The best Italian desserts.

Panna cotta, which translates to “cooked cream”, is an iconic Italian dessert originating from Piedmont in Northern Italy. This creamy, silky dessert is made from cream, sugar and gelatin which is best compared to custard in its flavour and jelly in its form. The dessert's best asset is its adaptability, with it easily being paired with everything sweet from berry coulis to caramel sauce.

A fantastic place to try out this dessert is L’amorosa. Here is a great space to chill out for a relaxed dining experience with your friends and family. After tucking into your savoury courses, be sure to try out their vanilla panna cotta with passionfruit and millefiori honeycomb. Perfectly showcasing the beautiful simplicity of the dessert with some distinctive supplementary flavours to keep things interesting, L’amorosa’s take on the dessert is one not to be missed.

Get 2 for 1 from Sunday to Friday at L’amorosa using our discounts. Find it at London, 278 King Street, Ravenscourt Park.

For a coffee lover, there’s no more ideal cuisine than Italian as it crops up in so many classic Italian choices. Arguably one of the most delicious and best Italian desserts is the world-famous tiramisu. Again demonstrating that Northern Italy knows what it’s doing when it comes to dessert invention, this Veneto-founded dessert meaning “pick me up” certainly earns its name. Traditionally infused with a caffeine boost from the espresso shot and a hint of booziness from the Marsala wine, ladyfinger sponge cake biscuits, cocoa, eggs, sugar and mascarpone all come together blissfully here.

If you’ve yet to experience the joy of trying out this heavenly dessert, one of the best places to do so is at Mi Amore. This restaurant boasts quality food, a relaxed atmosphere and reasonable pricing, making it an ideal choice for a restaurant in the heart of Aberdeen’s city centre. Their tiramisu adds extra indulgence with a rich coffee and Italian liquori foundation.

You can get 25% off the total bill from Sunday to Thursday here with tastecard. Find it at Aberdeen, 80-82 Huntly Street.

The origins behind this Italian dessert are a little more unclear, but hats off to whoever came up with it as it's been one of the best Italian desserts out there since its popularisation in the 1950s. Proving that keeping it simple is quite often the best way forward, affogato (with a little bit more of a morbid translation of “drowned”) is a combination of piping hot espresso that cascades over a creamy scoop of gelato. The fusion of different temperatures and intensities of flavours make this dessert an easy choice after your main.

Nowhere does an affogato better than Code 34, where the upbeat, modern and inviting atmosphere makes your dessert sampling all the more enjoyable. After trying out their authentically Italian savoury courses, be sure to try out their affogato for the perfect end to your dining out experience.

Get 25% off the total bill on weekdays simply by using your tastecard. Find it at Nottingham, 34 Market Street.

Though tarts are thought to date back all the way to medieval times, Italy gets its fair share (or slice) of credit for the crostata, a rustic form of fruit tart dating to at least the mid-15th century. From there, many countries have put their own unique twist on this dessert, but one of the most irresistible forms has to be the Sicilian lemon tart. Sicily, especially renowned for its lemon growing, has got its citrusy goods down to a fine art with its lemons being prized for their exceptional fragrance, intense flavour, and bright yellow colour.

A delightful way to see what Sicilian lemons are all about is in a finely baked tart. Luckily for you, ASK Italian whips these up to excellent quality meaning that you don’t have to book a flight to Italy to get a taste. ASK Italian prides itself on being the best spot to find authentic Italian food and culture away from the country itself. With over 65 restaurants across the country, your nearest Sicilian lemon tart is just a hop, skip and jump away.

Get our 2 for 1 ASK Italian deals from Sunday to Thursday at all of their restaurants in the UK.

Last but not least on our list of the best Italian desserts is the country’s classic speciality, gelato. We mentioned this sweet treat above, but it’s just as scrumptious by itself as it is accompanied with some espresso. This frozen dessert is Italy’s upgrade to ice cream as you know it. With a much creamier texture than your usual stuff by churning it at a slower speed and with less air, there’s a denser quality to gelato that makes it so much more decadent.

As well as the undeniably classic vanilla flavour, gelato is best enjoyed by exploring the range of different ingredients it can be combined with. Bella Italia is the best spot to do so, with the chances being that there’s one not too far away from where you live. At Bella Italia, the options are almost countless with just a handful including blackcurrant and mascarpone, chocolate, strawberry, pistachio and a vegan vanilla.

You can also enjoy Bella Italia with 2 for 1 from Sunday to Thursday in all of their UK outlets.