• 5 eggs
  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 2 1/3 cups almond nougat
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/10 cup orange liqueur (Cointreau)

The main ingredient of this chilled dessert is Torrone, an Italian nougat made from honey, almonds, pistacchios or hazelnuts, sugar and egg whites.

A document from October 25, 1441, indicates that torrone was invented for the wedding banquet of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza in Cremona (my city!), North of Italy.

Every year, during the fourth weekend of October, this historic wedding is re-enacted during the Torrone Festival, whose program (that includes tastings and conferences, concerts and competitions) draw hundreds of exhibitors to display their torrone based products.

Last year, Sperlari, Cremona’s most famous candymaker, created a huge violin (the symbol of the city, renown as Stradivari’s hometown) made entirely of torrone.

TORRONE PARFAIT

Procedure for the Liquor Cream:

– Smash the torrone into pieces and place in freezer.

– Beat the yolks with the sugar and the liqueur in a bowl. Pre-heat the cream in a bain-marie, stirring constantly.

– When the cream is very hot and begins to thicken, dip the bowl of cream into a container filled of ice water to stop cooking, stirring constantly.

Procedure for the Torrone Cream:

– Once the torrone is frozen, remove it from freezer and grind it in a food processor.

– Whip the egg whites until stiff. In a different bowl, whip the cream. Mix the egg whites, whipped cream and crushed torrone together.

– Coat a baking dish with ceran wrap, then fill it alternating layers of liqu0r cream and torrone. Place the blended mixture in the freezer for hours and let it thawbefore serving.

– If you prefer, you can serve this chilled dessert with pieces of covered chocolate torrone or torrone with candied fruit.

This entry is part of the March Sweet Adventures Blog

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