6. Add ⅓ cup sugar, the pine nuts, and the egg yolks to the bowl, and mix thoroughly with the other ingredients.
7. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then fold them gently into the bread mixture.
8. Transfer the bread mixture to the caramelized pan, level it off, and place the pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven. After 1 hour, turn the thermostat down to 300° and bake for 15 more minutes.
9. As soon as you take the pan out of the oven, while the pudding is still hot, pierce it in several places with a fork, and pour 2 tablespoons of rum over it. When the rum has been absorbed, turn the pan over onto a serving platter and shake or tap it against the counter to work the pudding loose. Lift the pan, unmolding the pudding onto the platter, pierce the pudding in several places, and pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of rum over it. Allow the pudding to mature for at least a day before serving it. You can refrigerate it for several days, but allow it to come to room temperature before bringing to the table.
Sbricciolona—Ferrara’s Crumbly Cake
Sbricciolona—literal meaning of which is “she that crumbles”—is a dry, biscuity cake that is delicious after dinner with a glass of vin santo or Port, and it is equally welcome between meals, as a mid-morning nibble for example, or with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee.
It really does crumble and part of its charm is the irregularity of the pieces it breaks into. If you prefer to serve it in neat wedge-shaped sections, however, cut it while it is warm, before it hardens. Sbricciolona keeps beautifully for days and days, wrapped in foil or kept in a tin biscuit box.
My first acquaintance with sbricciolona took place in Ferrara, whose university I was attending. But when you travel in northern Italy you will find sbricciolona elsewhere, particularly in Mantua, and also in Piedmont’s Langhe wine country, where they make it with hazelnuts instead of almonds.
For 6 servings
¼ pound almonds, blanched and skinned as described
1½ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup cornmeal
⅝ cup granulated sugar
The peel of 1 lemon grated without digging into the white pith beneath
2 egg yolks
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for smearing the cake pan
A 12-inch round cake pan
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Grind the skinned almonds to powder in the food processor, turning the motor on and off.
3. Put the flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, grated lemon peel, and powdered almonds in a bowl, and mix well. Add the 2 egg yolks, and work the mixture with your hands until it breaks up into little pellets. Add the softened butter, kneading it in with your fingers until it is completely incorporated into the mixture. (At first it may seem improbable that all the ingredients can ever be combined, but after working them for a few minutes, you will find they do hang together, forming a dry, crumbly dough.)
4. Smear the bottom of the cake pan with butter. Crumble the dough through your fingers into the pan until it is all uniformly distributed. Place the pan in the upper third of the preheated oven, and bake for 40 minutes. Serve when completely cold and hard (see prefatory note above).
Sweet Pastry Fritters
KNOWN BY a variety of names—chiacchiere della nonna, “grandmother’s small talk,” and frappe are the most common—these fritters are ribbons of dough twisted into bows and fried. The flavor and the fine, crisp texture of traditional versions depend on the use of lard, both in the dough and for frying.
If you have insurmountable objections to lard, butter and vegetable oil can be substituted, as indicated below.
For 4 to 6 servings
1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup lard OR butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons dry white wine
¼ teaspoon salt
Lard or vegetable oil for frying
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Combine the flour with ¼ cup of either lard or butter and the granulated sugar, egg, white wine, and salt, kneading them into a smooth, soft dough. Put the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of ⅛ inch, then cut it into ribbons about 5 inches long and ½ inch wide. Twist and loop the ribbons into simple bows.
3. Melt enough lard in a skillet—or pour in enough vegetable oil—to come 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Have the heat turned to high. When the fat is very hot, put in as many pastry bows as will fit loosely in the pan. Fry them to a deep gold color on one side, then turn them and do the other side. Transfer them to a cooling rack to drain. (If you are using lard, make sure it does not overheat. If you detect the beginning of a burning smell, turn the heat down.) Repeat the procedure until all the remaining bows are done. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, and serve either piping hot or at room temperature. The fritters usually disappear so quickly that how best to keep them may remain purely theoretical, but in case some are left over, stack them on a plate and store them in a cupboard. They keep very well for several days.
Apple Fritters
For 4 to 6 servings
3 apples of any firm, but not sour, cooking variety
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons rum
The peel of 1 lemon grated without digging into the white pith beneath
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Peel and core the apples, and cut them into slices about ⅜ inch thick.
2. Put the granulated sugar, rum, and grated lemon peel into a bowl together with the apple slices. Turn the slices once or twice and let steep for at least 1 hour.
3. Use the flour and about 1 cup water to make a pastella batter as described.
4. Pour enough oil into a skillet to come ½ inch up the sides, and turn on the heat to high.
5. Take the apple slices out of the bowl and pat them dry with paper towels. When the oil is very hot, dip them in the batter and slip as many of them into the skillet as will fit loosely. Fry them to a golden brown on one side, then turn them and do the other side. Transfer them to a cooling rack to drain. Repeat the procedure until all the remaining slices are done. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve while hot.
