Summer Zuccotto

Ready for a delicious showstopper of a dessert that's easy to make too? 

Yes, that's right, the hardest part of this dessert is cutting the pieces of cake (store purchased) to fit your bowl.

I'm calling this a "summer" zuccotto because it's not a true zuccotto, but there are so many ways to make zuccotto, who really knows what a true zuccotto is, anyway? 

However you make your zuccotto, whether with ice cream or a ricotta filling, or with my recipe using fresh berries and whipped cream, it must be in a semi-spherical shape to be called a zuccotto. In Italian zuccotto means "little pumpkin" after all, and it's a Tuscan dessert meant to mimic the shape of Brunelleschi's famed dome in Florence.

I made it recently for our end-of-the-year picnic of my Italian chit-chat group, and it was only one of the many desserts at the table.

And the desserts came after at least a dozen different vegetable and side dishes, plus too many pizzas to count, made by our host Tony, an architect who built a wood-fired pizza oven into the side of his house. They really were the best pizzas this side of Naples.

But back to Florence, and the zuccotto.

Start out by marinating some berries with sugar and lemon. You'll need that juice later.

What makes this easy is using a store bought cake. I used a Pan D'Oro, the classic egg-rich sponge cake sold in Italian specialty shops. If you can't find one, buy a sponge cake, or make your own sponge cake, called "pan de spagna" in Italian. My recipe for sponge cake is here, if you need one.

Trim away the brown crusts and fit the cake pieces tightly into a bowl lined with plastic wrap.

Sprinkle the cake with the syrup mixed with liqueur.

Then load in the whipped cream mixed with the drained fruit.

Cover it all with a top layer of cake (this will become the bottom), and sprinkle on some more liquid from the berries (or rum, or whatever you like).

Place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight. Then flip it onto a plate, pour the raspberry sauce on top and decorate.

Dig in and watch it disappear quicker than you can say Brunelleschi.

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Summer Zuccotto

printable recipe here

3 cups berries - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon



Slice the strawberries, then mix all the berries together with the sugar and lemon and let them sit for about an hour, or until juices have formed at the bottom of the bowl. While the berries and macerating, prepare the other ingredients:



1 Pan D'Oro, or a large sponge cake

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. gelatin, dissolved in a little water (1/4 cup or so)

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup creme de cassis or rum or other liqueur

juice from the drained berries

for the raspberry sauce:

Boil together one 10- or 12-ounce package of frozen raspberries, or a pint of fresh raspberries, 2 T. water and 1/4 cup sugar. Boil for about five minutes, then force through a strainer. Add 1 tsp. lemon juice and refrigerate.



Line a bowl with plastic wrap. (Mine held approximately 2 quarts of liquid).

Cut the cake into large slices (about 1/2 inch thick) and fit them tightly into the bowl.



Drain the juice from the berries and add the orange juice and the liqueur and/or rum.

Spoon some of the juices all over the cake, wetting it all over.



Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it sit for a few minutes while you whip the cream.



Whip the cream with the confectioner's sugar, adding in the dissolved gelatin. Fold the drained berries into the whipped cream, then spoon the mixture into the cake-lined bowl.



Cover with more pieces of cake, and wet cake with more liquid. If you run out of liquid, you can always use rum, or if you prefer less alcohol, use a simple syrup (make it by boiling some water with sugar and letting it cool).



Cover the whole thing with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator at least 12 hours, or overnight.



Serve with the sauce and decorate with more berries and mint leaves.