After spending his childhood cooking alongside his grandparents, Frankie DiMarino’s annual trips to Italy cemented the vision: He dreamed of transforming a cherished Italian dessert and bringing it into the modern world. “I wanted to take what my grandparents had been making my whole life and tie it into the traditions you’d find in Italy,” says DiMarino. “I wanted to connect an American audience to that aspect of the culture.” After hitting the food festival scene, Il Cornetto, DiMarino’s handcrafted dessert company, began to blossom.
Those dreams baked into bombolini and cornetti — pastries in the form of doughnuts and croissants, respectively, that are traditionally stuffed with custard or pastry cream. DiMarino is elevating that deliciously simple recipe and adding decadent fillings like luscious pistachio cream or tantalizing Biscoff. The treats are then topped with a gamut of confections, from Oreo crumbs to Lucky Charms cereal, to Kinder candy. Available in multiples of twelve (because how could you want any less?) the treats are sold on a delivery model for the moment and can also be custom decorated for parties.
Handmaking everything himself and even importing some ingredients from Italy, DiMarino is determined to do it right, and that means no cutting corners, long days, and taking the time to ensure an authentic product. With an arsenal of rotating flavors, the head chef himself can’t help but fall in love with two of his own creations: the pistachio and the Frutti di Bosco varieties.
Capitalizing on his momentum, DiMarino is ready for Il Cornetto’s next step: a food truck. With the new flexibility to expand options and offerings, look out for cornetti stuffed with ice cream coming to a street fair near you.
But with all the success he’s achieved, it still comes back to one thing: the even sweeter memories attached to the desserts he’s making a name for himself with. “I still smell it,” says DiMarino, reflecting on those sacred Sundays with his Nonna. “Every time I put a cornetto in the oven it takes me back in time.”
Il Cornetto
ilcornettony.com
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