Rosalie's bittersweet pastry shop

Rosanna Chiofalo

Food writer Claudia Lombardo has sampled exquisite dishes by the world's greatest chefs. But when she hears about the remarkable desserts that are created in a pastry shop operated out of a convent in the sleepy Italian hillside town of Santa Lucia del Mela, she wants to write a book featuring the sweets and the story behind their creator -- Sorella Agata. But the convent's most famous dessert -- a cassata cake -- is what really intrigues Claudia. Everyone who samples the cake agrees it is like none other they've tasted. Yet no one can figure out what makes the cassata so incredibly delicious. Though Sorella Agata insists there is no secret ingredient, Claudia is determined to learn the truth behind the mysterious cake. As she samples each delectable treat -- marzipan fruit, rich cream puffs, and decadent cakes -- Sorella Agata relates the pastry shop's history and tells of the young...