Zuccotto with Concord grapes

To prepare the Concord grape zuccotto, start with the cocoa sponge cake (you can also see the procedure here: Cocoa sponge cake). Pour the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer (if you don't have one, you can use a deep bowl and an electric mixer) 1, add the whole eggs 2 and the 8 yolks 3.

Then pour in the honey 4, activate the beaters and whip the ingredients for about 15 minutes until you obtain a fluffy and homogeneous mixture 5. In a separate small bowl, sift together the cornstarch (or cornflour), flour, and cocoa 6.

Then incorporate the sifted powders into the cream obtained 7. Continue to whip with the beaters until completely amalgamated. Then take a 9.5-10 inch diameter mold (preferably springform), butter it and line it with parchment paper (you can see the procedure here: how to line a cake pan with parchment paper). Pour the obtained mixture inside 8 and bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 45 minutes (if using a convection oven, bake at 320°F for 35-40 minutes). When the sponge cake is ready, take it out of the oven 9, and let it cool slightly.

Then remove it from the mold and let it cool completely on a wire rack 10. Now you can focus on the filling of the zuccotto, the Concord grape ice cream, whose recipe you can also find here. Wash the Concord grape berries under running water, place them in a mixer 11, and blend them 12.

Pass the juice through a sieve to remove the seeds and skins 13. Now squeeze the juice of a lemon 14 and filter it as well using a fine mesh sieve 15.

Then pour the filtered lemon juice into the bowl with the Concord grape juice 16 and cover with plastic wrap 17. Place the bowl in the refrigerator while you continue with the rest of the preparation. Take a large saucepan, pour in the fresh liquid cream 18.

Then add the sugar 19. Turn on medium heat and bring the mixture to a temperature of 181°F, verifying the temperature with a food thermometer 20. Once the indicated temperature is reached, remove the mixture from the heat and cool it quickly in a blast chiller or by transferring it into a bowl full of ice to cool it very rapidly 21.

When both the cream and sugar mixture and the Concord grape juice are well chilled, mix them together (22-23) and transfer them to the ice cream maker 34. The ice cream maker's bowl must be very cold, so we recommend putting it in the freezer at least the night before.

Turn on the ice cream maker until the mixture has thickened (it will take about 30-35 minutes) 25. Then pour the obtained ice cream into a large bowl 26, level it, and leave it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, start preparing the soaking syrup for the cocoa sponge cake. Blend the Concord grape needed for the soaking syrup as you did previously (sequences 11-12-13) and pour the extracted juice into a small bowl. Then dilute the juice with 2 tablespoons of water 27.

Then proceed to butter a 8.5-inch diameter zuccotto mold 28 and line it with parchment paper. Cut the sponge cake into slices about 0.4 inches thick 29 and line the mold 30.

Now that you have lined the zuccotto 31, take the Concord grape soaking syrup and carefully brush the sponge cake 32. Then take the ice cream out of the freezer, pour it into the zuccotto, and level it using a spatula 33.

Cover the ice cream with more slices of sponge cake 34 and brush these too with the Concord grape soaking syrup 35. Put the zuccotto in the freezer until it is completely set (it will take about 2 hours). When it is well set, gently remove it from the mold: to facilitate the operation, you can quickly dip the zuccotto in a bowl of boiling water for just a few seconds 36.

Carefully flip the zuccotto onto a serving plate 37. Finally, whip the cream that will be used to decorate the zuccotto. In a stand mixer (or in a bowl with an electric mixer), pour fresh cream, activate the beaters, and add the powdered sugar 38. When the cream is well whipped, transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a star tip 39. For detailed instructions on whipping cream, you can look How to Whip Cream.

Start decorating the Concord grape zuccotto by covering the entire surface with dollops of cream 40. Then finish with a bunch of Concord grapes 41 and, if desired, some mint leaves and a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa 42. Store your Concord grape zuccotto in the freezer and take it out about 15 minutes before serving!