GELATO CAKES

23/09/2025

Gabriele Vannucci has been teaching at Carpigiani Gelato University for many years, but his training originated in the world of restaurants and pastry making—an art he is still deeply in love with and that allows him to create unique preparations where pastry and gelato blend harmoniously.

Carpigiani Gelato University has recently published his recipe book dedicated to gelato cakes, in which Gabriele reinterprets some of the most renowned cakes of the pastry tradition through the lens of gelato. The goal is to provide inspiration to gelato makers who want to expand their offerings, using the idea of an already familiar cake to attract customers and guide them in discovering a new product.

“Gelato cakes allow the gelato maker to expand the range of products offered, presenting something different to their customers. They can be customized according to creativity and taste, but also based on the needs of customers who order them in advance,” explains Gabriele Vannucci.

They easily adapt to special occasions and events, thanks to unique and original decorations. They also represent an excellent opportunity to increase the gelateria’s profit margin, especially because they avoid portioning errors that can occur with loose products. They are ideal during the colder months of the year, when take-away gelato consumption decreases and customers look for indulgent desserts to enjoy at home.

“Every gelato maker should remember to diversify their offering in order to stand out from the competition. Personally, to achieve this, in my gelateria in the center of Florence, I offer classic flavors as well as reinterpretations of plated desserts in a gelato version. It seemed natural to me to create a recipe book that would unite pastry and gelato.”

Gelato cakes provide a perfect outlet for creativity: they allow for playful combinations of textures, colors, and unique pairings. “Not everyone, however, has the possibility to produce pastry items in their own lab, due to lack of space, equipment, or staff. In my case, I chose to work in a very small laboratory to simplify management, but that doesn’t mean I gave up on offering pastry products.” The items Gabriele creates can become ingredients in gelato or be sold individually, as in the case of his panettone or artisanal cookies.

Gelato cakes also offer another advantage for the gelato maker: when customers leave the shop with a boxed cake, perhaps in an elegant branded bag, it is the best possible advertising—“second only to the tasting itself,” Gabriele specifies. The cakes can also be customized in size, creating desserts for unique events or dinners with friends: they can be prepared for multiple guests, “many of whom may not yet be customers and might ‘discover you’ thanks to that cake.”

Speaking of events, gelato makers can establish collaborations with restaurants or other venues (pizzerias, etc.), which might be interested in offering a product to customers celebrating special occasions such as birthdays or christenings, without having to handle the preparation of demanding desserts themselves. Gelato cakes, if prepared with care, are perceived as elaborate and intriguing products, offering excellent margin opportunities. “It’s true that making them requires a bit of manpower, but it’s also true that gelato makers can organize themselves and produce larger quantities, building up a stock to be stored until the time of sale, when they are brought back to the right temperature and decorated. This way, it’s possible to significantly reduce the food cost of these products.”

It’s also worth noting that collaborating with pizzerias, restaurants, and other businesses allows gelaterias to stay active even during the low season, such as autumn or winter, when gelato is less in demand.