Date I made this recipe:
December 28, 2015 – "Christmas Dinner" Dessert
Cakes, Cookies and
Pastries – 187 great dessert recipes from around the world by Myra Waldo
Published by: Galahad Books
© 1962; Third Printing 1970
Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC
Recipe: Italian Rum Torte (Zuppa Inglese) – p. 56-57
When my husband tasted this recipe, his first words were
"How much booze is in this thing, anyway?"
Answer: a lot! But it's Christmas and so it's time to cut
loose and what better way with this boozy dessert?
As you can see by the date, I didn't make this until
Christmas was well and truly over but if you read my other holiday blog posts,
you saw that I was just a tad exhausted and so didn't make anything on
Christmas Day as I planned. This was
supposed to be the final ta-da to my holiday frittata and holiday pork stew
(both recipes from Martha Stewart) but I just didn't get there. Still, Christmas lasts well past its sell-by
date of December 25th and so I had time.
I've written about cookbook author, Myra Waldo before and
have five of her cookbooks (out of a dozen or so) in my collection. She started writing cookbooks in the 1950's
as well as a few travel guides. The
artwork for her The Art of South American Cookery is still one of my favorites
and I quite enjoyed the recipe I made for the blog as well.
This book is pretty compact – 119 pages – but it provides a
nice variety of delicious pastries for you to enjoy. I was sorely tempted to make the "Frozen
Eggnog Pie" on page 87 but at the very last minute, switched it out for
the rum torte. On the booze meter, the
eggnog pie only contained 2 tablespoons cognac or light rum whereas the rum
torte lived up to its name with a whopping ¾ cup being used for the dish, and
another ¼ reserved for the whipped cream topping. My husband said that when he took the cover
off the torte, he was almost knocked out by the fumes. Slight exaggeration but you get the
point.
As the book title suggests, this book is filled with recipes
for cakes and cookies as well as pastry consisting of tortes, macaroons, pies,
tarts, other pastries, and frostings, creams, glazes and fillings. I tell you what, as between enjoying frosting
and enjoying cake, I am a frosting gal and so I might just make up a batch of
the Seven-Minute Frosting (and variations) found on page 114 just for the heck
of it. I love me some seven-minute
frosting!
Assuming you do not make your own ladyfingers (and I could
have but chose not to), then your only task in this very easy recipe is to keep
an eye on your custard and allow enough time for it to cook, gently, to creamy
and silky perfection. And then get out
your booze, pour some for the recipe and a lot more for yourself and
congratulate yourself on making a recipe that is sure to impress if not
inebriate you and your guests for the holidays.
Italian Rum Torte
(Zuppa Inglese) – makes one 11-inch deep pie
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
36 lady fingers
1 cup rum
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
Sift the cornstarch, salt and sugar into a saucepan. Gradually beat in milk, then the egg
yolks. Cook over low heat, mixing
steadily, until thickened and smooth, but don't boil the mixture. Remove from the heat and beat in the
vanilla. Strain if there are any
lumps. Cool.
Line the bottom of an 11-inch deep pie plate closely with
some lady fingers; pour ¼ cup rum over it.
(Ann's Note: If you don't have the right sized pie plate,
try a similarly sized casserole or baking pan.)
Covered with half the cooled custard.
Make another layer of lady fingers (reserving some for the
top), sprinkle with ¼ cup rum, spread remaining custard over it and cover with
remaining lady fingers. Sprinkle with ¼
cup rum.
Cover and chill for 3-4 hours. Just before serving, pour the remaining rum
over the top, and cover with the cream whipped with the confectioners' sugar.
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