When we got our assignment for this months Vintage Recipe Swap, I knew exactly what I should make……sigh, unfortunately I had already made it months before. That of course would be my all time favorite dessert Tiramisu (the best you will ever make!)
It would probably help if I mentioned that this months vintage recipe would be another Italian classic, Zabaglione! This months dessert comes from The long gone Imperial House of Chicago. The Imperial House was noted as one of the best restaurants in the county and boasted a menu with fresh food flown in from around the globe. One of the specialties they were well known for was Chicken Kiev (another classic lost to passage of time). But today the focus is on a Dessert for Two, Zabaglione.
Since my Tiramisu wasn’t an option, I started thinking in another direction, to a dessert Mama Jeanette introduced me to so many years ago. One cold day in November she had asked me I wanted for dessert that night, and without thinking I said chocolate pudding. As I walked out the door for my days work, I saw Mama smile, I had no idea what she was going to make but I knew it certainly wasn’t going to be instant chocolate pudding!
She didn’t say a word about dessert until after dinner that evening when she brought a glass bowl filled to the top with deliciousness! Mama Jeanette had made Zuppa Inglese! I had no idea what it was but as I devoured almost half the bowl, she explained it was in fact an Italian version of an English Trifle. Many years before her mother had taught her how to make this 17th century classic, that had come form the Emila Romagna region of Italy.
I couldn’t find the Alchermes (a very bright red herbed cherry Liqour) that goes into this classic dessert. I had gone to one of our Liquor superstores to find that concoction, and when I stopped a worker to ask if they had it, he so enthusiastically asked in a very heavy Italian accent if I was making Zuppa Inglese! I laughed and said yes I was and how did he know and did he have it? His instant reply was no, and that it was the only thing it was ever used for…..sigh He then began telling me how his Mama had made Zuppa Inglese for him and how much he missed her! I asked him if there was anything close to it and he again replied No, but to use rum and some Maraschino cherry juice…sigh.
I decided to pass on the maraschino cherry juice and instead added a layer of raspberries for that red color. I thought the contrast of flavors would also add another deminsion to the dessert.
The recipe swap is the brain child of my friend Christianna of Burwell General Store, and the rules of the swap are pretty simple, change at least 3 things about the original recipe while staying true to the basic premise of the recipe, while adding your own twist!
My Zuppa Inglese is actually fairly close to the Zabaglione, and to be honest with you, even when I do make the French version- Sabayon, I never ever use Marsala! I love Marsala with meats but just have never acquired the taste for it in desserts, but then again you’ll never see me dipping cookies into wine! So my entry into this months Vintage recipe swap is the dessert I first so many years ago, when my request for chocolate pudding brought me so much more, Zuppa Inglese!
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1¾ cups sugar (divided)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- tsp sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbs vanilla
- 1 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- zest of one orange
- cup dark rum
- 2 cups heavy cream, chilled
- ½ tsp ground vanilla bean
- 36 Italian ladyfingers
- 2 cups raspberries (optional)
- Place the milk, ½ cup of sugar, cornstarch, eggs, vanilla and salt in a stainless steel bowl, mix well with a wire whip and place over a pot of boiling water and continue to whip until mixture thickens.
- Separate mixture into two bowls
- Add chocolate to one bowl to make a chocolate cream, mix well until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated into cream
- refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Bring 3 cups water,1 cup of the sugar and orange zest to a boil in a saucepan. Boil until reduced by about half.
- Remove from heat, stir in the rum, and let cool completely.
- whip cream with the remaining ¹⁄₄ cup sugar, and ground vanilla bean until it forms soft peaks
- divide whipped cream in half, then divide half of the whipped cream into two parts and fold one part into each of the chilled pastry creams.
- using a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish *, make a layer of ladyfingers and brush with the sugar syrup to moisten (use more than you think you need!)
- Spread the vanilla pastry cream on top
- Add layer of Raspberries
- top with another layer of ladyfingers, then brush with sugar syrup
- Spread the chocolate pastry cream over top in an even layer, then spread with the whipped cream.
- crumble any leftover ladyfingers over the top.
- Chill for at least two hours or overnight*
As you can see I made individual portions of this delicious dessert and I have to say the raspberries were essential! I didn’t quite get the seperation I was looking for, but oh my did I get the flavors! My only short coming was in not using enough of my sugar syrup to really saturate the cookies and they were just a little crunchy, but still very very tasty!
I hope you do get a chance to try Zuppa Inglese for yourself, it would make a wonderful Valentines Day dessert using individual glasses, or the perfect dessert to share with friends and family! I guarantee everyone will not only be asking you what the dessert is, but also for the recipe!