Diplomatico—A Chocolate Dessert with Rum and Coffee
Is THERE any other dessert like diplomatico, I wonder, that rewards such little effort with such gratifying results? You never even have to turn on the oven because you utilize ready-made pound cake. Slices of rum- and coffee-soaked cake are alternated with a simple mousse-like mixture of melted chocolate and eggs, and basically that is all there is to it. You can’t go wrong: Put in a little less rum, add a little more chocolate, add or subtract an egg, and it will still be a great success.
For 6 to 8 servings
FOR THE RUM AND COFFEE SOAK
5 tablespoons rum
1¼ cups strong espresso coffee
5 teaspoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons water
Note Some pound cakes absorb more than others, and the rum and coffee mixture may not suffice for soaking all the slices; have additional coffee and rum available and prepare more, if you need to, guided by the proportions given above.
A 16-ounce pound cake
Cheesecloth
A 9-inch rectangular cake pan (if you like your dessert to be tall rather than broad, use a narrow loaf pan)
FOR THE CHOCOLATE FILLING
4 eggs
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
A double boiler
6 ounces semisweet chocolate in drops or chopped up or grated squares
THE FROSTING
(If you prefer chocolate)
4 ounces semisweet chocolate in drops or chopped up or grated squares
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespo
on heavy whipping cream
(If you prefer whipped cream)
1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
A copper or other mixing bowl kept in the freezer
THE GARNISH
Fresh berries OR walnuts and candied fruit for either the chocolate or whipped cream frosting
1. For the rum and coffee soak: In a small bowl combine the rum, espresso, sugar, and water. Cut the pound cake into slices ¼ inch thick. Moisten cheesecloth with water and use it to line the inside of the cake pan with enough left over to extend beyond the pan and cover the cake later. Soak the pound cake, slice by slice in the rum and coffee mixture, then use the slices to line the bottom and sides of the pan. Leave no gaps, patching where necessary with pieces of soaked pound cake. Dip the cake slices in and out of the mixture rather quickly, otherwise they become too soggy to handle. If you run out of rum and coffee, mix some more.
2. For the chocolate filling: Separate the eggs, and beat the yolks with 1 teaspoon sugar until they turn pale yellow.
3. Put water in the bottom of a double boiler, bring it to a gentle, but steady simmer, then put the chocolate drops or chopped or grated semisweet chocolate into the top of the double boiler. When the chocolate has melted, pour it, a little at a time, over the egg yolks, mixing rapidly, until all the chocolate has been thoroughly amalgamated into the egg yolks.
4. Beat the egg whites in a bowl until they form stiff peaks. Mix 1 tablespoon of egg white into the chocolate and egg yolk mixture, then add the remainder, folding them in gently so as not to collapse them.
5. Spoon the chocolate filling into the pan, over the rum- and coffee-soaked cake slices. Top and cover with more slices of cake soaked in rum and coffee, and over them fold the moistened cheesecloth extending over the rim of the pan. Refrigerate until the following day at least.
6. When you take the cake out of the refrigerator, unfold the cheesecloth, pulling it away from the top. Turn the pan over on a platter, and shake it abruptly to loosen the cake, letting it drop onto the platter. Pull off the cheesecloth covering it.
7. If frosting with chocolate: Bring water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler. In the top put the 4 ounces of chocolate drops or chopped or grated semisweet chocolate together with 1 teaspoon butter. When the chocolate has melted, stir in the 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Spread the frosting evenly over the top and sides of the diplomatico. Refrigerate for an hour or so until the chocolate hardens.
If frosting with whipped cream: Put 1 cup very cold heavy cream and 1 teaspoon sugar into the bowl you had been keeping in the freezer. Whip it with a whisk until it is stiff. Use it to cover the top and sides of the cake.
Garnish the cake with a simple arrangement of either walnuts and candied fruit or fresh raspberries and blueberries or other berries.
Ahead-of-time note You can leave the diplomatico in the refrigerator for up to a week before proceeding with the next step.
Zuccotto
THAT THIS dome-shaped dessert is a Florentine specialty appears certain; what there is no general agreement upon is whether the name is an affectionate reference to the cupola that dominates Florence’s skyline, or a less than reverent allusion to the clergy, inasmuch as in the Tuscan dialect, a cardinal’s skullcap is also called a zuccotto. However it may have come by its name, zuccotto is another of those delightful confections that is so easy to take, and happily, just as easy to make. It may look like a pastry chef’s triumph, but the greatest demand its preparation makes on you is that of assembling a far from daunting list of mostly ready-made components.
