Zuppa Inglese is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 custard

Custard

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce , to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used as...

-based dessert

Dessert

In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...

.

History

Recipes for this sweet first appeared in the towns of Parma

Parma

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

, Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Forlì

Forlì

Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...

, Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

 and Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....

, all in the Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

 region, in the late 19th century. Its origins are uncertain and one theory states that it originated in the 16th century kitchens of the Dukes of Este, the rulers of Ferrara who had frequent contact with England, when they asked their cooks to try to recreate the sumptuous "English Trifle

Trifle

Trifle is a dessert dish made from thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or gelatin, and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers with fruit and sponge on the bottom, and custard and cream on top....

" they had enjoyed at the Elizabethan court.

To make Zuppa Inglese, pan di spagna (sponge cake

Sponge cake

Sponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...

) or soft biscuits known as savoiardi (ladyfingers) are dipped in Alchermes

Alchermes

Alchermes is a type of Italian liqueur prepared by infusing neutral spirits with sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla, and other herbs and flavoring agents...

, a bright red, extremely aromatic Italian herb liqueur

Liqueur

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...

 and alternated with layers of crema pasticciera which is a thick home made egg custard cooked with a large piece of lemon zest (removed afterwards). Often there is also a layer of crema alla cioccolata made by dissolving dark chocolate in a plain crema pasticciera. Rarely topped with cream, meringue or almonds in Italy.

Zuppa inglese is usually home made but it can also be bought in pasticcerie (cake shops), and is a favorite cake for children's birthday parties. It is also a popular Gelato

Gelato

Gelato is the italian word for ice cream and sorbet. Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen. Indeed, gelato, just like ice cream, is made with Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fresh fruit and nut purees....

flavor.

Name

The word "Zuppa" in Italian cuisine refers to both sweet and savoury dishes. It comes from the verb "inzuppare" which means "to dunk". It is called a Zuppa because the sponge cake or Lady fingers are dipped in liqueur. Similarly, thick fish bean and vegetable stews and fish or shellfish stews served on toasted bread and eaten with knife and fork are properly described as "Zuppa di Verdure" or "Zuppa di Pesce".

There are other theories as to the origin of the name. Food Timeline has listed three of them at Food Timeline FAQs:

"The name translates literally in Italian as English soup and may in fact connote its similarity to English trifle. Others believe it is a dialectical corruption of the verb inzuppare, meaning to sop."

"A dessert invented by Neapolitan pastrycooks of Europe during the 19th century. Inspired by English puddings that were fashionalbe [sic] at the time, . . . "

"A dukedom, a country palace, and this rich dessert were among the many tributes bestowed on Lord Nelson by the grateful Neapolitans after his victory over Napoleon in the Nile in 1798. "English Soup," as it was called, was the creation of an anonymous pastry cook smitten with the admiral, the English, and their spirit-soaked Trifles."