Recipe for "zuccotto"

NAME

     ZUCCOTTO - Ladyfingers with cream and rum
     This makes a great dessert for a party.  It only takes about
     an hour to make (more if you bake a cake yourself instead of
     buying one) and only requires a few  seconds  to  get  ready
     when served.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 10-20)

     250-350 g  cake or lady fingers (lady fingers,  pound  cake,
               or  sponge cake.  If you make sponge cake, a 6-egg
               cake is about right)
     750 ml    whipping cream
     60 ml     spirits (rum or amaretto or whatever you like. See
               step 2 for quantity hints.)
     assorted  flavorings  (chocolate,  nuts,  coffee,  liqueurs,
               extracts...)
     10 ml     unflavored gelatin (optional)
     50 ml     powdered sugar (or more or less, to taste)

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Line a large hemispherical bowl with the  cake  or
               lady fingers.  If you use cake, cut slices in half
               diagonally to make  large  triangles  and  arrange
               them  in  a  sunburst  pattern.   If  you use lady
               fingers, cut some in half diagonally  and  arrange
               in a flower-like pattern.
          (2)  Douse generously  with  spirits;  cake  should  be
               quite wet but not soggy.
          (3)  Dissolve the gelatin in 2 tablespoons hot water in
               a  cup;  place the cup in a bowl of very hot water
               so the gelatin melts.  Check occasionally to  make
               sure  the surrounding water stays hot.  (I suppose
               you could use a microwave for this, but I've never
               tried.)
          (4)  Divide the cream into two very cold  bowls.   Whip
               each until stiff; if the flavoring for either half
               isn't sweet, add powdered sugar to taste  at  this
               point.  Beat the dissolved gelatin into the cream.
               Flavor each  half  separately.   Spread  one  half
               around  the  inside  of  the cake-lined bowl; fill
               with the other half.
          (5)  Top with more cake and douse  with  more  spirits.
               Since  this part doesn't show you don't need to be
               creative.
          (6)  Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
          (7)  Turn out onto a platter and garnish  with  chopped
               nuts,  grated  chocolate,  or  powdered  sugar  if
               desired.  Cut into wedges; serves about 10-20 peo-
               ple depending.

NOTES

     The most recent zuccotto I made used rum to flavor the  lady
     fingers.   The  first  filling  had  powdered sugar, vanilla
     extract, and 50 g chopped semi-sweet chocolate.  The  second
     had 150 g melted semi-sweet chocolate mixed with about 10 ml
     instant coffee dissolved in  a  little  boiling  water,  and
     another  50 g chopped semi-sweet chocolate.  (Just chop 3 of
     the squares of chocolate and melt  the  other  5).   Chopped
     hazelnuts or almonds are also quite good.
     You can make a smaller one by using less, of course!

RATING

     Difficulty: moderate.  Time: 60 minutes  preparation,  over-
     night cooling.  Precision: no need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     -paul asente
     decwrl!glacier!cascade!asente asente@Cascade.ARPA
     "Is there a center for someone who feels he never knows what's going on?"
          -C. Brown