Please stop by Burwell General Store to see the rest of this months entries in our Vintage Recipe Swap, I’m sure you’ll recognize many of your friends and have a wonderful timing checking out all of the creative interpretations of this classic! Make sure you say hi to Christianna too, and don’t forget to tell her Chef Dennis sent you!
Till next time, Ciao!
Beautiful dessert Dennis but of course we’d expect nothing less from you! And having some personal insight on when you started this today, I admire you all the more. I love both this and Tiramisu though they’ve been ‘off the menu’ since I became gluten free. Must see if I can find either a source or recipe for GF ladyfingers. This is just too good to not make!
That is lovely! Dont you just love old cookbooks? Wonderful. thank you!
Wow…this is wonderful dessert and I hope I get to make this for the Wild Boar for Valentine’s Day
thanks for giving me the idea what to serve for dessert on Valentine’s Day . Have a nice day Chef Dennis .
My gosh, you are making me feel way behind the eight ball when you are already talking about Valentines Day! I know-it will be here before we know it.
Finding that special liqueur for recipes can be quite a task, however, I am glad you improvised with the raspberries.
Creative and delicious twist on this one, well done!
This looks wonderful, Chef Dennis! I love your Mama Jeanette stories. What a blessing she was to you. Have a fabulous week!
Chef Dennis, this is just beautiful, mouth watering, irresistible!
I haven’t had Zabaglione in probably 20 years, We would have it severed over fresh fruit by a dear friend of ours. The memories you are bringing back.
This Zuppa Inglese sounds wonderful along with the precious memories that go along with it!
I never knew there was an Italian take on the trifle, but think it looks amazing. I wonder where one can get their hands on that cherry liqueur. I’m guessing not anywhere in my rural neck of the woods, huh. It looks fantastic, Chef. Absolutely delicious.
Ooh, I love zuppa ingelese, it’s so indulgent
Looks great!
This looks great, and I love that we both used a recipe of Lidia’s to create our own for the swap. Love her.
Chef: What a wonderful memory!
I find when a recipe comes with happy memories, it always tastes better.
Would kirschwasser be a substitute?
Charlie
hi Charlie
according to my Italian friend at the liquor store there is no exact substitute, but I’m sure that would work.
Chef:
Thanks
Charlie
Ahh, Dennis. Thanks so much for your contribution to the recipe swap. It’s always such a joy to read your posts, and see your approachable, elegant spins on everything. I’m honored you’re a part of the swap!
This looks wonderful – wouldn’t it be gorgeous at a dinner party or a holiday?
Your favorite dessert is tiramisu too!!!!! We must have similar tastebuds because your version of the zabaglione has chocolate and raspberries, like mine! But then you go and add rum and vanilla bean *swoon* This looks ridiculously delicious!
Oh, this would disappear immediately in our house…crunchy cookie and all! What an amazing dessert…
These are absolutely gorgeous, and what a great story about your new friend at the liquor store! I’m happy you didn’t go with the maraschino cherry route– ugh, those things make me shudder. But raspberries… now that’s inspiring! Looks divine.
I so enjoy reading your posts! great story, great dessert, just lovely. I think this would be great for a dinner party, or like you mentioned, Valentine’s Day!
It is far to early to be discussing Valentine’s Day. We haven’t even hit the greatest of all American holidays, The Super Bowl. However, as this looks stunning and sounds delicious I will probably make it next weekend for my very Italian grandmother.
This sounds wonderful, Dennis! I love the layers of flavor in it.
My curiosity got the best of me and I looked up that type of liquor and all I can say is that it’s a shame it doesn’t seem to be around anymore; at least not in the states. It sounds interesting.
Your recipes and stories always make me smile : )
I have heard of this dessert but really had no idea what it was. I can see how it would be something special to make for someone you’re close to.
Delish! This happily reminded me of the Zuppa Inglese ice cream I used to get in Florence – Yum. Thanks Chef!
I remember eating this as a kid… gloppy, too sweet and kind of wet in an unpleasant way since I think it had been sitting around a very long time… sort of forgot about it till now. This looks sooo good. What a difference a good recipe makes!
This is not my mama’s chocolate pudding. It looks waaaay better!
That is the sweetest story and also of the man at the liquor counter!
A beautifully written post, Chef Dennis! Loved reading every word of it!
What a sweet coincidence to run into someone who knew exactly what you wanted and for what purpose.
And the dessert looks great. I bet Mama Jeanette would be very proud!
