I’m Nicole, coming to you from Italy 🇮🇹! In this video, I’ll share with you how to make a classic Italian dessert for parties and holidays including Carnivale: the Zuppa Inglese!
#italiandessert #italianfood #dessert #dessertrecipe #lifeinitaly #carnivale
ABOUT ZUPPA INGLESE
To make this Zuppa Inglese recipe, you simply need 3 layers of cold sponge cake (called pan di spagna in Italian), pastry cream (custard) for the cake filling and some kind of liquor to soak the cake layers.
Traditionally, Italians use a red liquor called Alchermes for soaking the cake, sweet marsala or cherry liquor with a bit of natural red food coloring for punching up the red color. Alternatively, you can use cherry juice.
This Italian dessert is similar to an English trifle—one of the possible origins of the dessert. Instead of making a layered cake as we do in this video recipe, you can layer the cake and custard into a trifle bowl or pyrex bowl or dish. The beauty of this cake is in the visible layers and the contrast of the red cake and the pastry cream.
INGREDIENTS
SPONGE CAKE (PAN DI SPAGNA)
This recipe makes one ’sheet cake’ (jelly roll pan, etc)
15” x 12” (or similar) / 40cm x 30 cm
✅ eggs – 6 whole
✅ granulated sugar – 1 cup (180 g)
✅ hot water – 3 tbsp
✅ flour – 3/4 cup (90 g)
✅ cornstarch – 3/4 cup (90 g)
✅ lemon zest – from one
Cut the cake into 3 equal vertical layers for a rectangular layered cake. Or, bake two 6-egg sponge cakes using the recipe to cut out 3 square layers. You can also simply make a 2-layer cake and end with the vanilla custard on top.
PASTRY CREAM
Pastry cream is divided in half. Half of the warm custard is added to the shaved chocolate to make chocolate custard, and the other half is chilled as vanilla custard.
✅ whole milk – 2 cups / 500 g
✅ egg yolks – around 10 (200 g)
✅ vanilla – 2 tsp extract / 1 vanilla bean
✅ lemon zest – from one
✅ granulated sugar – 3/4 cup (150 g)
✅ corn starch – 3 Tbsp (25 g)
✅ flour (or rice flour) – 3 Tbsp (25 g )
✅ dark chocolate – 2.5 oz (75 g); finely shaved/chopped
LIQUID TO SOAK THE CAKE
Alcohol options: Alchermes (traditional), sweet marsala, cherry liquor
Non-alcoholic options: cherry juice
✅ red liquor or fruit juice – 1.25 cups (300 ml ); 1/2 cup or 100 ml per cake layer
Top with nothing, freshly whipped cream or….
ITALIAN MERINGUE (OPTIONAL)
✅ egg whites – from about 7 eggs (100 g); lukewarm temperature
✅ water – 2 tbsp (30 g)
✅ sugar – 1 cup (200 g)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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0:00 – intro
0:06 – how to make Pan di Spagna
3:00 – how to make pastry cream for Zuppa Inglese
5:54 – how to assemble a Zuppa Inglese