Italian-made excellence, with high-quality ingredients and flavours from the past. As they gradually resume activities after months of lockdown, pastry makers are in no doubt: the secret to success now is adopting a strategy that strikes the right balance between new ideas and tradition. Take, for example, PreGel, which for its artisanal kitchens, pastry shops and bakeries has come up with a new range of mixes for cake-making called Maxima. “A complete range of ready mixes for preparing traditional confections, with all the genuine flavours of the cakes we remember from the past, distinguishing themselves for the sheer quality of the ingredients used to make them.” The new assortment, says the Emilia-based company, can be used to make anything from muffins and donuts to plum cake and Sachertorte, with a choice of bases (sponge-cake, choux pastry), custard cream fillings, toppings and icing. PreGel also goes one step further by supplying a series of creative recipe ideas, as well as running video tutorials and training sessions at its PreGel ITC training centre (also available online).

The Verona-based company Cesarin has also been keeping its sights set firmly on the future. “Even in a moment of unexpected crisis like the one we have just been through, we thought it was right to create new products that would be a stimulus for recovery among all our clients. As always, our objectives centred around the intense fresh flavour of the fruit and guaranteeing the origin of the ingredients – preferably Italian,” says Marco Scarozza, head of pastry and gelato sales in Italy for the firm. He is also at pains to point out that their in-house product research division has been developing products “that respond to the demand for naturalness, a real solution for all our clientele searching for wholesome products without preservatives or other additives and with less sugar.
More specifically, it has brought out a New Fruits Range, in an effort to offer a series of versatile products to use as ingredients in many different pastry and gelato preparations. And in line with the “all-natural” vocation on which Cesarin prides itself, it has now brought out yet another new range, inspired by the 100 years in the business it is now celebrating. “These are jams and variegations with no added sugar, but which do include some quite sophisticated old-Italian flavours: Cinnamon and Annurca Apple, Pellecchiella Apricot e Montmorency Sour Cherry. “A range,” Scarozza says finally, “that ensures a sense of continuity on our journey of discovery into traditional flavours.”