Original Piedmontese bonet, the chocolate pudding with amaretti. The Piedmontese bonet is a traditional dessert typical of the Langhe, sometimes also called bunet. It has ancient origins and before the discovery of America there existed a white version different from today’s cocoa one. Since this is a traditional recipe, every family has its own version: some add rum or fernet, some like to add coffee and some don’t. Some use milk and some use cream. In short, it’s a very well-known dessert: a velvety, very delicate pudding that resembles Creme caramel, but it doesn’t have a single interpretation. My version of the bonet is without cream, for example. The grandma’s recipe for Piedmontese bonet that I’m giving you is truly a grandma’s recipe — actually from a dear Milanese friend whose grandmother is from Turin. I’m Sicilian and I didn’t know this dessert except by hearsay, but some time ago I was in Milan as a guest of this dear friend and I tasted it for the first time, falling in love at the first bite. I got some tips and the ingredients to reproduce it on my blog: curious to discover the grandma’s recipe for Turin bonet? Here it is — try it because it’s really a delicious, refined and spectacular dessert. Before rushing to the stove, if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Low cost
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make Original Piedmontese Bonet
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 eggs (large)
- 3.0 oz granulated sugar (about 0.4 cup)
- 1.2 oz unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2.1 oz amaretti cookies
- 0.85 fl oz coffee (espresso)
- 0.7 fl oz rum (pastry rum — I didn't use it)
- 2.8 oz granulated sugar (for the caramel)
- 1 tbsp water
Tools
- Oven
- Pan loaf pan 8 in
- Baking tray for water bath cooking
- Whisk
- Bowl
- Spatula silicone
- Saucepan small, nonstick
Steps
Crumble the amaretti into a bowl, then add the unsweetened cocoa powder and the sugar.
Mix everything, add the eggs and gently combine with the whisk, then add the milk little by little. Add the coffee and the rum and mix well.
Place the sugar in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan (preferably nonstick), add the water and set over low heat. Stir continuously with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until the sugar melts, then pour it into the pan and, using the spatula, coat the pan with caramel up to halfway. Sugar melts at about 367°F (186°C) — BE CAREFUL WHEN HANDLING IT AND WHEN HANDLING THE PAN, as it will become very hot quickly, and be quick because the caramel sets fast.
Pour the mixture into the pan coated with caramel. Don’t worry if it looks runny — that’s its normal consistency.
Place the pan inside a larger baking tray and fill the tray with water up to halfway up the pan; the pudding must cook in a water bath.
Put in a preheated oven at 356°F (180°C) and bake for about 60–80 minutes or until it seems that the mixture pulls away from the sides.
Let it rest in the turned-off oven for 30 minutes, then let it cool and refrigerate for 8 hours.
Unmold the dessert by gently warming it for about 15 seconds over the lowest flame on a small burner and then inverting it onto a plate.
You will see the dessert shine and be glazed with caramel.
Garnish the bunet with amaretti and serve.
This dessert keeps in the refrigerator for 48 hours in an airtight container.
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