Making a Zuccotto - An Illustrated Recipe

A zuccotto is a tasty summer dessert, a well-chilled cream surrounded by sponge cake that gains zest from a hint of liqueur, and though it looks impressive it's easy to make. Chef Alessio Pesucci of the Locanda del Gallo in Chiochio (outside Florence) used a saffron cream in this zuccotto, in part because saffron is, like wine, one of the traditional Tuscan crops. I took these photos in the course of a cooking class he held, and the end result was quite tasty!

One thing: Because one has to extract the flavor from the saffron by soaking it for 24 hours in cream (which works better than water, milk, or alcohol), this particular zuccotto takes 2 days to make. (Here is a quicker one you can make following these steps.)

Winding up the introduction,
A zuccotto is even easier if you start with commercially prepared sponge cake. However, Alessio, being a fine chef, makes his own. But before we get to the cake, the ingredients, for 10 servings:

The Cake:
2 eggs
3/8 cup (75 g) sugar
A pinch of salt
2/3 cup (80 g) flour
1 tablespoon (15 g) clarified butter (you could, if you had to, use unclarified), melted
1 teaspoon butter to grease the pan
2 teaspoons flour to flour the pan
The Filling:
1 pint (500 ml) heavy cream
A pinch of saffron pistils (.5 grams)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
The Syrup:
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
3/5 cup (150 ml) water
A shot (30 ml, or 2 tablespoons) of amaretto liqueur