Ingredients

  • 1 x cup liqueur (eg Marsala )20121110_1337461 x  unfilled sponge cake
  • 600ml thickened cream
  • 1 x tablespoon sifted icing sugar
  • 150g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 150g hazelnuts, chopped
  • 100g dark chocolate, in pieces for melting
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Method

  1. Line a 1.2 litre round bottomed bowl with cheesecloth, leaving the edges hanging over.
  2. Moisten the cheesecloth with a brush dipped in Marsala.
  3. Cut the sponge into 1.5 cm slices and brush with Marsala.
  4. Line the bowl with the sponge, making sure all gaps are filled in making a solid shell.
  5. Beat the cream with the icing sugar until stiff peaks are formed and put one third of the mixture into a separate bowl.
  6. Place 100g chocolate pieces and the remaining liqueur in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water and stir while the chocolate melts.
  7. Allow the chocolate to cool and then fold through the smaller quantity of cream and spread over the sponge cake to create an inner lining.
  8. To the remaining cream fold through 150g chopped chocolate and hazelnuts and fill the zuccotto.
  9. Create a lid with the remaining sponge dipped in liqueur.
  10. Fold over the cheesecloth, cover the top of the zuccotto with baking paper and place a plate over the paper.  Put weights (cans of food is ideal) and refrigerate ideally overnight.
  11. To serve, invert the zuccotto onto a serving plate and carefully remove the cheesecloth.