Zuppa Romana

Ingredients

• 40 g flour
• 50 g cornstarch
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 3 eggs
• 75 g sugar
• 0.5 l milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• 5 egg yolks
• 100 g sugar
• 30 g flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 200 g candied fruit (orange peel, lemon peel, cherry pieces)
• 40 ml amaretto
• 250 g whipping cream

Instructions

1. 1.

   Separate the eggs; beat the yolks with half the sugar and the vanilla sugar until fluffy.

2. 2.

   Whisk the whites into stiff peaks; before they become fully firm, gradually add the remaining sugar, continuing to whisk until the meringue is completely stiff.

3. 3.

   Fold the meringue into the yolk mixture using a spoon.

4. 4.

   Sift the flour and cornstarch over the egg mixture and fold in gently.

5. 5.

   Spread the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 175 °C fan-forced for about 12 minutes until golden yellow. Transfer the cake slab onto a sugared kitchen towel, remove the parchment.

6. 6.

   Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and stir them into the milk with the pod; bring to a boil.

7. 7.

   Beat the egg yolks with sugar in a bowl until creamy. Gradually pour in the hot milk while stirring, then whisk in the flour. Return everything to the pot, remove the pod, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened—do not let it boil!

8. 8.

   Strain the vanilla custard through a sieve, allow to cool, sprinkling a thin layer of sugar on the surface to prevent skin formation.

9. 9.

   Chop the candied fruit. Slice the sponge into strips.

10. 10.

    Layer a dish alternately with sponge, custard and candied fruit (reserve some fruit for decoration), soaking each sponge layer with amaretto.

11. 11.

    Whip the cream stiffly and pipe it onto the surface with a large star tip; garnish with candied fruit.

12. 12.

    Refrigerate the Zuppa Romana for at least 3 hours.