There are times when Annu takes my calling him ‘Baby’ very seriously and starts making cute kiddy demands which I find impossible to deny. A month before his birthday he came across this amazing looking ice cream cake and insisted that he wanted the same one for his birthday party. That was the first time I got introduced to this exotic, traditional Tuscan dessert.
Zuccotto is a molded and richly layered pastry or ice cream filled sponge cake dessert. The word "zuccotto" means "pumpkin" in Italian; the dessert was originally molded into the shape of a pumpkin. It is widely believed to have been inspired by the dome of Florence, the main cathedral in Italy. It also got its name from the cardinal skullcap, also known as zuccotto, which it resembles.
This dome-shaped dessert was an absolute delight to make and it was exceptionally beautiful when I upturned it on the serving tray. I enjoyed every step of making this cake, right from baking the sponge to cutting and setting the cake strips in to the dome shape. The lined sponge cake strips are given that extra bit of character by adding a hint of rum. I layered the empty space inside with vanilla ice cream – strawberries - vanilla ice cream – orange ice cream (in the same order). After a serving of Chicken Stuffed Buns, Thyme and Garlic Flavored Bread, Shepherds Pie, and Creamed Corn; Zuccotto gave a perfect end to the perfect lunch.
There’s nothing more priceless and special than that smile on Annu’s face and the compliments which everyone poured. I am so glad he demanded this one. I know I’ll be making this one often. I surely will be experimenting with the fillings and will come up with better and better ones :).
I know it looks so very impressive but I can say that it's easy to make and amazing to eat. I know everyone who was there to eat it will second me on that :).
