| 1 | Line a large hemispherical bowl with the cake or lady fingers. |
| 2 | If you use cake, cut slices in half diagonally to make large triangles and arrange them in a sunburst pattern. |
| 3 | If you use lady fingers, cut some in half diagonally and arrange in a flower-like pattern. |
| 4 | Douse generously with spirits; cake should be quite wet but not soggy. |
| 5 | Dissolve the gelatin in 2 tablespoons hot water in a cup; place the cup in a bowl of very hot water so the gelatin melts. |
| 6 | Check occasionally to make sure the surrounding water stays hot. |
| 7 | (i suppose you could use a microwave for this, but i"ve never tried). |
| 8 | Divide the cream into two very cold bowls. |
| 9 | Whip each until stiff; if the flavoring for either half isn"t sweet, add powdered sugar to taste at this point. |
| 10 | Beat the dissolved gelatin into the cream. |
| 11 | Flavor each half separately. |
| 12 | Spread one half around the inside of the cake-lined bowl; fill with the other half. |
| 13 | Top with more cake and douse with more spirits. |
| 14 | Since this part doesn"t show you don"t need to be creative. |
| 15 | Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. |
| 16 | Turn out onto a platter and garnish with chopped nuts, grated chocolate, or powdered sugar if desired. |
| 17 | Cut into wedges; serves about 10-20 people depending. |
| 18 | Notes: * ladyfingers with cream and rum -- this makes a great dessert for a party. |
| 19 | It only takes about an hour to make (more if you bake a cake yourself instead of buying one) and only requires a few seconds to get ready when served. |
| 20 | Yield: serves 10-20. |
| 21 | * the most recent zuccotto i made used rum to flavor the lady fingers. |
| 22 | The first filling had powdered sugar, vanilla extract and about 1 ?oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate. |
| 23 | The second had about 5 oz melted semi-sweet chocolate mixed with about 2 t instant coffee dissolved in a little boiling water, and another 1 ?oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate. |
| 24 | (just chop 3 of the squares of chocolate and melt the other 5). |
| 25 | Chopped hazelnuts or almonds are also quite good. |
| 26 | * you can make a smaller one by using less, of course! : difficulty: moderate. |
| 27 | : time: 60 minutes preparation, overnight cooling. |
| 28 | : precision: no need to measure. |
| 29 | Brown : |
