Zuppa Inglese

In Ferrara, this dessert is made by layering sponge cake—or sometimes ciambella—soaked in Alchermes and alternating them with layers of pastry cream and chocolate cream. Ferrara strongly claims the recipe as its own; in fact, it is said to have originated in the 16th century at the court of the House of Este, when a diplomat, returning from a trip to England, asked to taste a “trifle,” an English dessert made with leavened dough, cream, jams, and an alcoholic syrup. The court chefs had neither the original recipe nor full knowledge of all the ingredients, so they replaced the dough with bazadela (a ciambella). Subsequently, it is believed that in an effort to elevate the dessert to a noble status—in contrast to its working-class English predecessor—the cream was replaced with pastry cream, and that in the 18th century, the transformation was completed with the addition of sponge cake and chocolate.