Zuppa Inglese is a creamy spoon dessert made with custard, savoiardi, alchermes and cocoa.
A tasty alternative to the classic tiramisu!
Known and prepared in many regions of Italy, it is mainly typical of Emilia Romagna and Tuscany.
The peculiarity of this dessert lies in the composition of its layers which, just like for a tiramisu, are composed by alternating soaked ladyfingers biscuits (or sponge cake) and two-tone cream.
The bright red color of the biscuits is given by the alchermes liqueur, but you can also use amaretto, rum or rosolio.
It's a fresh, quick and easy dessert, perfect for a special day: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Women's Day and why not, during the Christmas holidays.
You can serve it in single-portion cups, as in our case, or in a classic round or rectangular pan.
Furthermore, the surface can be decorated with sifted bitter cocoa or with flakes of dark or milk chocolate.
Let's see together how to prepare the original zuppa inglese!
Category: Spoon dessert
Bring the milk to boil with the vanilla and lemon zest. Meanwhile, mix the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl [1].
Add the sieved cornstarch, mixing with a whisk [2].
Add the hot milk by filtering it, mix quickly and put everything back on the heat. Cook the cream for 2-3 minutes after it starts boiling again, stirring constantly [3].
When it has reached the right consistency, divide it into two bowls. Add the sifted cocoa in one of the two, mix well and cover both creams with cling film. Let it cool down [4].
For the sauce: in a saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water over low heat. Switch off, add the alchermes and leave to cool. Transfer the creams into two pastry bags and start composing the dessert. Wet the ladyfingers for 1-2 seconds in the syrup [5].
Form a first layer, alternating with the cocoa cream, more ladyfingers and then the white cream. Continue until you reach the edge of the chosen mold or glass [6].
Finish with a layer of white cream [7].
Cover with plenty of bitter cocoa and serve [8].
The most classic variant of the zuppa inglese is the one that includes sponge cake instead of ladyfingers.
For the decoration, you can finish the last layer with the white cream, to be covered with bitter cocoa, or with ladyfingers soaked in alchermes. Alternatively you can decorate with tufts of white or black cream or whipped cream.
Zuppa Inglese will keep well, covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
For a version suitable for children, we can replace the alchermes with a syrup of water and sugar or milk.
It's a fresh, quick and easy dessert, perfect for a special day: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Women's Day and why not, during the Christmas holidays.
What's the meaning of "Zuppa inglese"?
Zuppa Inglese literally translates as "English Soup"
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8.8 oz/250 g Savoiardi
cocoa
6 oz/170 g Zucker
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