This recipe for dairy-freeMocha Tortoni Cups came about from a failed attempt at a vintage Charleston recipe. The Charleston recipe was for a Mocha Sponge, and you have to understand that old recipes were quite vague in directions as well as the measurements. Example: “one envelope gelatin” Hmm…what size were the gelatin envelopes at the turn of the 20th century?🤔 I tried to research, but to no avail, so I used one of “today’s size” envelopes and continued on with the directions. Needless to say, I believe the older gelatin envelopes were much larger because the sponge cake did not set well.
Sometimes you have to roll with the punches, (and I am also not a food waster,) so I discovered it made a delicious ice cream alternative that is very similar to a Tortoni recipe. What is a true Tortoni? A true Tortoni is an ice cream made out of eggs and heavy cream that originated in Italy. My dairy-free Mocha Tortoni Cups are made from eggs, gelatin and coffee, which makes this a low-fat version (although it does still have sugar calories.) Instead of using traditional paper cupcake liners, I decided to make dark chocolate cups to hold the delicious Tortoni’s and even topped them off with a dairy-free whipped cream and made chocolate covered pretzel stir sticks for a fun garnish. Also, I couldn’t leave off the traditional cherry on top! This recipe makes approximately one dozen.