Chocolate Tipsy Laird for Burns Night - Ciotolona a strati ubriaca

Some say that one day the world will come to an end. Meteors will strike the earth and tidal waves will wash up their mess. Some even say that the sky will fall, and that the sun will freeze. Some, however, say that the Incas were right in thinking that the Mayas were but attention-seeking calendar makers. But none of them know. The end of the world will come - in fact, it has come, but not from the sky: from a bowl. And it has a name (cf above).

Like every year, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon celebrate the birthday of their good friend Bob. A large dinner is given somewhere, and the guests are invited to heartily partake in the traditional Bag of Sheep. Mashed non-birds accompany the feast while a minstrel sings of Bob's glories and recites his everlasting poems. This year, of course, was no exception. The songs were sung, the drinks were drunk, the non-birds were mashed and the Bag of Sheep was emptied. Except for one small but determining detail: the bowl. Divine Cherry had prepared it (not the bowl itself, of course; its content), and at the end of the joyful celebration, she brought it forth. And all about her knew that this was the end, for they were satiated to the brim and the meal was over. Yet none could look away. All eyes were fixed upon the gleaming, glistening and alluringly beckoning Tipsy Laird. And so it was that the end of the world did not happen at the end of the year, rather at its beginning. And because the end has gone by already, Divine Cherry has made it possible for this year to only become better and sweeter.

Chocolate Tipsy Laird - serves a regiment of hungry young people

- 500g of sponge cake
- raspberry jam
- 300g of fresh raspberries
- a handful of amaretti
- chocolate custard
- 500g of whipped cream
- 1 glass of whisky and 2 tablespoons of Porto or sherry

Chocolate custard:
- 525g of whole milk
- 1 vanilla pod
- 7 yolks
-120g of sugar
- 52g of cornflour
- 300g of dark chocolate broken into small pieces

•       Prepare the custard:

Follow the instructions reported here. In the latter stages of cooking add the chopped chocolate and stir well to dissolve it. Allow the cream to cool completely in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.

•      Prepare the trifle:

Cut the cake into rectangular slices, spread half of slices with raspberry jam and form sandwiches with the remaining slices. Place the sandwiches on the bottom of a large transparent bowl. Squeeze them a little with your hands. Pour the mixture of whisky and port evenly over the cake slices. Arrange a layer of fresh raspberries and crumbled amaretti (these are my addition to the traditional recipe), making sure to push some raspberries at the sides so that you can see them from outside. Let it stand for a couple of hours (or overnight) in the fridge. The next morning, cover it with the custard. Leave it to rest in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap until the moment to serve.
A few moments before serving the trifle, decorate the surface with whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed amaretti or slices of almonds.

Note: Traditional Tipsy Laird is with vanilla custard (just omit the chocolate in it) and the amaretti are used just as an alternative decoration on the top of the cream. Sometimes you can also find slices of banana mixed with the fresh raspberries on top of the sponge cake layer.

Trifle ubriaco al cioccolato - dosi per un reggimento di giovani affamati

- 500 g torta tipo pan di spagna o plum cake

- marmellata di lamponi

- 300 g lamponi freschi

- una manciata di amaretti

- crema pasticcera al cioccolato

- 500 g panna montata

- 1 bicchiere di whisky e 2 cucchiai di Porto o Sherry

Crema pasticcera al cioccolato:

- 525 g latte intero

- una bacca di vaniglia

- 7 tuorli

-120 g zucchero

- 52 g maizena

- 300 g cioccolato fondente a pezzetti

• Preparare la crema pasticcera:

Seguire le istruzioni riportate qui. Nelle ultime fasi di cottura aggiungere il cioccolato tritato, mescolare bene in modo da scioglierlo in maniera uniforme. Lasciar raffreddare la crema completamente in una ciotola coperta con pellicola, per evitare la formazione della pellicina.

• Preparare il trifle:

Tagliare a fette  rettangolari la torta, spalmare meta' fettine con la marmellata di lamponi e chiudere a panino con le fette rimanenti. Disporrre i panini sul fondo di una ciotola capiente e trasparente. Schiacciarli un po' con le mani. Irrorare lo strato con la bagna alcolica di whisky e porto. Disporre uno strato di lamponi freschi e amaretti sbriciolati (gli amaretti sono una mia aggiunta), avendo l'accortezza di spingere alcuni lamponi ai lati, cosi' che si vedano dall'esterno della ciotola. Lasciar riposare per alcune ore (o meglio tutta la notte) in frigo. L'indomani mattina, coprire con la crema pasticcera. Lasciare riposare in frigo la ciotola coperta fino al momento di servire.

Pochi istanti prima di servire il dolce ricoprirlo con la panna montata e decorarlo con amaretti sbriciolati o lamelle di mandorla.

Note: Il Tipsy Laird viene tradizionalmente servito durante la Burns Night, cioe' la sera del 25 gennaio, giorno in cui si festeggia in tutta la Scozia  il compleanno del poeta Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796).

Tradizionalmente nel Tipsy Laird la crema pasticcera e' alla vaniglia invece che al cioccolato e gli amaretti si trovano solo come decorazione finale sulla panna montata in alternativa alle lamelle di madorla, ma io trovo che un po' di amaretti nel mezzo si sposano bene con la cioccolata e danno un po' di croccantezza in piu'. Inoltre una comune variante vede delle fettine di banana aggiunte ai lamponi sopra lo strato di torta.


Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess