Recipe of the week: the bunet, very good dessert born in Turin

The bunet (or bonet, using the traditional spelling) is a typical ancient dessert of Piedmont, specially in Torino (Turin). It is a dark pudding, of the same family of the crème caramel desserts, and it was already diffused in the 13th century’s court banquets. 

Its name means cap or beret. According to the official interpretation, this name refers to the shape of the copper mould used to cook it. Others believe that the dessert was called bunet because it was served at the end of the meal, the same way as hats are the last garment to wear before going out.

Bunet’s main ingredients are eggs, sugar, milk, liqueur (usually rum) and amaretto biscuits. Its dark colour is given by cocoa, which was added to the recipe only in the 15th century following the discovery of America and the later diffusion of this ingredient in Europe. The original recipe, today less common, is the white bunet. 

There are many variations to the original recipe. For example, some use ingredients such as hazelnuts, which are typical of the area, or coffee or cognac instead of rum. 

The bunet is quite easy to make. Here is our suggested recipe.

Ingredients

100 g amaretto biscuits (have some more for decoration)

250 g sugar

50 g unsweetened cocoa powder

10 medium egg yolks

700 ml milk

rum (about half a glass)

Method

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees.

Beat the egg yolks with 150 g of sugar. 

Grind the amaretto biscuits in the blender until they are of the consistency of flour. (Remember to leave out some for decoration.)

Add the cocoa to the blended amaretto biscuits.

Put together the eggs and sugar with the rum, the biscuits and cocoa, and the milk. The mixture should be quite liquid. 

To make the caramel, put 100 gr of sugar on a small pot and let it melt without stirring. When ready, pour it into the mould. Make sure it covers all the surface of the mould. Then add the rest of the ingredients.

Cook in a bain-marie in the oven at 180 degrees for about 45-50 minutes. The bunet will be ready when it will start to detach from the sides of the mould.

When ready, let it cool down out of the oven. When it is cold, put it in the fridge for an hour at least.

To make it easier to take the bunet out of the mould, put the mould in hot water and detach the dessert from the sides with the help of a knife. 

To serve the bunet, turn it upside down on a plate and decorate it with amaretto biscuits.