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Zuppa inglese
Custard and sponge trifle
Zuppa inglese: Emilia's layered custard and red-soaked sponge dessert
Zuppa inglese is a spoon dessert from Emilia, served at Sunday lunches and family parties in Bologna, Modena and Ferrara: sponge fingers dipped in a crimson liqueur, layered with yellow lemon custard and dark chocolate custard. Despite the name, no soup and nothing English; one story links it to the trifles brought home by Italian diplomats. The red comes from alchermes, a spiced liqueur that is alcoholic and coloured with cochineal, an insect dye, so this version soaks the biscuits in a vegetarian, alcohol-free hibiscus and spice syrup that keeps the colour and the clove-cinnamon perfume. It sets into soft, creamy, striped slices. Chef's tip: dip the biscuits for a second only; they keep softening in the custard overnight.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the red syrup
- 1 cup water
- 2 ⅞ oz sugar
- 3 cloves
- 1 orange peela wide strip
- 1 tsp rose water (optional)
For the custards
- 4 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 lemon peela wide strip
- 6 ½ oz caster sugar
- 2 ½ oz cornflour
- 2 ½ oz dark chocolatechopped
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
To assemble
- 10 ½ oz sponge fingers (savoiardi)about 30
- ⅔ oz dark chocolate (optional)grated, to finish
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Simmer 1 cup water, 2 ⅞ oz sugar, ⅓ oz dried hibiscus flowers, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cloves and 1 orange peel in a small pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until deep red. Strain, stir in 1 tsp rose water and cool.
5 minStep 2: Heat 4 ¼ cups whole milk with 1 lemon peel in a pan over a medium heat until steaming, then take off the heat.
5 minStep 3: Whisk 6 egg yolks with 6 ½ oz caster sugar until pale, then whisk in 2 ½ oz cornflour. Pour in the hot milk slowly, whisking, discarding the lemon peel.
Step 4: Return to the pan over a medium-low heat and stir constantly for 5–6 minutes, until thick and the first bubbles pop. Common mistake: walking away; custard catches on the bottom in seconds, so keep the spoon moving across the base.
6 minStep 5: Pour half the custard into a bowl. Stir 2 ½ oz dark chocolate and 1 tbsp cocoa powder into the other half until smooth. Cover both with cling film touching the surface and cool.
Step 6: Dip 10 ½ oz sponge fingers (savoiardi) one at a time into the syrup for a second each side, and lay a third of them in a 20 × 30 cm dish.
Step 7: Spread with half the lemon custard. Add another layer of dipped biscuits and all the chocolate custard.
Step 8: Finish with the last biscuits and the rest of the lemon custard, smoothing the top.
Step 9: Cover and chill for at least 6 hours, or overnight, until set. Scatter ⅔ oz dark chocolate over before serving.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zuppa inglese take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
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