The Florentine Zuccotto 😍

A semifreddo dessert typical of the Tuscan capital, Florence. Zuccotto zuppa inglese, a spoon dessert, delicious and easy to prepare! This zuccotto, in addition to the classic cream and ladyfingers soaked in alchermes, is stuffed with fresh fruit. I used particular fruit, but also use a fruit of your taste! Zuccotto cake is a famous ancient Italian dessert, originally from Florence. It’s a spoon dessert, delicious for the balance of its ingredients and refined for its simplicity.

How many recipes hide fascinating stories! Just like this zuccotto whose origins are all Italian and, specifically, Tuscan. The Florentine zuccotto seems to have been invented in very ancient times, even in 1500 by Bernardo Buontalenti, a famous artist with great skills ranging in the most varied areas, from architecture to engineering. And among these... even the pastry!

Think: it seems that the first zuccotto, characterized as you can see by the typical hemisphere shape, was made in a helmet, yet another proof of the singular inspiration of Buontalenti. This dessert hides a perfect color: a real goodness to the eye and to the palate!

What are you saying? I can't wait to do the tasting test!

Ingredients

300 gr. ladyfingers

2 custard eggs

100 gr. of fresh cream 

fruit mixed to taste

1 glass of alchermes (A ''Florentine specialty'' liqueur obtained by macerating cinnamon, cloves, confetti and nutmeg in alcohol, flavored with rose essence and colored in red with the homonymous colour.)

3 glasses of cedar

Method

Combine in a deep dish, alkermes and cedar syrup, soak the ladyfingers, without wetting them excessively, just dip them and pull them away immediately. Line a mold with plastic wrap, because then, it will be used for the closure of the zuccotto. With the soaked ladyfingers, line the mold completely. Put a generous tablespoon of cream on the bottom and over 4 – 5 rambutan, cleaned and cut into small pieces. Make a round of ladyfingers soaked in syrup. Put another generous layer of cream and on top cubes of yellow guava. Another round of ladyfingers soaked in syrup. Another abundant layer of cream. Finish with ladyfingers soaked in syrup closing the bottom well. Close with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. Better if prepared the day before. When it is well cooled, unmold it and decorate it with fresh cream. Delicious this zuccotto with fresh fruit!