Zuccotto Recipe (Authentic with Ricotta)

Zuccotto is a famous Italian dessert, originally from Florence. It’s an Italian cake, delicious for the balance of its ingredients and refined for its simplicity.

The Zuccotto cake often has pink tones due to Alchermes, a ruby red aromatic liqueur in which the cake is dipped. The filling of Zuccotto is made of whipped cream, ricotta cheese and chocolate.

To make the Zuccotto, prepare the soft sponge cake according to the traditional recipe and let it cool. Then cut it into long, thin slices that you will use to line a Zuccotto mold, a hemisphere.

The cooking required for this dessert is really only that of the sponge cake, for the rest you simply assemble its ingredients to make the zuccotto, without cooking.

Then it’s necessary to let the cake cool in the refrigerator for a few hours, where it compacts and takes its dome shape. Once cooled, remove the cake from the mold and sprinkle it with unsweetened cocoa powder.

The Italian tradition is rich in desserts, all of them truly delicious. Tiramisu is surely the most famous one, but also Zuppa Inglese or Panna Cotta. Even Zuccotto is a very loved dessert not only in Tuscany, but in all Italy and in the world.

Zuccotto is very connected to the Florentine tradition and its history, as we will see, is very interesting.       

“Zucca” in Tuscan dialect means “head”, in fact it seems that the first mold used to make this cake was a dome-shaped military helmet, hence the name “Zuccotto”.

During the years have been created many versions of this cake with all kind of fillings and flavors. But the only thing in common with the authentic Zuccotto is the shape.

We are going to show you the authentic Italian recipe of Zuccotto, which with its delicious layers will conquer and surprise everyone!

Now let’s find out step by step how to make the Authentic Zuccotto Recipe.

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Directions

Make the Pan di Spagna

How to Store Zuccotto

You can store Zuccotto for up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.

Zuccotto: Tips and Variations

Zuccotto with Ladyfingers

To make the “container” that holds the ricotta creams, you can also use Savoiardi. If you use ladyfingers remember to wet them before lining the mold and gently lay them in the shape of a dome so as not to break them too much.

Zuccotto Made with Cake Leftovers (Pandoro or Panettone)

It can be a good idea to make a delicious Zuccotto with leftover cake.

If you have a cake, maybe a little stale, instead of discarding it, you can use it to make Zuccotto. You can make some slices, soak them with Alchermes and continue as described above.

In Italy it’s common to make Zuccotto with leftover Panettone or Pandoro.

Zuccotto with Candied Fruit

The oldest version of the Tuscan Zuccotto included the addition of candied black cherries or pieces of candied orange as well as dark chocolate chips in the ricotta cream.

Then over time the simpler version became more popular.

However, if you love candied fruit, you can enrich your Zuccotto in this way.

Tiramisu Zuccotto

A very unique idea is the Zuccotto Tiramisu. Here’s how to make it.

Line the mold with ladyfingers or sponge cake, wet with coffee and fill it with mascarpone cream.

In short, a real Tiramisu but with an original shape!

Zuccotto al Gelato

Another very popular variant is the Zuccotto al Gelato (with ice cream).

In order not to stray too far from tradition, we recommend filling your Zuccotto with a layer of Gelato alla Crema, Fior di Latte or Stracciatella and a layer of Chocolate gelato.

But of course you can use the flavors you prefer!

What is Alchermes?

Alchermes (or Alkermes) is a scarlet-colored liqueur of Arab origin. It was acquired by the Spaniards and spread first in Italy and then in France and the rest of Europe. In Italy it has a great tradition in pastry.

Alchermes is red, alcoholic and quite sweet. Its basic ingredients are water, cinnamon, cochineal (red coloring additive of animal origin), cloves, cardamom, vanilla, rose water, sugar and pure alcohol (95 °).

According to legend, Alchermes was the favorite liqueur of the Medici family of Florence, so much so that it earned the nickname of Liquore dei Medici.

What are the Substitutes for Italian Alchermes Liqueur?

We know it’s quite difficult to find Alchermes outside of Italy.

So, if you don’t have this Italian liqueur, you can alternatively use a mix of Brandy and Pomegranate Syrup to maintain the red color.

Or you can wet the sponge cake with other liqueurs of your choice, always diluted with a little water.

To make Zuccotto, Zibibbo, a fortified wine of Sicilian origin, or Amaretto Disaronno, very popular in Italy, are often used.

Alternatively, you can make your Zuccotto completely non-alcoholic. Wet the sponge cake with a syrup made of water and sugar flavored with vanilla.

Origins of Zuccotto

It seems that Bernardo Buontalenti was the inventor of the Zuccotto in Italy.

Buontalenti himself was also responsible for the invention of the Italian Gelato, by the way. He was a great architect and man of culture of the Tuscan Renaissance. He was also a great lover of gastronomy.

Buontalenti designed the Zuccotto in honor of Queen Caterina de’ Medici for a court banquet.

In fact, it seems that the first name of the dessert was “L’Elmo di Caterina” (Catherine’s Helmet). As a matter of fact, the first zuccottos were made using as a mold a small helmet used by the infantry of the Florentine army. Hence the name Zuccotto because in Florentine dialect “zucca” means “head” (in a joking way).

But there is another theory about the origin of the name “zuccotto”. Many believe the name derives from the headgear used by prelates of that time called “zucchetto”.

This was in fact red like Alchermes and had the shape of a hemisphere.