Il Duomo (Zuccotto)Print Recipe

I think there is something very festive about a Zuccotto, I seem to make one whenever we are celebrating important occasions – this year it is Christmas. It is taking the place of our classic Christmas Pudding and Mr Man is so happy because it contains his beloved chocolate.

My good friend Mary Claire is an exceptional cook, her mother Gaye, is equally so and it was at her house (way back when) that I tried my first Zuccotto. She had made it for her husband’s birthday and it looked spectacular. When I tasted it I thought it was possibly the best thing I had ever eaten, I was actually going through a ‘chocolate is my world’ phase and I still remember thinking it was heaven – to this day I still do.

The Zuccotto is a Florentine speciality that was inspired by the dome of the city’s cathedral. It is formed by lining a large bowl with cake, the crusts of the cake represent the ribbing on the dome. It is filled with a blend of ricotta, marscapone, nuts, candied fruit and chocolate. I chose to decorate it with a little piping and a few edible pearls but you can do whatever you see fit.

and something I haven’t said yet – Merry Christmas, I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday and the year ahead is full of joy and happiness. xx

Cake
1 1/2 cups of plain (all purpose) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/4 cup of milk
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup castor sugar
3 eggs

Lemon Syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup limoncello or grappa

Filling
200 grams bittersweet couverture chocolate
1 cup cream
125 grams icing sugar
1 cup marscapone
100 grams drained ricotta
100 grams of blanched almonds, roughly chopped
100 grams toasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off and roughly chopped
100 grams candied citron, grapefruit or lemon peel, chopped

Preheat your oven to 160c. To make the cake, grease a 23cm x 13 cm x 8 cm loaf tin and line it with baking paper. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Mix the lemon juice into the milk and set aside. Cream the butter and the sugar until thick and pale, then add the eggs, one at a time beating thoroughly after each. Lightly beat in 1/3 of the flour. Add the milk and lemon juice and the remaining flour and combine gently (this is really important – I didn’t do it so gently and as you can see in my pictures I have too many air bubbles in my cake). Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Meanwhile, put a mixing bowl into the refrigerator to chill it. To make the syrup gently beat the water and sugar in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon and orange juice. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in your chosen liqueur.

Cut the cake into 5mm slices, then cut each slice in half on the diagonal. Paint the cake slices lightly with the syrup, then line a 1.5 litre round bottom bowl with the cake. The point of each slice towards the bottom and a crust meeting a non crust edge will echo the lines of the famous dome (keep the ribs of the dome in mind as you do this and you can’t go wrong – when the dessert is inverted, the ‘ribs’ run down the cake). Ensure the surface of the bowl is completely covered. Patch any holes with more moistened cake. Set aside left over cake and syrup to make the lid later on.

To make the filling, chop or grate half the chocolate. Carefully melt the remaining chocolate in a bowl standing over a saucepan of simmering water. remove the pan from the heat and allow the chocolate to cool but not set.

Whip the cream and icing sugar in a chilled mixing bowl until very stiff. Whisk together the marscapone and ricotta. Fold this mixture with the whipped cream. Mix in the nuts, candied peel and chopped or grated chocolate. Put a third of the mixture in a bowl and add the cooled, melted chocolate and fold through thoroughly.

Spread the mixture without the melted chocolate over the moistened cake in the bowl, smoothing it evenly and leaving a hole in the centre. Fill the centre of the bowl with the chocolate mixture and level off the top. Cover the top with the reserved slices of moistened cake. cover the bowl with plastic film and refrigerate overnight or for 24 hours.

To unmould, carefully invert the zuccotto onto a plate and moisten the cake with the reserved syrup if it is looking dry. Cut into wedges and serve alone or with poached fruits.

Source: Tuscan Cookbook – Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer

A picture of my little helper waiting patiently for her Zuccotto.

© 2010, Michelle. All rights reserved.