Los Gatos Weekly-Times Photograph by George Sakkestad Vito Lippolis brings an Italian tradition in baking to Los Gatos. Decadent Italian treats are bakery's specialty By Suzanne Cristallo At 3 a.m., Vito Lippolis arrives at Ginger's Pastries, his bakery in El Gato Village shopping center, to begin the day. Because the holidays are approaching, his mornings frequently now include the extra time needed to prepare tiramisu, the rich, delicate Italian cake that must be ordered a day in advance to assure freshness. Revered by Italians for its "pick me up" qualities--literally translated, tiramisu means just that--it is eaten traditionally after the afternoon break in the Italian workday. Americans, however, have discovered it as a special treat for birthdays and holidays. Lippolis started working as a boy of 15 in his hometown of Conversano, a village in the Puglia area of southern Italy. His father, a Greek, and his Sicilian mother taught him to be a pasticciere in the family bakery. "It was school and working, school and working," he recalls of his teenage years. "My father sold the store and retired when I left." Lippolis, 26, followed by his older sister, Anna Clara, came to San Jose in 1994. Clara works with him at Ginger's along with the original owner, Ginger Cardoza, who owned the bakery for 12 years before selling to Lippolis in 1995 and becoming his employee. Lippolis says each baker makes tiramisu in his or her own way. He makes his in the Sicilian fashion learned from his mother. For 10 hours, he chills for hardening a mixture of mascarpone--a thick, rich and velvety cow's milk cheese--and brandy or wine, "depending on how I feel that day; the flavor is the same." The mixture is placed between and on top of two layers of ladyfinger cake flavored with lemon and soaked in coffee. The top can be decorated with fall leaves, birthday greetings or whatever a customer wants. A nine-inch cake runs $20. Another Lippolis specialty originating in Italy is cannoli--a crispy, horn-shaped pastry filled with ricotta cheese, in the Sicilian style, or with whipping cream flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate chunks or maraschino cherries. Lippolis also likes to make ricotta pie, but finds few customers ordering it, probably due to unfamiliarity. The shell is made with whiskey or red wine. The cheese filling contains chocolate chunks, cinnamon and nutmeg and is topped with a lattice crust. Each morning, Lippolis bakes donuts, cookies, Danishes, muffins and bread. Coffee is there for the early commuters, the neighborhood crowd and the shoppers in the adjoining Nob Hill Foods. Lippolis says he is delighted with his new world, despite the big changes he has experienced with language, people and weather. "They are especially nice people here. I notice they stay outside playing and being social in the evening," he says, recalling that in the small villages of Italy, people also are out in the early evenings. Ginger's Pastries, 15700 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos. Open daily 5:30 a.m.-6 p.m. 358-1904. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.