Abruzzese sweet with almonds and chocolate

To prepare the Abruzzese sweet with almonds and chocolate, start by pouring the classic and bitter almonds into a saucepan with plenty of water 1. Bring to a boil and blanch the almonds for 4-5 minutes. Then drain them using a slotted spoon 2 and place them in a small bowl. Peel them one by one 3, discarding the skin that covers them (you can also buy already shelled and peeled almonds as an alternative).

Let them dry on a tray lined with absorbent paper 4. When they are dry, pour them into a mixer together with 30 g of sugar 5 and chop finely, until you get an almond flour 6. Start to melt the butter in a saucepan, then once melted let it cool.

Then in a bowl separate the yolks from the egg whites. Beat the egg whites 7 with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form 8. Proceed with the yolks: work them with an electric whisk, adding the sugar little by little 9.

Continue working them until you get a frothy and light mixture 10 to which you will add the almonds reduced to flour 11; continue working to combine them with the mixture. Sift the flour and starch together in a separate container 12.

Add the flours to the mixture obtained, continuing to work with an electric whisk 13; also add the melted butter, now lukewarm 14. When the mixture is homogeneous, stop the whisk and add the whipped egg whites, very gently 15.

Be careful to incorporate them by moving the spatula from the bottom up very gently to prevent them from deflating 16. At this point the dough is ready: butter 17 and flour a zuccotto with a diameter of 16.5 cm in which you will pour the mixture 18.

After leveling it with a spatula, bake in a preheated static oven at 180° for 65 minutes (we do not recommend using a fan oven) 19. If you notice that the surface tends to become too golden, cover the zuccotto with a sheet of aluminum foil. Before removing from the oven, perform the toothpick test to check the cooking. Once cooked 20, remove from the oven, let it cool and then unmold by turning the zuccotto upside down on a wire rack 21 and let the sweet cool completely.

While the sweet reaches room temperature, dedicate yourself to the covering: in a bowl pour the finely chopped chocolate, place it on a saucepan with hot water that is gently boiling (possibly without the water reaching the bottom of the bowl) and melt it in a bain-marie, continuing to stir (22-23). Place a tray under the wire rack on which you have cooled the zuccotto: when the chocolate is completely melted, pour it over your sweet 24. If you want to maintain a glossy chocolate coating for longer, you can use the chocolate tempering technique.

Helping yourself with a spatula, make the chocolate adhere to the entire surface of the sweet 25 and let the excess chocolate drip 26. To obtain a smooth coating, give small and light taps of the wire rack on the work surface in order to drop the excess chocolate. When the chocolate has cooled and hardened, you can serve your Abruzzese sweet with almonds and chocolate 27!