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.
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.
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.
Prep Time: 70 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** 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
Preparation:
A zuccotto is even easier if you start with commercially prepared sponge cake. However, Alessio, being a fine chef, makes his own. But first, he saw to flavoring the cream with saffron:
He began by pouring about a half cup of cream into a jar, adding the saffron pistils, covering the jar, giving it a good shake to sink the pistils, and putting it in the fridge.
He next made the sponge cake -- a Genovese -- by beating the eggs and sugar over a double boiler, beating constantly until the mixture reached a temperature of 50 C (about 120 F) over a double boiler.
He then cooled the mixture by putting the top half of the double boiler in a pot of cold water, whipping constantly, and then added the flour in one fell swoop and continued to whisk the mixture for several minutes, until it looked right. At this point he gently folded in the butter, and turned the batter out into a 10-inch (25 cm) ring pan lined with oven parchment, and buttered and floured.
He baked the cake in a preheated 380 F (190 C) oven for 20 minutes, and turned it out on a rack to cool. Because the saffron had to soak, everything else happened the next day.
Come time to assemble the zuccotto -- in this case the next day, when the saffron had released its essence into the cream, turning it a pretty charged yellow -- one begins by lining the bowl, which should be about 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter and hemispherical.
Cut the cake into two layers and set one aside. Cut the other into thin strips.
Line the bowl with the strips, using smaller pieces to fill in voids. If you want, you can lay the strips in a decorative pattern, but we didn't.
When the bowl is lined, see to the filling: Chef Stefan combined the cream and powdered sugar and beat them until soft and fluffy. He then spooned the mixture into the bowl, smoothed it with a spatula, and covered it with a round of cake cut from the layer that had been set aside.
And set it into the fridge to chill for 2 hours.
Before unmolding the zuccotto, Stephan made a syrup by heating the sugar and water together, stirring gently until the sugar had completely dissolved.
He stirred in the amaretto liqueur and brushed the base of the zuccotto with the syrup (lightly, the cake shouldn't be soaked). He next put a serving plate over the bowl, flipped both, and removed the bowl to free the zuccotto. At this point he brushed the top as well.
Stephan used a long knife to cut the zuccotto into sections. Since it's a rich dessert the sections are small.
Some cocoa powder for decoration, and enjoy!
Zuccotto is more a concept than a recipe, and there are many, many variations on the theme. Here is a zuccotto with a richer filling that doesn't contain saffron.
He began by pouring about a half cup of cream into a jar, adding the saffron pistils, covering the jar, giving it a good shake to sink the pistils, and putting it in the fridge.
He next made the sponge cake -- a Genovese -- by beating the eggs and sugar over a double boiler, beating constantly until the mixture reached a temperature of 50 C (about 120 F) over a double boiler.
He then cooled the mixture by putting the top half of the double boiler in a pot of cold water, whipping constantly, and then added the flour in one fell swoop and continued to whisk the mixture for several minutes, until it looked right. At this point he gently folded in the butter, and turned the batter out into a 10-inch (25 cm) ring pan lined with oven parchment, and buttered and floured.
He baked the cake in a preheated 380 F (190 C) oven for 20 minutes, and turned it out on a rack to cool. Because the saffron had to soak, everything else happened the next day.
Come time to assemble the zuccotto -- in this case the next day, when the saffron had released its essence into the cream, turning it a pretty charged yellow -- one begins by lining the bowl, which should be about 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter and hemispherical.
Cut the cake into two layers and set one aside. Cut the other into thin strips.
Line the bowl with the strips, using smaller pieces to fill in voids. If you want, you can lay the strips in a decorative pattern, but we didn't.
When the bowl is lined, see to the filling: Chef Stefan combined the cream and powdered sugar and beat them until soft and fluffy. He then spooned the mixture into the bowl, smoothed it with a spatula, and covered it with a round of cake cut from the layer that had been set aside.
And set it into the fridge to chill for 2 hours.
Before unmolding the zuccotto, Stephan made a syrup by heating the sugar and water together, stirring gently until the sugar had completely dissolved.
He stirred in the amaretto liqueur and brushed the base of the zuccotto with the syrup (lightly, the cake shouldn't be soaked). He next put a serving plate over the bowl, flipped both, and removed the bowl to free the zuccotto. At this point he brushed the top as well.
Stephan used a long knife to cut the zuccotto into sections. Since it's a rich dessert the sections are small.
Some cocoa powder for decoration, and enjoy!
Zuccotto is more a concept than a recipe, and there are many, many variations on the theme. Here is a zuccotto with a richer filling that doesn't contain saffron.
