Torta Mimosa (Italian Sponge Cake with Pastry Cream)

Sponge

• 20 g Unsalted butter
• 180 g Plain flour
• 1 pinch Fine sea salt
• 6 Egg, room temperature
• 180 g Caster sugar

Pastry cream and filling

• 500 ml Whole milk
• 1 medium Lemon
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 120 g Caster sugar
• 45 g Cornflour
• 4 Egg, room temperature
• 30 g Unsalted butter
• 400 ml Double cream, well chilled

1. Heat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease a 23 cm springform pan with the unsalted butter, then dust with a little of the plain flour and tap out the excess.
2. Sift the remaining plain flour with the fine sea salt. Set aside so it is ready to fold in quickly.
3. In a stand mixer, whisk 6 eggs with 180 g caster sugar on high until very pale, thick and tripled in volume, 8 to 10 minutes. The mixture should fall in a ribbon that sits on the surface for a few seconds.
4. Sift the flour mixture over the eggs in 2 additions, folding gently with a spatula each time to keep as much air as possible. Pour into the prepared tin and level the top.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden and springy, and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
6. While the cake cools, make the pastry cream: warm the whole milk in a saucepan with the lemon zest (use a fine grater) and vanilla extract until steaming but not boiling. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
7. Whisk 4 eggs with 120 g caster sugar and the cornflour until smooth. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, then return everything to the saucepan.
8. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes until thick and bubbling. Take off the heat and whisk in the unsalted butter until glossy, then whisk in 1 tbsp lemon juice.
9. Scrape the pastry cream into a bowl and press a sheet of baking paper directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming. Cool to room temperature, then chill until cold and set.
10. Once the sponge is completely cool, cut a 1 cm thick layer from the top and set it aside for the mimosa finish. Slice the remaining cake horizontally into 2 even layers.
11. Whip the double cream to soft peaks. Fold about one third of the whipped cream into the cold pastry cream to lighten it, keeping the rest for layering and covering.
12. Place one sponge layer on a serving plate and spread over half the pastry cream mixture. Add the second sponge layer, spread over the remaining pastry cream mixture, then cover the top and sides with the remaining whipped cream.
13. Cut the reserved sponge into small cubes, then gently press them over the top and sides to create the mimosa effect. Chill for at least 2 hours so the creams set and the slices cut neatly.

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