It seems to me that this is the whole point of Italians. Even if they try to copy a dish from another country, as, for example, in the situation with the dessert “English Trifle”, which in the Italian version began to be called “English Soup” or “Zuppa Inglese”. They will make it so that it cannot be recreated without the secret Italian ingredient. In our recipe, it is a red liqueur with aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and cloves: Alchermes, a unique Tuscan liqueur, which is often used to change the colour in desserts or to give them a special taste and aroma.
It seems to me that this is the whole point of Italians. Even if they try to copy a dish from another country, as, for example, in the situation with the dessert “English Trifle”, which in the Italian version began to be called “English Soup” or “Zuppa Inglese”. They will make it so that it cannot be recreated without the secret Italian ingredient. In our recipe, it is a red liqueur with aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and cloves: Alchermes, a unique Tuscan liqueur, which is often used to change the colour in desserts or to give them a special taste and aroma.- Prep time: 1 hour + 2 hours’ chilling
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Serves: 6-8
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: dessert
- Cookware: round baking dish 28 cm, silicone spatula, cooling rack, cake wire leveller
- Cuisine: English
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 150 g flour
- 6 eggs
- 150 g sugar
- butter for greasing
For the cream:
- 500 ml whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp flour
- 100 g sugar
- zest of ¼ lemon
- 200 ml Alchermes liqueur
For the icing:
- 250 ml double cream
- 70 g dark chocolate
Cooking method
Step 1
Heat oven to 160°C. Butter a baking dish. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until white. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with a mixer until soft peaks. Add whipped whites to the yolks and fold them in gently from bottom to top. Sift the flour into the eggs and mix gently. Pour the batter into a baking dish. Bake the cake until tender for 30-40 minutes. Turn out the cake onto a wire rack, and leave to cool
Step 2
Make the cream. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until white. Sift flour into yolks and mix. Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to boil over low heat. Add zest to milk, stir and remove from heat. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the milk into the yolks. Put the mixture on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to allow the mixture to cool.
Step 3
Cut the cake in half. Put the first half on a dish and pour half the liquor over the cake. Stir the cream and top the cake with it. Place the second half of cake on top, drizzle it with liquor and top with the remaining cream. In a bain-marie, melt the chocolate, mixing it with the cream. Drizzle the chocolate icing over the dessert. Refrigerate for 2 hours and serve.
My tips and tricks:
One recipe, one amount of batter, one baking dish size and one baking time, but if you use the right technique, the difference between the height of your cakes will be fundamental. And now I’m not talking about the mixer, but about the technique of introducing the egg whites into the dough or folding. The use of this technique is critical for making airy desserts such as, for example, sponges, mousses, soufflés. This technique allows you to keep as much air from the whipped egg whites as possible: you need to put a lighter mixture into a heavier one, folding it in a certain way. To do this, take a large wide bowl, put a heavy mixture into it, put ¼ egg whites on top and stir intensively, but gently, with a silicone spatula. Some of the air will “escape”, but the mixture will become thinner and lighter, which will help you fold in the remaining whites. Then add the remaining whites, use a spatula to “cut” the mixture vertically in half and fold the left half of the mixture from the bottom up to the centre of the bowl. At the same moment, rotate the bowl counter clockwise with your other hand if you are right-handed. Again “cut” the batter in half and repeat the movement, carefully folding in the next portion of the mixture. Repeat until the mixture is even. Be careful and take your time trying to preserve the amount of whipped air as much as possible.
- For the cake:
- 150 g flour
- 6 eggs
- 150 g sugar
- butter for greasing
- For the cream:
- 500 ml whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp flour
- 100 g sugar
- zest of ¼ lemon
- 200 ml Alchermes liqueur
- For the icing:
- 250 ml double cream
- 70 g dark chocolate
- Heat oven to 160°C. Butter a baking dish. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until white. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with a mixer until soft peaks. Add whipped whites to the yolks and fold them in gently from bottom to top. Sift the flour into the eggs and mix gently. Pour the batter into a baking dish. Bake the cake until tender for 30-40 minutes. Turn out the cake onto a wire rack, and leave to cool
- Make the cream. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until white. Sift flour into yolks and mix. Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to boil over low heat. Add zest to milk, stir and remove from heat. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the milk into the yolks. Put the mixture on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to allow the mixture to cool.
- Cut the cake in half. Put the first half on a dish and pour half the liquor over the cake. Stir the cream and top the cake with it. Place the second half of cake on top, drizzle it with liquor and top with the remaining cream. In a bain-marie, melt the chocolate, mixing it with the cream. Drizzle the chocolate icing over the dessert. Refrigerate for 2 hours and serve.