Zuppa Inglese
An Italian layered dessert made of sponge fingers soaked in crimson Alchermes liqueur, vanilla crema pasticcera, and rich dark chocolate custard.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 460 kcal
Equipment
- •Medium saucepan
- •Heatproof bowl
- •Whisk
- •Trifle dish or glass serving bowl
- •Shallow dish
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 460 kcal
- fat
- 18 g
- carbs
- 62 g
- fibre
- 2 g
- protein
- 11 g
- calories
- 460 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Warm the whole milk with the vanilla pod and lemon zest strip in a saucepan until steaming.
- 2
Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl until pale and slightly thickened.
- 3
Whisk the cornflour into the egg mixture until completely smooth.
- 4
Discard the lemon zest, then slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly.
- 5
Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick and glossy.
- 6
Divide the hot custard evenly between two clean bowls.
- 7
Stir the chopped dark chocolate into one bowl until fully melted, silky, and uniform in colour.
- 8
Mix the Alchermes liqueur with the water in a shallow dish.
- 9
Dip savoiardi briefly into the crimson liqueur and line the base of your glass serving dish.
- 10
Spread the chocolate custard evenly over the soaked biscuit base.
- 11
Add a second layer of soaked savoiardi, then top evenly with the pale vanilla custard.
- 12
Cover the dish with cling film and refrigerate for at least four hours before serving chilled.
Chef's tips
Dip the biscuits for barely one second per side so they do not turn soggy before assembling. Press cling film directly onto the custard surface if chilling separately to prevent a skin from forming.
Ingredient substitutions
- Alchermes liqueur → Marsala wine or a mixture of rum and pomegranate juice, though the signature spiced flavour and bright colour will alter
- savoiardi (ladyfinger biscuits) → sliced pan di Spagna (plain Italian sponge cake)
Storage
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating
Serve chilled straight from the fridge; do not reheat.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Over-soaking the biscuits, which causes the dessert to collapse into a watery pool.
- •Boiling the custard over high heat, which will scramble the egg yolks instead of thickening smoothly.
- •Serving the dessert warm or freshly assembled before the distinct layers have set.
Serving suggestions
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