Cantucci e Vin Santo is a signature dish of Italy; we have verified places to eat it in Florence. Almond biscotti baked twice for a hard crunch, dipped in a small glass of Tuscan dessert wine called Vin Santo: the canonical end-of-meal Florentine ritual for over 400 years. Start with where to eat Cantucci e Vin Santo in Florence.
Cantucci e Vin Santo · Florence
Almond biscotti baked twice for a hard crunch, dipped in a small glass of Tuscan dessert wine called Vin Santo: the canonical end-of-meal Florentine ritual for over 400 years.
Cantucci trace to medieval Prato, 20km north-west of Florence, where the Mattei pastry shop has baked the canonical cantucci di Prato since 1858. The almond-and-egg dough is shaped into a long log, baked once, sliced into 1cm strips and baked again to dehydrate, producing the hard biscuit that survives the dip in Vin Santo. Vin Santo means 'holy wine'; it was originally a Tuscan dessert wine fermented in small barrels in attics for at least 3 years.
Where to eat in Florence:
- Cantinetta Antinori
- Caffe Gilli
- Pasticceria Buonamici
- Cantinetta da Verrazzano
Where to eat Cantucci e Vin Santo in Florence: the editor picks