Zuccotto Crunch Recipes

ZUCCOTTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until skins begin to split, about 10 minutes. Rub warm nuts vigorously with a clean kitchen towel to remove skins. Return to baking sheet; toast until fragrant and golden brown, about 1 minute more. Cool; coarsely chop. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, and liqueur if using. Bring to a boil; stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; set aside to cool completely. Line a 9-by-5-inch domed metal or glass bowl with plastic wrap.
• Cut rectangular sponge cake into thirds crosswise and lengthwise, making 9 rectangles. Reserve round sponge cake layer to use on top. Cut each rectangle diagonally in half, forming 18 triangles. Brush both sides of each triangle with some syrup. Line inside of bowl with triangle slices, pointed ends facing bottom of bowl, to form a sunburst pattern. Fit slices snugly so bowl is completely lined. Use small pieces of syrup-brushed cake to fill in gaps. Trim the cake top to make it even. Transfer lined bowl to refrigerator.
• Place cream and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium until stiff, about 3 minutes. Gently fold in reserved nuts, toffee, and raspberries. Remove lined bowl from refrigerator, fill with cream mixture, and cover top with cake round. This will become bottom of zuccotto when unmolded. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.
• Place a wire rack on top of bowl, and invert zuccotto onto rack. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Remove bowl and plastic wrap. Using a ladle, pour ganache over top of dome, letting excess drip down sides onto rack. Make sure to coat entire surface of the zuccotto. Cut into wedges. Ladle with creme anglaise. Serve immediately, garnishedwith chopped toffee, nuts, and berries.

CHERRY, CHOCOLATE, AND PISTACHIO ZUCCOTTO

Steps:

• Line a large bowl with plastic wrap to make a mold.
• Slice 1/2 inch off the top and bottom of the panettone. Cut another horizontal slice off the top. Slice remaining panettone vertically; cut each vertical slice in half.
• Mix ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, pistachio nuts, candied fruit, sugar, and dark chocolate together to make the filling. Mix in cherries to create a marbled effect.
• Lay the top panettone slice in the bottom of the mold. Sprinkle vin santo on top. Arrange vertical halves around the side of the bowl, overlapping slightly if needed. Sprinkle with more vin santo. Spoon 1/2 the ricotta mixture into the center, smoothing into corners using the back of a spoon. Lay second panettone slice on top; sprinkle with vin santo. Add remaining ricotta mixture, again smoothing down with the spoon. Cover with the bottom slice. Drizzle more vin santo and reserved cherry syrup on top.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place a plate on top. Add bags of beans to press down on zuccotto. Refrigerate until set, 8 hours to overnight.
• Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each melting, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Invert zuccotto onto a serving plate and peel off plastic wrap. Drizzle melted chocolate over the top.

ZUCCOTTO

Steps:

• Spray a 1 1/2-quart bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bowl with plastic wrap. Cut the pound cake crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice diagonally in half, forming 2 triangles. Line the bottom and sides of the prepared bowl with the cake triangles. Brush some of the brandy over the cake triangles lining the bowl. Reserve the extra triangles.
• Stir the chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup of cream in another large bowl until it is thick and fluffy. Fold 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate. Fold half of the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spread the chocolate cream over the cake, covering completely and creating a well in the center. Cover and refrigerate if not assembling cake right away.
• In another clean large bowl, add the remaining 1 cup of cream and almond extract. Using an electric mixer with clean beaters, beat on medium speed and gradually add the powdered sugar. Beat until firm peaks form. Fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the center of the well of the filling.
• Brush the remaining cake slices with brandy and arrange them, brandy side down, over the cake, covering the filling completely and trimming to fit, if necessary. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.
• Invert the cake onto a platter. Remove the bowl and the plastic wrap. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.

ZUCCOTTO

Steps:

• Spray a 1 1/2-quart bowl lightly with vegetable spray. Line bottom and sides with cake, ensuring a tight fit to completely encase the filling. Sprinkle with liqueur and set aside.
• Whip cream until it holds soft peaks. Separately, beat ricotta and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Fold together whipped cream and ricotta. Fold in half the nuts and candied fruit. Pour half the mixture over the cake. Make a well in the center large enough to hold the remaining cream mixture.
• Thoroughly blend remaining cream mixture with chocolate and cocoa powder, then spoon mixture into the well left in Step 2. Sprinkle remaining nuts on top, cover lightly with plastic wrap and freeze until very firm, at least 6 hours.
• Fifteen minutes before serving, remove from freezer and invert onto a plate. Slice and serve.

