the space, which will be amazing once it's done; lots of windows, sunlight, machinery is like WOW, organization, seasonality is respected - they freeze for example wild strawberries during the season for the rest of the year. If I talk about the quality of ingredients, I don't know where to start - from high class 83% fat German butter, fresh cream, eggs from Verona, their own pear compote, candied orange and lemon peel...



This was an example of a wedding cake they did that day that will be set up once it reaches its location.
At the end I had to ask for employment, because I would want to work there immediately! At the moment they are not hiring, but....I will stay in touch ;)

After an 1 hour tour, we went to the real pasticceria, sat down, and enjoyed some of their delicacies. Here they are:



This is the best looking Cassata I have seen during the trip and I had to get it, because I never tried it before. Well, what should I say....It's OK. To start of, I am not a fan of florescent looking candied friuts. Then, I don't like the chocolate chips in it either, it just doesn't work for me. The body of the cake is cheese base, and it's quite good, but overall I am not a fan.



This is Signor's De Riso's signature cake with ricotta and pears. It contains the pear compote I tried at the bakeshop, which has such a strong, almost artificial aroma. He said they only add a bit of rum to it. The crust was a version of graham crust, but better. All in all, the flavors go together really well. This is also a classic gelato combination, you see it everywhere!



Since it was Stacey's birthday she wished a piece of chocolate cake. This was a very simple cake made with dark chocolate, ground almonds, butter, eggs, and sugar. Simple, but a bit dry towards the end.



These last two are the absolute winners for me. This little lemon soaked ball was fabulous. It seems like it is a biscuit/sponge enriched with some almond flour, baked and then soaked in the wonderful fresh lemon juice.



Now THIS is a dessert of this area. No matter where you go you will find it, but nowhere as good as here, trust me. It is called ''Delizia di limone'' and it's oh so good. The process of making it takes some time, but it's worth it. It consists of biscuit/sponge filled with lemon pastry cream which is then lightly soaked with some lemon syrup and then enrobed in a creamy lemon glaze. So if you like lemons...I actually bought the book of Signor De Riso and I can't wait to to try a few things.
You have no idea how much we all enjoyed this visit, desserts, and the whole experience. I am still under such impression of the whole place and concept, and I am anticipating an e-mail from De Riso ;)

Click here to see the web site.