Bunet (Piedmontese flan with cocoa & amaretti)

A while ago, during a trip to Piedmont, I had the opportunity to taste a very typical and local dessert that I had never heard of. It is the bunet, or bonet, a sort of Piedmont caramel flan equivalent. This flan is of course made with eggs, caramel, and milk, but also cocoa and amaretti. Depending on the version, you can add rum, amaretto, or coffee, which help to bring out the flavor of the cocoa and the amaretti, those crispy almond biscuits. In my version, I added a bit of coffee and amaretto, but you can change according to your tastes. I used individual silicone molds, but you can also use a large mold for a version to share, or classic ramekins. As a final note, I used a small amount of caramel at the bottom of my molds because I preferred having a dessert that wasn't too sweet and really taste the chocolate and almonds, but you can add a bit more if you wish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes + 30 minutes to 1 hour of cooking

For 6 to 8 people:

Ingredients:

4 eggs
115g of sugar
55g of unsweetened cocoa powder
500g of milk
120g of dry amaretti
10g of amaretto
10g of coffee

For the caramel: 100g of sugar

Recipe:

Start by preparing a dry caramel with the 100g of sugar, then pour it into the bottom of the mold(s) you want to use, making sure to coat the sides of the mold well.

Whisk the eggs with the sugar until you get a slightly puffed mixture. Heat the milk, then pour it over the eggs while stirring well.

Blend the amaretti to obtain a powder (you can also crush them with a rolling pin to have a slightly coarse powder, this will give texture to your flans), then incorporate this powder into the previous mixture.

Finally, add the cocoa, amaretto, and coffee, and mix until you have a homogeneous mixture.

Pour the batter into the mold(s), then cook the bunet in a bain-marie in the oven preheated to 150°C.

The cooking time will vary depending on the molds you have chosen, for individual bunet count about thirty minutes, for a large one to share it will take about 1 hour of cooking. Be sure to have water up to ¾ of the molds, and check the cooking by inserting the blade of a knife or a toothpick into the flans (it should come out dry).

Let cool well before unmolding and enjoying!