English Trifle with Nutella®
In London, they've never heard of zuppa inglese, but in Emilia Romagna it's the most typical dessert, and along with tortellini and piadina, it's part of the identity of an entire region.
To interpret zuppa inglese, we chose Catherine and Lorenzo—she Belgian and Bolognese by adoption, he a true Bolognese—perfect interpreters of what tradition means today. A housewife and son of a family of pasta makers, Lorenzo met his future wife at university, and together they evolved his grandmother's pasta factory into a modern restaurant with two locations in Bologna and Casalecchio di Reno. They found a way to pass on the tradition of fresh pasta with a contemporary format, before this knowledge was lost forever, and to embrace the new generations. They did the same with us with zuppa inglese.
They usually eat zuppa inglese every Christmas, but her father-in-law makes it (because Catherine really doesn't like it). This time, however, she accepted the challenge and made it for us. Did she beat the master?
For 10 single-serving 100g cups
For the sponge cake 2 large eggs 30 g flour 30 g potato starch 60 g sugar 1⁄2 vanilla pod.
For the custard 400g milk 100g fresh cream 4 egg yolks 25g cornstarch 40g sugar 1 vanilla pod.
For the red reduction 100 g water 80 g raspberries or orange pulp 50 g sugar 150 g Nutella® chopped hazelnuts to taste
Method: In a small saucepan, cook 100g of water, raspberries, and sugar until the fruit is well wilted and cooked, then strain and cool. Set aside a couple of raspberries for decoration. Pour the eggs at room temperature into a bowl and beat them with a whisk while gradually adding the sugar. Mix for about ten minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, place a sieve over the bowl and pour in the flour and potato starch. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the batter using gentle, bottom-up movements, making sure there are no residues on the bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into a previously buttered and floured 18cm cake pan or onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (340°F) for 20-25 minutes.
To make the custard, pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Remove the vanilla seeds, reserving them from the pod, and pour the pod into the saucepan. Heat until just below boiling. Meanwhile, pour the vanilla pulp into the egg yolks, add the sugar, beat quickly, and then sift in the cornstarch. Stir until the milk and cream are hot, so discard the pod and pour a couple of ladlefuls into the egg mixture to thin it out. Then pour back into the saucepan and whisk for a few minutes. Turn off the heat as soon as the custard thickens.
Take 70g of the cooled sponge cake and cut it using a pastry cutter to fit the glasses you have available, or alternatively, cut it into 1cm-thick vertical slices, trimming them so that they fit into glasses with a capacity of about 150ml. Brush the sponge cake on both sides and the edges with the raspberry syrup.
Now begin assembling the zuppa inglese, alternating the layers in the following sequence from the bottom: sponge cake, Nutella®, cream, sponge cake, Nutella®, cream, and finally a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts. Finish the zuppa inglese by adding a couple of fresh raspberries.