Ingredients
FOR THE CREAM
MASCARPONE
250 gr
SUGAR
140 gr
WATER
60 ml
EGG
2
UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER
30 gr
THEY ALSO SERVE YOU
SAVOIARDI BISCUITS
400 gr
COFFEE
300 ml
RUM
30 ml
UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER
ALMOND FLAKES
The duchess’ stracchino is a dessert typical of the Emilian area, in particular the provinces of Parma, Modena and Mantua. It is a semifreddo, made with a pâte à bombe, based on mascarpone cream and cocoa, enclosed in a soft casket of ladyfingers lightly soaked in coffee. Once unmoulded, this dessert, which resembles stracchino, the creamy cheese typical of Northern Italy from which the name originates (duchess, however, seems to be the noblewoman who invented this precious dessert), is garnished with slivered almonds and cocoa in powder. A fresh delight to serve for a super special dinner.
How to prepare the Duchess’ stracchino
Step 1
Prepare the pâte à bombe: break the eggs into a bowl and start whipping with a hand whisk1.
Step 2
Collect the sugar and water in a saucepan
2
.
Step 3
Place the saucepan on the heat and cook until the syrup reaches a temperature of 121°C3.
Step 4
Once it reaches temperature, pour the boiling syrup over the eggs and continue whipping with an electric whisk until it cools, or in any case until the mixture is swollen and foamy.4.
Step 5
Add the mascarpone, mixing delicately with a spatula and moving from bottom to top to avoid dismantling the mixture.5.
Step 6
Divide the cream into two parts, add the sifted cocoa to one of these and mix thoroughly6.
Step 7
Line a plum cake mold with a sheet of cling film. Measure the dimensions of the mold and cut the ladyfingers so that they can line it perfectly. Dip the ladyfingers in the coffee, mixed with the rum, and line the bottom and edges of the mold7.
Step 8
Pour the chocolate cream and level carefully8.
Step 9
Pour the mascarpone cream over the top9and cover with a final layer of wet ladyfingers.
Step 10
Close with cling film10and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, even better if overnight.
Step 11
Once the resting time has elapsed, turn the cake out by gently turning it upside down onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with a little of bitter cocoa, sprinkle with flaked almonds and serve11.
Advice
The pâte à bombe, also known as semifreddo base or pasteurized tiramisu base, is one of the basic pastry preparations. Essential for making authentic semifreddos, it is prepared with sugar cooked at 121°C. Once ready, thesugar syrup should be poured slowly over the egg yolks, continuing to whisk with an electric whisk, to prevent the egg from coagulating with high temperatures, until the mixture has cooled well.
A tip for making an impeccable cream: dilute the mascarpone with a spoonful of pâte à bombe so that it is creamy and easily workable; then incorporate it delicately into the mixture and with movements from bottom to top to prevent it from falling apart.
Use a plum cake mold approximately 20 cm long and line it with a sheet of baking paper or transparent film: in this way it will be much easier to unmold the cake.
To make it even more delicious, you can enrich the various layers of cream and ladyfingers with drops of chocolate. If there are children at the table, you can replace the coffee and rum syrup with soluble barley dissolved in water, coffee decaffeinated or a little of milk.
As an alternative to this delight, you can try your hand at making theclassic tiramisuor a lighter version light or fresh and summery.
Curiosity
Since the paternity is rather uncertain, it seems that the The origin of this dessert is disputed between the provinces of Parma, Modena and Mantua. Why stracchino? Precisely because of its shape which recalls that of the famous typical cheese from northern Italy. The duchess , however, seems to have been the noblewoman who invented this precious dessert in her kitchen.
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