Everyone loves dessert, and that is especially true when it comes to Italian desserts. Italy is known for its delicious delicacies and dishes, and their desserts are no different. As a people, the Italians are known for creating rich and beautiful creations. If you are not familiar with Italian desserts, you are in for quite a sweet treat.

The truth is that there are a plethora of different dessert varieties that come from Italy. In fact, the options are so numerous that it is really impossible to list all of them. However, there are a few favorites that nearly everyone has at least heard of, even if they haven't had the pleasure of tasting yet.

Perhaps the most commonly sampled Italian dessert is gelato. You've heard the old saying "you scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream." Well, if people scream for ice cream then they must be standing up and cheering when it comes to gelato. Gelato is the ice cream of Italy. It is a cool frozen treat that is smooth, creamy and infused with mouthwatering flavors. These flavors can be somewhat traditional like chocolate and vanilla, but they can also be rather obscure like pistachio, walnut, and tiramisù. What makes gelato really unique is that it is made by true Italian food artisans, using fresh ingredients from fruit to milk.

Speaking of tiramisù, it is another one of the delicious desserts that Italy has created. The name tiramisù translates to mean "lift me up," and the taste of this dish certainly does. It consists of delicate ladyfingers that have been soaked in coffee that are carefully layered with a Mascarpone cheese mixture that has been mixed with a coffee flavored liqueur. Finally, it is sprinkled with a flavor rich cocoa powder.

During the holiday season you may have seen Panettone, but if you haven't you are really missing out. Panettone typically adorns an Italian Christmas table. It is a cake filled with candied fruits and raisins. The dough itself needs to rise for about 20 hours before you can put it into the oven to bake. Typically, you place it into a dome shaped pan so that it will form that same type of shape making it a festive and beautiful addition to any holiday table.

Another fantastically famous Italian dessert is a Cannoli (or Cannolo in singular form). Basically, this is a tube form of pastry dough that is then fried to a golden brown. The pastry tube is then filled with a delicious cream made of sweet ricotta cheese. The ends of the cheese mixture are dressed with candied fruit or with small chocolate chips.

These are just a few examples of why Italian desserts have become so popular. With the tantalizing flavors, textures, and appearances it is no wonder that people flock to these dishes. The most exciting, thought, is that these are just a few of the delicious dishes waiting for you to discover in the world of Italian desserts. As per many Italian dishes, the regional variety and diversity of Italian desserts is often unknown abroad.