Chef Emily Luchetti’s Mocha Zabaglione Trifle

Recipe

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• Large pinch salt
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Zabaglione Cream

• 8 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup Marsala
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

To assemble the trifle:

• 1 1/2 cups strong coffee, room temperature
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• Cut the cake into quarters. Cut each quarter in half horizontally.

Directions

Cake

Whip the egg yolks and sugar in an electric mixer on high speed until thick. Reduce to low speed and add the water. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Again, whip on high speed until thick. Reduce to low speed and add the dry ingredients.

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold them into the batter. Spread the batter onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, measuring approximately 11 by 16 inches with 1 inch sides.

Bake the cake until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cake from the pan by running a knife around the inside edge of the pan. Invert the pan on the work surface and carefully peel off the parchment paper.

Zabaglione cream

Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, Marsala, and salt in a stainless steel bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Whisk continually until thick like mayonnaise, about 3 minutes. Place the bowl over an ice bath and cool to room temperature. Whip the cream to soft peaks. Fold the cream into the Marsala mixture. Refrigerate.

To assemble the trifle:

Spread about 1 cup of zabaglione cream in the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart bowl. Cut pieces of cake to fit in a single layer over the cream. Using a pastry brush, brush the cake with about 1/3 cup of the coffee. Repeat layering cream and coffee soaked cake until the cake and zabaglione is used up, finishing with the zabaglione on top. Finely chop the chocolate or grind it in a food processor. Refrigerate the trifle for two hours or overnight before serving.

The cake can be made up to two days before you assemble the trifle. Store it wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature. The zabaglione can be made a day before you serve it.

This blog post was originally published by the International Culinary Center (ICC), founded as The French Culinary Institute (FCI). In 2020, ICE and ICC came together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE's campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. Explore your pastry education where the legacy lives on.