paradise cake

 

This is the recipe of the great pastry chef Maurizio Santin, a cake so soft and fluffy taht neither kids nor adults would resist.

Ingredients for a pan in 8 cm high and 22 cm in diameter: 

300 g butter

300 g caster sugar

200 g of yolks

150 g flour

150 g potato starch

120 g egg whites

1 lemon

It's a cake made without baking powder, its extreme softness is obtained only by whisking the egg whites until stiff and the butter whisked until you have a cream. 

The butter must be very soft, at room temperature. Knead in the mixer with a whisk, or in a bowl with electric beaters until you have a smooth texture (it takes 5-6 minutes, make sure to remove the butter from the sides of the bowl, mix and continue beating). Add the egg yolks one by one, by inserting the following only when the former is well incorporated. Pour gradually 250 g of sugar, continuing to whip at medium speed. Finally, add the flour and potato flour sifted together,  by lowering the speed. Now put the grated lemon peel.

Whip the egg whites with a few drops of lemon juice, then add the remaining sugar (50 g). With a spatula pour them gently into the mixture obtained previously 

Butter the mold and instead of flour use brown sugar on the edges and at the base of the cake, you will obtain a delicious crunchiness. Pour the batter in the mold and bake at 170 degrees for 40 minutes.

Tips for cooking: after 40 minutes my cake was not ready yet, you must do the toothpick test; so I put an aluminum foil over the cake, and continued for another 25 minutes at 160 degrees. Remove the sheet and bake for 5/6 minutes further until golden brown.

Let it cool before unmold, turn it upside down on a serving dish so that the top is perfectly smooth. Sprinkle with powdered sugar ... and enjoy it!