ZUCCOTTO

Steps:

• Toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet, in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and place in a kitchen towel. Rub the nuts inside the towel to remove their skins. Coarsely chop, and set aside.
• Mix together the water, 1/2 cup sugar, and liqueur in a small pot. Bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool.
• Line a deep bowl that is 9 inch in diameter, and 5 inches deep with plastic wrap. Cut the rectangular sponge cake into 9 squares, and then cut each square in half diagonally, creating 19 pieces of sponge cake in total. Brush both sides of the sponge cake with the liqueur mixture, and fit them together in the lined bowl so the mold is completely lined. If you have any spaces visibles, use spare pieces of the sponge cake moistened with the syrup to fill in the holes. Trim the top edge of the bowl evenly, and place it in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
• Place the 2 cups of heavy cream with the icing sugar in a bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until the cream is in stiff peaks. Carefully fold in the hazelnuts, chopped chocolate and raspberries. Remove the mold from the refrigerator, and spoon the filling into the lined mold. Place the round cake on top of the filling, cover everything with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 12 hours.
• Chop the chocolate finely, and place it in a bowl. Cook the cream until bubbly, and then pour it over the chocolate mixture. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes, and then stir it until it is smooth. Leave sitting at room temperature. It will get thicker as it sits, but you need a mixture that is spreadable, but thick enough to nicely coat the bottom of the mold.
• Remove the plastic wrap, place the cake on a wire rack top side down so the rounded end is on top, and remove the bowl. Place the wire rack over a baking sheet to catch the drips. Using a ladle, spoon the chocolate icing or ganache over the cake coating the entire surface. Decorate with extra hazelnuts and raspberries and serve.

ZUCCOTTO

Steps:

• Cut cake in slices 1 cm (1/2") thick, cut each slice on the diagonal, making two triangular sections - this is so it will fit into 5 cup round based pudding basin.
• Combine brandy and Maraschino; carefully brush one side of each section of cake with this mixture.
• Place sections of cake unbrushed side against sides of tin, against the inside of.
• pudding bowl which as been lined with a layer of damp muslin; make sure the narrowest end of cake is on the bottom.
• Repeat process until the inside of the bowl is completely lined with cake; alternate crust and non-crust sides of cake to give striped effect; fill the gaps with pieces of moistened cake; trim edges of cake so they are level with top of basin; the left over cake will cover top when filled.
• Place almonds on oven tray, bake in moderate oven 5 minutes or until pale brown; remove from oven, cool.
• Chop almonds and hazelnuts roughly; chop 30g (1oz) chocolate, put aside; melt remaining chocolate in top of double saucepan over hot water.
• Whip together cream and sifted icing sugar until firms peaks form; fold nuts into mixture, divide mixture in half, fold chopped chocolate through one half and melted chocolate through the other.
• Spoon white cream mixture evenly over the entire cake surface, leaving a cavity in the centre of the bowl; spoon chocolate mixture into cavity.
• Moisten remaining cake with left over liqueur, arrange on top to cover surface completely; cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.
• Turn out carefully onto serving plate; if desired, dust top with combined sifted icing sugar and cocoa about one teaspoon of each.

ZUCCOTTO WITH PRUNE CREAM

Steps:

• Bring the brandy and 1 cup of water to a boil. Put the prunes in a bowl and pour the brandy-water over them. Refrigerate for 12 hours.
• Drain the prunes, reserving the liquid. Chop the prunes, and place half of them in a blender with half the marinating liquid. Blend until smooth. This mixture will be the sauce and should have the consistency of thick cream. If it is too thick, add several tablespoons of water. When the sauce has been made, transfer it to a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Also refrigerate the remaining chopped prunes.
• Line a 4-cup mixing bowl with a sheet of plastic wrap, then line that with thin slices of the sponge cake. Brush the cake with the remaining prune marinating liquid.
• Whip the cream until stiff and refrigerate.
• Mix the sugar with 2 tablespoons of water in a very small saucepan. Heat to a temperature of about 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• In a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form very soft peaks. Stir the gelatin mixture into the sugar mixture and slowly add this to the egg whites, beating constantly. Continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy and have cooled down.
• Fold the reserved chopped prunes into the whipped cream, fold this into the egg-white mixture and fill the cake-lined bowl with it. Cover with slices of cake. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
• To serve, unmold the zuccotto and peel off the plastic wrap. Cut wedges of the dessert. Serve the prune and brandy sauce on the side.