I love that this one comes with such a personal story. I’ve not had zuppa inglese but it is now on my list of things to try. You realize half those things come from your blog. Lol! It does look gorgeous and I have to save I usually prefer the individual dishes over one big dish. It is just somehow prettier and more personal. Love the pop of red. Wonderful job Chef Dennis!
I love all the childhood memories this swap ignited. This is a great remake!
I love, love, love Tiramisu’ and I have your recipe bookmarked for some future use when the holiday pounds miraculously disappear:) But your Zuppa Inglese looks divine! Beautiful photos, as usual!
Happy New Year, Dennis! Here is to another great one ahead:)
BTW, your URL in the linky thing links to your Gingerbread House post (WOW!)
I think I never had Zuppa Inglese. I will have to fix that after seeing your delicious dessert!
Maybe if it was the right wine you may be inclined to dip!lol. I never thought I would and then in Sicily one year, I couldn’t resist. was amazing. Your zuppa inglese looks wonderful. I’m sure flavor was great even w/out the delicious Alchermes:)another fun #recipeswap !
oo very pretty! i think the raspberries were a good choice…maraschino cherries are delicious, but there’s something a little unsettling about it too!
Such a luxurious thing. and easy to make too, I bet. Thanks Chef.
These are amazing and I’ve been inspired to feature them in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. And I’ll be sharing on Pinterest. Please let me know if you have any objections and KEEP IT COMING!
no objections, thanks very much for sharing my Zuppa Inglese!
I like that you swapped the maraschino cherries with raspberries! And rum and orange are such a nice combo…this dish looks delicious!
I love Mama Jeanette stories. This recipes looks delicious, as always, and raspberries and chocolate – always yum!
This is beautiful and just what I was looking for. It seems more “do-able” than other recipes I’ve seen on the Web, but it doesn’t “cheat” with pudding mix and the like.
One question: the ingredient list mentions the zest of one orange, but where or how is it used in the procedure instructions?
Many thanks!
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
Hi Don
sorry about that on the zest, add it into the sugar syrup mixture as your making it.
let me know how it comes out when you do make, it’s not at all difficult just a few steps that make it seem a little harder than it actually is.
Cheers
Dennis
Thanks, Chef Dennis. That makes sense. I wanted to be sure.
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
Chef Dennis, I don’t want to be a PITA, but when I was looking over the print copy of this recipe, I noticed that the pastry cream had no sugar in it.
“Place the milk, cornstarch, eggs, vanilla and salt in a stainless steel bowl, mix well with a wire whip and place over a pot of boiling water and continue to whip until mixture thickens.”
Since the total amount of sugar as given in the ingredient list is 1 3/4 cups, and 1 cup of that goes into the syrup, and another 1/4 cup goes into the whipping cream, that leaves 1/2 cup for the pastry cream, which sounds about right to me. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
As a suggestion, it could be useful for readers to write, “1¾ cups sugar, DIVIDED”, in the ingredient list. Many of us, including myself, tend to proceed hastily and into a cooking disaster, without such advisories.
Thanks for your patience.
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
Hi Don
thank you so much for finding the mistake in the directions, I did as you suggested and added divided to the sugar, you are correct 1/2 cup goes into the pastry cream.
Unfortunately I write most of my posts after working 12 hours, and sometimes my attention to detail is not as good as it should be. Most of my cooking and photographing gets done on the weekends when I ‘m off so luckily that comes out pretty well…lol
Please hang in there with me, I can always use your help in editing! Please feel free to email me anytime you have a question.
Have a happy day my friend
Dennis
Dennis, I used to work the graveyard shift in a bakery, so I know what those long, arduous shifts are like. Although I’m retired now, I hate to write recipes on my blog, hoping that my readers have the skills and confidence to improvise from guidelines. But I do appreciate your efforts.
I discovered your blog only this morning, and I’m pleased with your positive response to my feedback.
Where are you located? We are near Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México.
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
hi Don
I am located in the Philadelphia area, living across the bridge in Jersey and working in Flourtown, Pa.n feeding 600 HS girls, its a small account so most of the work falls to me, including all the admin work as well, and that makes for a long day.
I am from San Antonio Texas originally, and its funny but my Mothers maiden name is Cueva, her father Joe was a minister and from Aguas Caliente originally. I haven’t been home in too many years. I would love to show my wife Texas, such a beautiful state.
I am very happy that you did find my blog and it’s certainly my pleasure to meet you. I hope to see you around and look forward to hearing from you. If you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me,
Cheers
Dennis