NATIONAL SPUMONI DAY
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Friday, November 13 is National Spumoni Day in Canada. Why not try out this sometimes forgotten dessert that brings a wonderful sense of nostalgia to both you and your customers?
What are Spumoni?
Spumoni are a dessert that originated in Naples, Italy but overtime have become forgotten and are now virtually unknown to Italian youth. However, this creamy dessert has survived! Italian immigrant groups in Toronto and Montreal, as well as other parts of Canada have kept this tradition alive and still produce it to this day.
Spumoni can be described as a layered gelato or frozen dessert. As with all great recipes, it has evolved over time and there are many great variations on the flavours and components of this dish that exist.
Here are a few components that are a must in traditional Spumoni:
- Pistachios or Pistachio gelato
- Amarena toppings: Cherries candied in a sweet syrup
- Chocolate; such as gelato or pieces of chocolate incorporated into the dessert
Variations that have been added over the years:
- Layers of sponge cake
- Meringue crumbles
- Different flavours of gelato (Cassata Siciliana, Zabaglione, Stracciatella, Cherry)
- Whipped Cream or Semifreddi
Here at PreGel Canada, with the help of our instructor, Chef Joseph Montinaro, we have taken some of these elements and made our very own PreGel version of Spumoni!
Below you will find step by step instructions on how to create this dessert, as well as some helpful photos.
Ingredients:
- 500g heavy cream- 250g sponge cake (crumbled up)
- 2 drops red food colouring
- 50g PreGel Zuppi - Maraschino
- 150g PreGel Happy Torte
- 250g PreGel Cassata Siciliana Traditional Paste
- 5g PreGel Amarena Topping
- 1 pan of PreGel Prontociocc Traditional Paste gelato
- 1 pan of PreGel Pistachio Sicilia Traditional Paste gelato
- As needed PreGel Chocolate Topping
Note: You can make spumoni in various different molds. For ease of use, we have used a basic white plastic food container.
1) In a bowl, mix up a small amount of PreGel Zuppi - Maraschino according to the package instruction, and tint it with a few drops of red food colouring to make a bright pink colour.
2) To the Zuppi mixture, add some sponge cake that has been crumbled up. Continue adding cake crumbles until all the Zuppi are absorbed. Mix it together and set aside.
3) In a stand mixer, blend 500g of Heavy Cream with 150g of PreGel Happy Torte. Once it has reached a whipped cream consistency, add approximately 250g of PreGel Cassata Siciliana Traditional Paste (or more to taste) and fold it in gently. Set aside in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble.
4) Press some gelato made with PreGel Pistachio Sicilia Traditional Paste into the sides and bottom of the mold, leaving a hollow centre that can be filled with other goodies.
5) Add about 5g PreGel Amarena Topping to the hollowed out centre, and cover with a layer of cake crumbs. At this point, put it in your freezer, or blast freezer, until the cake layer has hardened.
6) Once the cake has hardened, add a layer of the Cassata Siciliana flavoured Happy Torte that was made earlier. Place the Spumoni back into the freezer and wait for the Happy Torte to set and harden.
7) Once the Happy Torte has hardened, add the final gelato layer. In this case, we have used a chocolate gelato that was made with PreGel Prontociocc Traditional Paste. Place the entire completed spumoni back into the freezer to harden the chocolate layer.
8) Finally, we are ready to unmold the spumoni. Get a bowl of lukewarm water ready, as well as a nice white plate that has been decorated as you wish. We have decorated this plate with PreGel Chocolate Topping. Place the mold into the bowl of water for a few seconds to loosen the gelato from the mold, and invert it onto a cutting board. With a sharp, serrated knife, cut the spumoni in half and arrange it on the decorated plate. ENJOY!
