Cocoa Rum Dessert - Bonet

It was my friend Vanda's birthday on Monday.  She invited us for a good old fashioned feast at her house on the Sunday beforehand.  There was so much food that I did not need dinner that night.

I rarely pass up the opportunity to bring sweets.  I had for ages been wanting to make the Cocoa Rum Dessert from Jamie Cooks Italy, the recipe for which came from Baroness Susanna of Turin.  You can also find the recipe online here.

This dessert looked amazing and so fancy that I thought it would be hard to make - but nope, it couldn't be easier and looks impressive.  Steph told me on Instagram that this dessert does have a name other than the descriptive "Cocoa Rum Dessert" - it is officially called Bonet, because it is traditionally baked in a hat-shaped tin. I call it the coolest magic cake ever, because you start with two layers which magically separate out into three layers.  Although Vanda's Italian heritage hails from the opposite end of Italy to Piedmont, I thought that an Italian dessert would fit the bill.  

This dessert, which I shall henceforth call a Bonet, comprises an amaretti base, on top of which rests a smooth chocolate-caramel custard, and a caramel sauce cascades down the outside.  (Be careful when unmoulding this as the caramel sauce tends to end up splashing on the floor!)  The magic comes in because the amaretti base forms in the oven - amaretti are crumbled into the custard mixture before it is poured over the caramel in the base of the loaf tin, and  all of those crumbs separate out in the oven and come to the top to form the base of the dessert when unmoulded.  

As recommended by Jamie, I served this dessert with creme fraiche.  It is not very sweet, despite its rich-sounding flavours, so if tooth-aching sweetness is not your bag, this could be the dessert for you.  It also looks very elegant, so it would be perfect for a dinner party.