The Christmas Recipes Series: Dessert (Merry Christmas from Academia Barilla)

Last installment for the Academia Barilla Christmas Recipe Series, and time for a dessert. This post is about a classic Italian dessert, Zuppa Inglese (in English, English Soup).

We had some doubts about the translation of the name of this traditional Italian dessert into English, so we searched the Wikipedia that reports three different sources:

“The name translates literally in Italian as English soup and may in fact connote its similarly to English trifle. Others believe it is a dialectical corruption of the verb inzuppare, meaning to soup.” — Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1998 (p. 286)

“A dessert invented by Neapolitan pastry cooks of Europe during the 19th century [sic]. Inspired by English puddings that were fashionable [sic] at the time, . . . ” — Larousse Gastromique, Completely Updated and Revised [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 1310)

“A dukedom, a country palace, and this rich dessert were among the many tributes bestowed on Lord Nelson by the grateful Neapolitans after his victory over Napoleon in the Nile in 1798. “English Soup,” as it was called, was the creation of an anonymous pastry cook smitten with the admiral, the English, and their spirit-soaked Trifles.” — The Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking through the Ages, American Heritage [Doubleday:New York] 1968 (p. 710)

We realized that Wikipedia doesn’t have the recipe for this yummy dessert, so we will definitely publish the Zuppa Inglese recipe there too!

The dessert is composed by a base of spongy cake and a pastry cream, with the addition of a final liquid preparation that uses Alchermes (or Alkermes), a typical liquor from Florence prepared by infusing neutral spirits with sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, and other herbs and flavoring agents.

Its most striking characteristic is its vivid scarlet color, obtained by the addition of Kermes, hence its name. Due to the fact that Alchermes is also a strong anti-oxidant, it was considered a long life elixir (elisir di lunga vita) in Medieval Florence.

We will publish here below the three steps separately to help you spot the right ingredients for the right preparation.

ENGLISH SOUP
(serves 10)

PASTRY CREAM INGREDIENTS

- 4 cups milk
- 8 egg yolks and 1 whole egg
- 2 cups sugar
- 8 cups flour
- 5 oz dark chocolate

PASTRY CREAM PREPARATION

Boil the milk in a medium pot; at the same time, in a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the flour and beat again.

Add the boiling milk and put it over the flame, and let boil, stirring constantly with the whisk. Let it cool quickly.

To add a little flavor try adding vanilla, rum, or chocolate, changing the proportions of flour, according to uses.

PAN DI SPAGNA INGREDIENTS

- 4 1/2 cups “00″ flour (double zero) (sifted)
- 1 cup potato starch
- 10 eggs
- 8 Eggs yolk
- 4 1/2 cups sugar

PAN DI SPAGNA PREPARATION

Beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the potato starch and sifted flour.
Put it in a greased pan with butter and flour and bake at 350 ° F.

BAGNA ALCHERMES INGREDIENTS

- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 2.5 fl oz. Alchermes (liquor)

BAGNA ALCHERMES PREPARATION

Bring the water to a boil, melt the sugar in it; when it cools down, add the Alchermes.

FINAL DESSERT PREPARATION STEP

When the cream is ready, divide it in two bowls and add dark chocolate in one bowl.

Cut the sponge-like cake into slices of about 3 mm. In another pan, make a bottom with the cake and wet it with the liquid Alchermes mixture.

Spread a layer of yellow pastry cream, then a layer of sponge-like cake, and wet it again, add another layer of chocolate pastry cream, and another layer of wet sponge-like cake. Prepare 4/6 cream layers.

Let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, then serve and enjoy.

Christmas Tree We hope you enjoyed our Christmas Recipes Series, and got the complete Academia Barilla Christmas Menu: Chicken Galantine with Pistachio Nuts (appetizer), Herbs Tortelli (entree), Cotechino in Galera (main course), and today’s Zuppa Inglese (dessert), all traditional Italian recipes. Let us know if you prepared any of our recipes, we would love to hear from you, leave us a comment or your Christmas wishes below!