The Traditional Zuppa Inglese Romagnola Recipe and Tricks (VIDEO)

Zuppa Inglese Romagnola (for someone, “Italian Triffle”) is a terrific and easy-to-make spoon dessert that made the world go crazy.

Don’t call it “Soup” or “English”. Don’t be fooled. Zuppa Inglese is not an English dessert, and it’s not a soup, but a spoon dessert typical of Emilia Romagna (Italy). It is made of 3 layers: ladyfingers (Savoiardi in Italy) or sponge cake, dipped in Alchermes liqueur, vanilla pastry cream, and chocolate cream. That is! We are talking about a delicious dessert that is easy to make and impressive thanks to the chromatic effect in its layers!

Why is It Called Zuppa Inglese?

Zuppa Inglese is a very ancient dessert, whose origins are not certain, and it is an all-Italian dessert that is particularly common in my area, the region of Romagna.

The most accredited thesis on the origins of the Zuppa Inglese, traces this dessert back to the Renaissance period when an Italian diplomat, returning from London, asked Chefs of the Dukes of Este’s Court to prepare him a Trifle, a traditional English dessert he had tasted in England. Trying to reproduce it, the Chefs replaced some ingredients and, later on, very colorful ingredients were introduced to make the preparation lively to the eye: Alchermes, a perfumed liqueur with bright red color, and cocoa, which was used to create the contrast with the custard. Thus, the current Zuppa Inglese was born, with all its subsequent variations.

Traditional Zuppa Inglese Recipe

Like all traditional Italian recipes, there are many variations of Zuppa Inglese, all delicious. What I’m showing you today is the recipe for the traditional Zuppa Inglese Romagnola, that I have been preparing since I was a child. With a single variant, that is, the flour has been replaced with corn starch, to make the cream more velvety and good.

It’s a very simple but highly effective recipe. You can serve it in a single glass container or prepare it already in separate glasses. The important thing is to show off the wonderful colored layers of the Zuppa Inglese.

Watch the Video Tutorial for Zuppa Inglese Recipe

Ingredients for Zuppa Inglese Italian Dessert

This traditional Italian dessert recipe uses these ingredients (scroll down for exact measurements in the print-friendly recipe card below):

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• Whole milk: Use whole cow’s milk to have a creamy and velvety pastry cream.
• Lemon: Since you’ll be cutting about 5 cm of lemon zest, choose unprocessed organic lemons.
• Vanilla extract: I use vanilla extract for convenience because I always have it in my pantry, but you can also use a vanilla bean, split and scraped.
• Egg yolks: In this recipe, we will only use egg yolks. You can use leftover egg whites to make other delicious recipes, like my Vanilla Egg White Cake with Hazelnut Spread.
• Granulated sugar
• Cornstarch: When I was a child, I used to make Zuppa Inglese using white flour. But my pastry cream had a heavier texture and an undesirable “floury” taste. I think cornstarch is better because it gives a creamy texture, a clean taste, and doesn’t mask the flavor of the dairy and flavorings. Plus it’s gluten-free!
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: The unsweetened cocoa powder is used to make the chocolate cream, adding it directly to a part of the pastry cream. Choose unsweetened cocoa because sugar is already present in the pastry cream.
• Ladyfingers: In Italy we call them “Savoiardi“, the biscuits for Tiramisu.
• Alchermes: Alchermes is a red liqueur widely used in desserts. You can use it pure or dilute it with a little water to make Zuppa Inglese a little less alcoholic. Read below what you can replace Alchermes with.
• Fruit jam: Apricots, peaches, or quinces. 2-3 tablespoons of fruit jam will be enough to spread on the bottom of the container before the layer of Ladyfingers. This step is optional, but I love the contrast between the taste of the jam and the chocolate cream!

Tools you need to Make Traditional Zuppa Inglese

• Hand Mixer Electric
• 2 large Mixing Bowls
• 1 glass bowl for serving Zuppa Inglese

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How to Make the Traditional Zuppa Inglese Dessert

Follow my step-by-step instructions, and you’ll be able to prepare a mouth-watering Zuppa Inglese Romagnola!

Heat the milk. In a large saucepan, add the milk, lemon zest, and a teaspoon of vanilla essence (or vanilla bean). Heat over low heat until the milk cools. Pay attention that the milk should not boil, only warm up.

Make the pastry cream. In a saucepan, add the egg yolks and sugar. Whip for 2–3 minutes with an electric mixer until the sugar has dissolved, and we have not whitened the egg yolks. Then add the cornstarch. Mix gently to keep the powder from flying everywhere, then start the hand mixer and whisk for about 1 more minute. The sugar will now be completely dissolved. With a spatula, collect all the cornstarch on the sides and mix well. Add the warm milk, a little at a time, while whisking continuously to prevent lumps.

Tips & Tricks

When the cream starts to thicken, you will notice that it seems like lumps are forming. Don’t worry because they aren’t the real LUMPS, but they are a sign that the cream is thickening. At this stage, you have to mix even more vigorously.

Return the mixture to the saucepan where you heated the milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until pastry cream begins to thicken. Once it thickens, pause every few seconds to check for bubbles.

When you see it starting to boil, continue whisking for 1 minute, then remove it from the heat and transfer the saucepan to a work surface. Continue to mix for 1 minute.

Prepare the chocolate cream. Divide between two bowls; 2/3 pastry cream in one bowl, and 1/3 pastry cream in the other. Add the sifted cocoa powder a little at a time to the bowl with 1/3 of the pastry cream and mix with a spatula until it melts completely, and your chocolate cream is formed. Absolutely no lumps will form, the important thing is simply to add the sifted cocoa powder a little at a time and mix, so that it melts perfectly.

Let the creams cool. Allow the 2 creams to cool by covering them with transparent film in contact to prevent a crust from forming on top. Let them at room temperature first, then when they have cooled, put them in the refrigerator for a few hours so that they thicken completely.

Assemble the dessert. Work the 2 creams with a spatula for 1 minute, to make them again smooth and shiny. Spread a thin layer of fruit jam on the bottom of the chosen container. Add the Alchermes liqueur (and some water if you desire) in a deep plate and soak the ladyfingers for 2 seconds per side, then distribute them in a single layer on the fruit jam layer. Cover the ladyfingers with all the chocolate cream. Add another layer of soaked ladyfingers, then add the yellow cream. Make some decorations on top with ladyfingers or chocolate cream, if desired.

Your Classic Zuppa Inglese is ready. You can serve it immediately or chill it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving. This is my favorite option because the creams firm up a bit and the ingredients blend better with each other.

Classic Zuppa Inglese Ingredients Substitutions

You can also get an excellent Zuppa Inglese by replacing some ingredients:

• Cornstarch with rice starch.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder with dark chocolate, always adding it to a third of hot pastry cream.
• Ladyfingers with sponge cake.
• Alchermes with a water, sugar, and red coloring mix for a kid version. You can also replace the Alchermes liqueur with dry Rum or Marsala, or a mix of both.

Zuppa Inglese Storage Instrucions

Contrary to what many say, my Zuppa Inglese can easily be frozen, and once defrosted it will still be very tasty. You can therefore preserve the Zuppa Inglese in its original glass container, covered with transparent film, in the refrigerator for 2–3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. In the latter case, let it thaw completely in the refrigerator before serving.