As a child I grew up eating Bonet thanks to my grandmother, and I always thought that it was the chocolate pudding that all children ate. I was not happy when I ate a “normal” chocolate pudding instead. And where had that flavour of amaretti gone?
Milk, amaretti, eggs, sugar, and cocoa powder. Five ingredients that awaken all the memories of my childhood. Yes, my grandmother (like a good Piedmontese!) used to put a drop of rum in it even though I was a child. My mother used to scold her, but my grandmother used to reply that all children had grown up with Bonet and that she could not make it without rum!
We used to beat all the ingredients in a large bowl, but only my grandmother used to crush the amaretti. The one time she did involve me, I remember that the crushed amaretti ended up all over the kitchen!
The part that I enjoyed the most was when my grandmother taught me to understand if the dessert (which she put to cook in the oven in a bain-marie) was ready. After 45 minutes she would take me to stand in front of the oven and tell me that “to understand if it is cooked, it is not enough to simply look at the time. You have to learn to observe and understand if it is cooked by the edges. Do you see them? If they detach from the side of the mould, it means that it is cooked. If not, then you have to stay here and watch for when it does happen”.
So, with my grandmother I learned not only how to make Bonet, but also to be patient and observe!
