English Soup Recipe

Legends also flourish when it comes to recipes, and often there is more than half a truth behind a legend established over time. Regarding zuppa inglese it is said to have been “invented” by a woman who lent her services to a noble English family settled in the beautiful hills of Fiesole.

That Tuscan peasant girl, educated from an early age not to throw away anything of the albeit frugal remains of a meal, would painstakingly collect all the leftover snacks, especially cookies. Wanting to economize even in the homes of those who did not need it at all, the maid came up with the idea of exploiting that “grace of God” by mixing the leftover cookies into custard (custard is made without flour, while custard needs flour) and chocolate pudding. But the cookies collected from the previous days’ tables had become dry and uninviting. How to make them more palatable and tasty? No problem, the resourceful maid to soften them soaked them with sweet wine, et voila!

The most important evidence in support of this thesis is the presence of cocoa, which became in common use precisely during the seventeenth century.

There is another hypothesis supporting the Tuscan origin of zuppa inglese and more specifically of Sienese origin. It is said to have been invented under the name Zuppa del Duca in July 1552 in honor of Duke Ippolito da Correggio, who was sent by Cosimo I de’ Medici to Siena to settle the ongoing diatribes between the Sienese and the Spanish then at war with each other.

A full three centuries later, in the early 1800s, “Duke’s Soup” from the city of the Palio arrived in Florence, where it ended up becoming one of the specialties of Café Doney, much frequented by wealthy English residents of Florence, who liked it so much that they came to call it “zuppa inglese.”

Finally, we recall a further hypothesis regarding the Sienese origin of zuppa inglese, namely that referable to the Duke of Amalfi, ambassador to Siena of Charles V in the first half of the 16th century, who invariably preferred this dessert to all others.

Zuppa Inglese Recipe

Ingredients:
Sponge cake (see below)
Custard (see below)
150 g dark chocolate
Alchermes
Rhum

Preparation:
Prepare both the sponge cake, which you will cut once cooled into slices about 1 cm thick, and the custard, following the recipes below.

Divide the cream into two parts: to one add the chocolate grated and melted in a bain-marie on the stove along with a couple of tablespoons of water.

Prepare two dishes: one for the alkermes diluted with a little water, the other for the rum, again diluted with a little water.

Grease a serving dish with a little butter and sprinkle it with a little sugar, then spread a layer of sponge cake slices soaked in Alchermes that you sprinkle with the chocolate custard; follow this up with a layer of sponge cake soaked in rum over which you will spread the basic custard.

Continue in this way, alternating the different ingredients until they are completely used up, ending with a layer of cream.

Leave for a few hours in the refrigerator before serving, possibly garnishing with whipped cream.

Some versions call for a sprinkling of walnuts, candied fruit or a layer of cherry jam between layers of cream and sponge cake.

THE SPANISH BREAD
Ingredients:
150 g flour
150 g sugar
25 g butter
5 eggs
Salt

Preparation:
Melt the sugar by working it in with the egg yolks for a long time until soft and smooth, then gradually add the flour and continue mixing for about 15 minutes.
At this point also mix the butter melted in a bain-marie and the salt into the mixture.
Whip the egg whites until stiff and, spoonful by spoonful, incorporate them into the mixture, which you then pour into a round mold and bake in a hot oven for about 30 minutes.
To check if the cooking is finished, stick a wooden stick into the dough: if the dough sticks, extend the cooking time.
Remove from oven and let cool.

CUSTARD
Ingredients:
160 g sugar
8 egg yolks
4 tablespoons flour
1 lt milk
1 untreated lemon

Preparation:
In a high-sided saucepan, carefully mix the eggs with the sugar. When the latter has dissolved, amalgamate the flour a little at a time, then, still stirring, add the hot milk as well and flavor with the grated lemon peel.
Put the saucepan on the stove and bring to a boil without ever stopping stirring. Turn off after three minutes of boiling and let cool.

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