For 6 servings
2 ounces shelled almonds, blanched and skinned as described
2 ounces shelled whole hazelnuts
A 1½-quart bowl, its bottom as perfectly round as possible
Cheesecloth
A 10- to 12-ounce pound cake
3 tablespoons Cognac
2 tablespoons Maraschino liqueur (see note below)
2 tablespoons Cointreau or white Curaçao liqueur
5 ounces semisweet chocolate in drops or squares
A mixing bowl kept in the freezer
2 cups very cold heavy whipping cream
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
A double boiler
Note Maraschino is a fine Italian liqueur made from the pulp and crushed pits of the Dalmatian marasca cherry, with a distinctive flavor that no other fruit cordial duplicates. One of its most appealing uses is with marinated fresh fruit. Do not confuse the liqueur with the cherries that go by the same name; the latter are quite ordinary preserved and artificially colored cherries. There’s no perfect substitute for Maraschino, but if you must use something else, look for a not too sweet cherry liqueur.
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. When the oven reaches the preset temperature, put the peeled almonds on a baking sheet, and place it on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Watch the nuts to make sure they don’t burn. (Do not turn the oven off when you take the almonds out.) Chop the almonds rather coarse by hand, or in the food processor, turning the blade on and off.
3. Put the shelled hazelnuts on the baking sheet, and roast them in the hot oven for 5 minutes. Take them out and use a dry, rough towel to rub off as much of their skin as comes easily away. Chop rather coarse, as you did the almonds.
4. Line the inside of the round bowl with a layer of moistened cheesecloth.
5. Cut most of the pound cake into slices ⅜ inch thick. Divide each slice diagonally in half, making two triangular pieces, each with crust on two sides.
6. Combine the Cognac, Maraschino, and Cointreau in a small bowl or deep saucer. Use a spoon to sprinkle some of the liqueur mixture over each piece of cake, reserving some of the mixture for later. Line the inside of the bowl with moistened pound cake, the narrow end of each piece facing the bottom of the bowl. As you lay the pound cake triangles side by side, have a side with crust next to one without. When you unmold the zuccotto, the thin crust lines will form a sunburst pattern. Make sure the entire inner surface of the bowl is lined with cake. If you need to slice more of the cake, do so. If there are gaps, fill them with small pieces of moistened cake without worrying about the pattern they form. A certain measure of irregularity has its appeal as indication of the handmade character of the dessert.
7. If using chocolate drops split them, if using squares, chop them rather coarse.
8. Take the mixing bowl out of the freezer, put in the heavy cream and the confectioners’ sugar, and whip with a whisk until the cream is stiff. Add to it 3 ounces of the chocolate, and all the chopped almonds and hazelnuts, distributing them evenly. Spoon one-half of the whipped cream mixture into the cake-lined bowl, spreading it uniformly with the back of the spoon or with a spatula over all the cake lining. You should be left with a hollow in the center.
9. Melt the remaining 2 ounces of chocolate in the top of a double boiler as described. Fold the melted chocolate into the remaining half of the whipped cream mixture, and spoon it over the cake, filling the hollow. Trim away any pieces of cake that protrude past the top edge of the bowl. Work out how many more slices of cake you will need to cover the top of the bowl, moisten them with the remaining liqueurs, and place them over the cream. Their outside edge must meet the top edge of the cake lining the sides of the bowl, thus sealing the zuccotto. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
10. Upon taking the bowl out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap and turn the bowl upside down onto a platter. Lift the bowl away, leaving the zuccotto on the platter, and carefully pull off the cheesecloth. Serve while still cold.
Variation: Zuccotto with Ice Cream
From the ingredients and materials in the basic recipe above, omit the double boiler, the whipping cream, the confectioners’ sugar, and the bowl in the freezer. Have on hand 1 cup premium-quality dark chocolate ice cream (see Marcella’s Italian Kitchen, page 320), and 1 cup homemade egg cust
ard ice cream or premium-quality vanilla ice cream.
• Follow the directions in the basic recipe through Step 7, until you have split the chocolate drops or chopped the squares. Mix the chocolate drops or chopped squares together with the almonds and hazelnuts. Divide the mixture into 2 equal parts.
• Put the chocolate and the vanilla ice creams in separate small bowls or saucers, and soften them to spreading consistency with a fork, but do not allow them to melt.
• Add the chocolate ice cream to one half of the chopped nut mixture, and the vanilla or egg custard ice cream to the other half.
• Spread the vanilla or egg custard ice cream mixture over the cake lining the bowl, leaving a hollow in the center. Fill the hollow with the chocolate ice cream.
• Seal the zuccotto with cake slices as described in the basic recipe, cover with freezer paper, and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours. Transfer to the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Unmold as described in the basic recipe, and serve at once.
CHESTNUTS
Fresh chestnuts become available at the beginning of fall and continue to come to the market through the winter. Preserved chestnut meat is sold throughout the year in cans and jars, but it is no substitute for good quality fresh nuts.
How to choose In Italy one distinguishes between two types of edible chestnuts; one is small and flat, each prickly bur that contains them bears two, and it is known as castagna comune, or common chestnut; the other is larger and much plumper, each bur contains just one, and it is known as marrone. The latter is the kind to look for, because its flesh is much juicier and sweeter. When truly fresh, chestnut skins should be glossy, unwrinkled, and the nut should feel heavy in the hand.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 64