When it comes to zuccotto, one must be careful. It is not a pastry product, nor strictly speaking a gelato item: it is a semifreddo, the father of all semifreddi. And although it may look like a traditional Italian dessert, akin to torta mimosa or tiramisù—post-WWII classics found in almost every pastry shop—zuccotto is a far older creation. It was invented in the latter half of the sixteenth century by Bernardo Buontalenti, a multifaceted architect and artist at the Medici court, who was also the inventor of gelato (the Buontalenti cream) and Florentine ice houses.
What is zuccotto: Buontalenti’s recipe
This dessert, born in the heart of the Renaissance, was originally a dome-shaped creation lined with slices of sponge cake soaked in Alchermes, and filled with a ricotta cream, candied fruit and almonds. It quickly became a typical Florentine speciality, thanks to the traditional colours of the city of the lily: the white of the sponge cake and the red of the Alchermes. Over time, the recipe has been altered and added to: other liqueurs are now often used for soaking (usually rum or Strega), and the filling is typically made with gelato, creams or whipped cream, sometimes with added chocolate. It is believed that zuccotto was created by Buontalenti in honour of Caterina de’ Medici, daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent and queen of France in the mid-1500s. In fact, the semifreddo was originally called “Caterina’s Helmet” as it was shaped using a mould inspired by the helmets of the Florentine army of that time.
Roberto Buonamici con le figlie
Where to find zuccotto in Florence
Serafini, a café and pastry shop in Florence’s historic centre, soaks the sponge cake in Alchermes. Marisa, a pastry bar in the city's near suburbs, and the historic gelateria-pasticceria Badiani prefer using Strega liqueur. The Bottega di Pasticceria by Simone Bartolini offers a dual version—one soaked in Alchermes and one in rum. Pasticceria Buonamici, which has been in Borgo San Frediano since 1949 near the Brancacci Chapel, serves a version that differs slightly from the original. “A ‘white’ variation,” explains Roberto Buonamici, “made with sponge cake soaked in a Strega-type liqueur, filled with whipped cream, with a chocolate mousse centre and hazelnut crumble at the base.”
Cinzia Otri della Gelateria della Passsera
Cinzia Otri, the Florentine queen of zuccotto
Unmissable is the zuccotto by Cinzia Otri from Gelateria della Passera, awarded Tre Coni by Gambero Rosso, who offers it in three versions, all made using artisanal liqueurs from the Officina di Santa Maria Novella. There’s the historic Zuccotto Fiorentino, which aims to respect the classic recipe: “sponge cake soaked in Alchermes, filled with organic ricotta semifreddo from Corzano e Paterno, with 75% Sur del Lago chocolate shavings and a chocolate core”. Then there is Cosimo I, “the Christmas version dedicated to Cosimo I de’ Medici, with Elisir di China soak and a Vin Santo zabaione semifreddo from Carmignano Capezzana”. The third version is Cerasus, “sponge cake soaked in Elisir Gambrinus, filled with 75% Sur del Lago chocolate semifreddo and visciole (sour cherries) from Cantiano Corte Luceoli”.
Zuccotto di Luca Mannori
Il Mio Fiorentino by Luca Mannori
A more personal interpretation comes from Luca Mannori, a master pastry chef with many years of experience, a shop and lab in Prato, and a special flair for quality chocolate and innovative cake design. His zuccotto is called Il Mio Fiorentino and is “a reinterpretation of the historic zuccotto fiorentino recipe,” explains Mannori. The ingredients: “choux biscuit, buffalo ricotta chantilly, whipped ganache made with Madagascar 65% chocolate, and a biscuit made from milk chocolate, puffed rice and streusel”.
Elmo di Caterina, the trademarked zuccotto of Vetulio Bondi
One of the great achievements in the career of Vetulio Bondi—of I Gelati del Bondi, another Tre Coni in the Gelaterie d’Italia guide—is Elmo di Caterina, a zuccotto made according to Buontalenti’s original recipe, in honour of Caterina de’ Medici. Elmo di Caterina is a registered trademark of the Gelatieri Artigiani Fiorentini, an association presided over by Bondi, and is made with sponge cake soaked in Alchermes, and filled not with cream but with sheep ricotta and Italian meringue: “a lighter, lower-fat filling”.
Zuccotto Fiorentino presentato dalla squadra toscana ANPI
We owe to Bondi the recent rediscovery of this Florentine dessert (“a stroke of luck during research at the National Library in Florence, thanks to a librarian’s help”), and to Paolo Sacchetti of Pasticceria Nuovo Mondo in Prato, who in 2018 at an AMPI meeting—of which he is vice-president—revived zuccotto with his Tuscan colleagues, giving it the shape of Brunelleschi’s dome on the Florence Cathedral.
The zuccotti of Samuele Magnolfi
Young but already focused on ingredient selection and clean labelling is Samuele Magnolfi, a graduate in Food Technology from the University of Florence, with advanced training and tasting courses. He offers gelato in summer and chocolate in winter. His zuccotti are entirely homemade: “from the soaking liquid to the sponge cake and the semifreddo,” explains Samuele. “I blend Strega liqueur—or Alchermes upon request—with a syrup made from fibres and low sugar. Inside there are two semifreddos: one made with cocoa mass from small producers using non-alkalised, lightly roasted beans; the other a stracciatella, both based on Italian meringue, prepared according to my own personalised recipe with egg white, water, sugar and fibres.”
Zuccotti della gelateria Magnolfi
Badiani – Firenze – v.le dei Mille, 20r – 055578682 – gelateriabadiani.it
Bottega di Pasticceria – Firenze – Lungarno F. Ferrucci 9c/r – 0556580313 – bottegadipasticceria.it
Buonamici a San Frediano – Firenze – via dell’Orto, 27r – 055224004 – cookinflorence.it
Gelateria della Passera – Firenze – via Toscanella, 15r – 0556142071 – gelateriadellapassera.it
I Gelati del Bondi – Firenze – via Nazionale, 61r – 055287490 – igelatidelbondi.com
Magnolfi – Firenze – v.le M. Fanti, 7h/r – 3534512929 – gelateriamagnolfi.it
Luca Mannori – Prato – via A. Lazzerini, 2 – 057421628 – lucamannori.com
Marisa Firenze – Firenze – via Circondaria nr. 24/26r – 055366566 – 3298641509 – pasticceriamarisafirenze.it
Nuovo Mondo – Prato – via G. Garibaldi, 23 – 057427765 – pasticcerianuovomondo.com
Serafini – Firenze – via Gioberti, 168r – 0552476214 – pasticceriaserafini.it
The zuccotto in the opening photo is from Gelateria Badiani.
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