Despite its name, Zuppa inglese is a traditional Italian dessert invented several centuries ago. It was in fact in the 16th century that this delicious dessert was prepared for the first time at the court of the Dukes of Este, lords of Ferrara.
Tradition has it that Zuppa inglese was invented by the court cooks when a diplomat from Ferrara, who had just returned from a mission in London, asked for a "trifle" to be prepared for him, a typical English dessert of the time, made with a sweet leavened doughnut and accompanied by cream and wine.
The cooks of the court, in preparing the cake, not being able to find all the original ingredients, substituted those typically English with local preparations, such as sponge cake and custard, and enriched it with Alchermes liqueur to give colour to the cake, while probably the introduction of chocolate among the ingredients took place at a later date.
It is in this way that from the reproduction of a typical English cake with local ingredients a cake was born which over time has become traditionally Italian to the point of being included by Artusi in his book "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well" (p.421). (p.421) which is considered the founding text of modern Italian gastronomy.
