Bonet
A traditional Piedmontese dessert, much older than tiramisu, essentially crème caramel with cocoa and crushed amaretti. The biscuits are not a garnish — they dissolve into the custard and give it both body and an almond note cocoa alone cannot. The most common explanation is that bonet means "hat" in Piedmontese dialect — after the shape of the copper mould it was once baked in.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Caramel 10 min
- Custard 15 min
- Baking 55 min
- Chilling 220 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake caramel and pour it into the tin
Cook the sugar with the water without stirring to a deep amber and pour it at once into a loaf tin (about 25 × 11 cm), tilting to coat the base. Caramel sets within seconds — have the tin ready beside the hob.
Ingredients: 120 g sugar · 40 ml water
Deep amber, poured at once — it sets in seconds.Crush the amaretti coarsely
Put the biscuits in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin to coarse crumbs, not dust. Larger crumbs partly dissolve and partly survive, giving the dessert a slight grain that is part of its character.
Ingredients: 600 ml milk · 5 pcs eggs · 120 g sugar · 40 g cocoa · 120 g amaretti · 3 tbsp rum · 2 tbsp coffee
Coarse crumbs, not dust.Beat the eggs without aerating
Beat the eggs with the sugar and cocoa with a fork, not a mixer. Beaten-in air creates holes in a baked custard and makes the surface crack — the mixture should be smooth and heavy, not fluffy.
Ingredients: 600 ml milk · 5 pcs eggs · 120 g sugar · 40 g cocoa · 120 g amaretti · 3 tbsp rum · 2 tbsp coffee
Add warm milk, rum and coffee
Warm the milk (warm, not hot) and pour it into the mixture in a thin stream, stirring, then add the rum and coffee. The coffee should not be detectable — its job is to deepen the cocoa, as in many chocolate bakes. Heat the oven to 160°C.
Ingredients: 600 ml milk · 5 pcs eggs · 120 g sugar · 40 g cocoa · 120 g amaretti · 3 tbsp rum · 2 tbsp coffee
Pour into the caramel-lined tin
Strain the mixture through a sieve, only then stir in the crushed amaretti and pour everything onto the set caramel. The sieve catches strands of egg white and lumps of cocoa — without it, rubbery threads show up in the finished dessert.
Ingredients: 600 ml milk · 5 pcs eggs · 120 g sugar · 40 g cocoa · 120 g amaretti · 3 tbsp rum · 2 tbsp coffee
Bake in a water bath
Set the tin in a roasting tray, pour in hot water to halfway up the tin and bake 55 minutes at 160°C. The water bath keeps the temperature below boiling — without it the eggs set violently and the custard turns holey.
Ingredients: 600 ml milk · 5 pcs eggs · 120 g sugar · 40 g cocoa · 120 g amaretti · 3 tbsp rum · 2 tbsp coffee
Water halfway up the tin — without it the custard goes holey.Chill at least three hours
Lift the tin out of the water bath, cool for about 40 minutes, then chill 3 hours, ideally overnight. During that time the caramel on the base dissolves in the moisture from the custard and turns into a liquid sauce that runs down the sides when turned out.
Ingredients: 600 ml milk · 5 pcs eggs · 120 g sugar · 40 g cocoa · 120 g amaretti · 3 tbsp rum · 2 tbsp coffee
Turn out onto a plate
Run a knife around the edges and invert decisively onto a serving dish. The caramel runs down the sides. Serve with crushed amaretti, perhaps with a glass of sweet moscato.
Ingredients: 600 ml milk · 5 pcs eggs · 120 g sugar · 40 g cocoa · 120 g amaretti · 3 tbsp rum · 2 tbsp coffee
Before you start
Hard amaretti, not soft
You need hard amaretti secchi, crisp and dry. Soft amaretti morbidi dissolve without trace and the dessert loses its texture. Almond macaroons or dry sponge fingers with a spoonful of ground almonds work as substitutes.
Testing for doneness
The custard is ready when the edges are set and a 3 cm circle in the centre still wobbles when you move the tin. Baked to complete firmness it comes out dense and rubbery — cooling finishes the job.
Three days in the fridge
Bonet keeps three days and is better on the second — the amaretti fully merge into the custard and the caramel thins. Keep it in the tin and turn it out only before serving.
