Zuppa a super festive treat

Italy’s zuppa inglese is a cool crowd pleaser.

This sweet story begins in the pastry kitchen of a Philadelphia Italian fine-dining restaurant, where I worked as a pastry chef in the late 1980s. We turned out tray after tray of zuppa inglese, our banquet dessert — layers of rumsoaked sponge cake and cream, the cake dyed pink with grenadine.

Fast-forward to a recent trip to the Emilia Romagna — a lingering lunch in a trattoria in the countryside; cured meats, pasta and big spoonfuls of zuppa inglese from a huge bowl on the dessert cart. On return, it was time to re-create that ending and rekindle those memories. My traveling companion insisted we could not make zuppa inglese without alkermes, the traditional Tuscan cherry-red liqueur used as a bagna per dolci (bath for sweets). At the time, alkermes was unavailable in the U.S., so he bravely embarked on making his own, armed with a recipe translated from a book on Italian liqueurs.

The Luxardo version of alkermes recently became available domestically, just in time for baking season. Sold in big plastic bottles, it is infused with cinnamon, cloves, mace, vanilla, cardamom and coriander, plus both bitter and sweet oranges, according to Matteo Luxardo, export director for the company in Padua, in the Veneto region of Italy. I

Older versions also featured the aromas of rose water and carnation. Originally, alkermes got its deep red color from its namesake, the kermes, the insect from which the dye known as cochineal is created. It likely dates to 15th century Florence, where it was distilled by monks at Frata di Santa Maria Novella and where it is still available for purchase today.

Desserts like zuppa inglese ( which directly translates as “English soup” from its relation to trifle, but is also related to the Italian verb inzuppare, meaning “to soak”) and pesche dolci (little cookies fashioned to resemble blushing peaches) call for the liqueur, which is also wonderful sprinkled on vanilla gelato or sipped in the parlor with your Italian nonna.

Try it in the recipe here for a festive dessert that is great for a crowd and deliciously authentic.

Zuppa inglese

Prep: 1 hour, plus chilling time

Cook: 35 minutes

Makes: 8-10 servings but can be easily doubled

The recipe makes enough to fill a small bowl. To fill the trifle bowl we use here, double the cake recipe and make 4 times the pastry cream recipe. You will need:

1 half sheet or 9- to 10-inch round sponge cake or 1 package lady fingers 1 recipe pastry cream

Simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, brought to a boil and allowed to cool) combined with 2 ounces (to taste) alkermes (or substitute dark rum, marsala, grenadine, maraschino liqueur or a combination)

Chocolate shavings or sifted cocoa powder

Sponge cake (genoise)

3 eggs 3 egg yolks 3⁄4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1⁄2 cup flour sifted together with 1/4 cup cornstarch and a pinch salt

1 Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the eggs and yolks in a metal mixing bowl and whisk over hot water until very warm to the touch. Whip with the sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer for several minutes until very fluffy and light. Gently fold in the flour mixture just until incorporated.

2 Carefully transfer to a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet or 9- to 10-inch round cake pan. Level the top with a spatula. Bake until firm and golden, 25-35 minutes. Allow to cool.

Pastry cream

2 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1⁄3 cup sugar 3 egg yolks 3 tablespoons flour Pinch salt 1 1 ⁄2 cups whole milk, warmed gently in a large saucepan 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

1 Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; have another bowl ready.

2 Combine the sugar, yolks, flour and salt in a separate bowl. Gently whisk in the warm milk, then transfer the mixture back to the saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, over medium heat until gently boiling and thickened. Whisk in the vanilla and butter to melt. Strain half the mixture into a clean mixing bowl and half into the bowl of chopped chocolate, stirring to melt and combine thoroughly. Allow both mixtures to cool completely, then fold half of the whipped cream into each.

Assembly

Select a glass, Pyrex or ceramic dish you’d like to serve the dessert in. Cut the cake in shapes to fit, and line the bottom with cake or ladyfingers. Brush generously with some of the syrup to soak well. Spoon in the chocolate cream, and spread evenly. Add another layer of cake and soak generously. Spoon in the vanilla cream, and spread evenly. If you have more cake and syrup, add another layer and soak; if not, it’s OK!

Wrap the dish in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours or preferably 6 hours to overnight to blend flavors. Garnish with chocolate shavings or sifted cocoa powder if desired. Serve by spooning into dessert bowls.

Nutrition information per serving (for 10 servings): 377 calories, 21 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 209 mg cholesterol, 42 g carbohydrates, 31 g sugar, 7 g protein, 79 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

MICHAEL TERCHA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE; MARK GRAHAM/FOOD STYLING A syrup spiked with alkermes is combined with layers of cake and plain and chocolate pastry cream for zuppa inglese.