This Italian dessert in a glass is a variation of the alcohol-infused cake Zuppa Inglese. Made with sponge cake, pastry cream and pomegranate seeds topped with whipped ricotta and sliced almonds, it’s such a festive looking dessert that is just perfect for the holidays!
Throughout the year, most Italians prefer to end their meal with a fruit dessert.
Crostata, whether made with berries, apples, jam, or peaches, is undoubtingly everyone’s favorite easy Italian dessert to make.
A platter of seasonal fruit, macerated strawberries, or a simple fruit salad is also considered a wonderful way to end a meal, especially in the summer.
Special festive occasions and holidays, on the other hand, require elegant and rich desserts such as tiramisu, Italian Rum Cake, and struffoli to name but a few.
Zuppa Inglese is also considered one of the most popular Italian desserts. This non-traditional recipe combines an Italian cake (brushed with liquor), lemon pastry cream, and pomegranate seeds with a garnish of whipped ricotta, sliced almonds and more pomegranate seeds prepared in individual glasses.
What is Zuppa Inglese?
In Italian, Zuppa Inglese literally translates to English soup. According to the Oxford Companion to Italian Food by Gillian Riley, it was probably not an English invention.
It usually consists of alternating layers of sponge cake (Pan di Spagna) or Italian ladyfingers (brushed with alchermes), pastry cream (both vanilla and chocolate) and topped with grated chocolate.
Typical to Italian regional cuisine, there are countless variations. In Emiglia-Romagna, the Italian liquor Alchermes is used to douse the sponge cake, layered with both chocolate and vanilla pastry cream. A Roman version introduces candied fruits. Whereas in Naples, a ricotta mixture replaces the custard.
The traditional combination of the individual components can take the shape of a cake, or layered in one big trifle bowl.
In this non-traditional version, not only are we using individual glasses, but the inclusion of pomegranate arils makes this the perfect Italian Christmas dessert.
Mise en place
The great thing about this dessert is that you can begin to prepare it a few days before you plan to serve it.
1-2 days before serving
- make the Italian sponge cake, wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature
- toast ⅔ cup of sliced almonds, allow them to cool to room temperature and store in a sealed container.
- make the lemon pastry cream, cover properly and refrigerate until ready to use.
- remove the seeds from the pomegranate, place them in a sealed container and refrigerate.
The same day
- make the whipped ricotta by simply using a blender to process 3 cups of ricotta until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To cut the cake
Place the cake on an even surface. Using a ruler, identify the center of the side of the cake with a toothpick. Continue to insert toothpicks all around the cake. With a long serrated knife, and using the toothpicks as a guide, simply cut the cake in half horizontally. You now have two perfect layers of cake.
If desired, brush the cake with rum. Depending on how generous you are, you need about ¼ cup. I added a little pomegranate juice to imitate the color of Alchermes.
Using a cookie cutter or a glass that is ½ inch shorter in diameter than the glass you plan on using to serve the dessert, cut out 10 round pieces of cake. This creates the top final layer of our dessert, which will be covered with whipped ricotta rosettes.
Cut the rest of the sponge cake into 1-inch cubes. Reserve the crumbs.
There will be some leftover cake.
To assemble the individual trifles
Place 2 cubes of sponge cake in each of the ten 4-ounce serving dessert bowls or glasses. Add 1-1½ tablespoons of pastry cream, followed by a heaping tablespoon of pomegranate seeds.
Repeat this sequence one more time.
Place the top round piece of cake in each glass. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
To garnish
To garnish this dessert, use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe small rosettes of whipped ricotta over the entire surface of the top piece of sponge cake.
Garnish with 1 teaspoon of pomegranate seeds, 1 tablespoon of roasted sliced almond and some of the leftover crumbs from cutting the cake.
Serve and enjoy!
Tips
- When cutting the cake, there will be some crumbs left on the cutting board. Use them as a garnish and sprinkle them on the whipped ricotta.
- The longer this dessert sits in the refrigerator, the softer the texture of the sponge cake becomes as it begins to absorb the pastry cream.
How to toast sliced almonds
Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Scatter the number of almonds needed on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5-6 minutes or until fragrant and beginning to turn a golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a shallow dish to prevent them from overbaking.
Substitutions
- Replace the Italian sponge cake with angel food, chiffon cake or even savoiardi, Italian ladyfingers.
- The whipped ricotta can be replaced by whipped cream.
Recipe Inspiration
It’s such a blessing to live in a friendly neighborhood.
My mom started making tiramisu and Zuppa Inglese for special occasions when she befriended a new neighbor and started exchanging recipes with her.
As a young adult, I immediately fell in love with these desserts, probably because they were so similar to one of my favorite cakes, Italian Rum cake.
Who could resist the combination of all these wonderful ingredients, no matter what shape they take?
I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for your continued support of She Loves Biscotti. I am extremely grateful to all of you.
Wishing all of you and your dear ones many blessings of health and happiness for 2021!
Happy New Year!
Bonne Année!
Buon Anno!
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
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Ciao for now,
Maria
★★★★★ If you have made this Italian dessert recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
Zuppa Inglese
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Italian sponge cake
- ¼ cup rum optional
- 1 recipe Lemon pastry cream
- ⅔ cup sliced almonds roasted
- 1 pomegranate arils
- 3 cups ricotta whipped
- crumbs left from cutting the cake
Instructions
1-2 days before:
- Make the Italian sponge cake, wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.
- Make the lemon pastry cream, cover properly and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Toast the sliced almonds, allow them to cool to room temperature and store in a sealed container.
- Remove the seeds from the pomegranate, place them in a sealed container and refrigerate.
The same day:
- Make the whipped ricotta by simply using a blender to process it until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To assemble the individual trifles:
- Place 2 cubes of sponge cake in each of the ten 4-ounce serving dessert bowls or glasses. Add 1-1½ tablespoons of pastry cream, followed by a heaping tablespoon of pomegranate seeds.
- Repeat this sequence one more time.
- Place the top round piece of cake in each glass. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 3-4 hours.
To garnish:
- To garnish this dessert, use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe small rosettes of whipped ricotta over the entire surface of the top piece of sponge cake.
- Garnish with 1 teaspoon of pomegranate seeds, 1 tablespoon of roasted sliced almond and some of the leftover crumbs from cutting the cake.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- When cutting the cake, there will be some crumbs left on the cutting board. Use them as a garnish and sprinkle them on the whipped ricotta.
- The longer this dessert sits in the refrigerator, the softer the texture of the sponge cake becomes as it begins to absorb the pastry cream.
Renee says
I made this for my family, and loved it! Thank you, Maria!!!
Maria says
How wonderful Renee! Thanks so much for sharing!
Mrs Alice Ewart says
Looks delicious.
Maria says
Thank you kindly! Happy New Year!