Zuccotto alla Ricotta

The elegant pastry shops of Rome and Florence are filled with zuccotti of all flavors and appearances. Most of them are made in slightly flared, round-topped, bucket-shaped molds, although the classic zuccotto shape is a half-sphere. The name derives from zucco, or pumpkin; the dome shape recalls that of Florence’s Duomo, or cathedral. The zuccotto is a thoroughly Florentine dessert.

I like to use a ITA-quart Pyrex bowl to mold the zuccotto — the s