The Iginio Massari’s Margherita Cake is a cloud of goodness, an extraordinary dessert belonging to classic pastry and often filled, instead of sponge cake, with custard and fresh fruit.
Its origins are attributed to Central-Northern Italy, it is a cake of peasant origin, a poor dessert that contained no fats and aromas, just a little lemon zest to remove the egg flavor and plenty of powdered sugar on the surface. It was usually baked in a round mold with many grooves that resembled a flower; when slices were cut, they looked like petals, which is thought to be the origin of the name margherita cake.
Over time, the recipe has been enriched with butter, yolks, and aromas, becoming, along with the Paradise Cake, one of the most loved desserts in pastry.
The recipe I propose today is by Iginio Massari, the procedure is simple and the result guaranteed, just pay attention to the order of the ingredients. If you have difficulty, you can consult the site of Giallo Zafferano where you will find his video explained in detail from which I derived the recipe.
Try the basic pastry cakes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 386.27 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 48.25 (g) of which sugars 29.55 (g)
- Proteins 7.13 (g)
- Fat 19.13 (g) of which saturated 11.27 (g)of which unsaturated 7.72 (g)
- Fibers 0.44 (g)
- Sodium 111.36 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 3 eggs (large)
- 3 yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp baking powder
- lemon zest (grated, needs the zest of one natural lemon)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (not included in the original recipe)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- as needed powdered vanilla sugar
Tools
- 1 Bowl large
- 1 Bowl small
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Scale
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Mold tapered for caprese, 24 cm diameter (at the base)
Steps
In the video, Maestro Massari makes the cake with a stand mixer, I used electric whisks, choose the appliance you prefer.
Tips for a successful cake
Ingredients must be at room temperature.
Prepare all the ingredients before starting the cake preparation, grease and flour the mold too, so you have everything ready. These batters deflate quickly, so it’s important to bake them immediately.
The procedure seems complex, but it’s actually simple, just follow the steps carefully.
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Cut the butter into cubes, place it in a small bowl, and melt it in the microwave or a saucepan. Let it cool.Sift together the flour, potato starch, and baking powder twice.
Grate the zest of one natural lemon.
In a large bowl, pour the whole eggs, add the sugar, and start whisking at low speed. After 1 minute, add the salt and grated lemon zest, increase the speed to maximum and whisk for 7 minutes until tripled in volume. While whisking, add the yolks one at a time. You will get a light and very foamy mixture.
Add the sifted flours in three batches, incorporating them with the whisks at the first speed only for the time needed to create a homogeneous and firm mixture.
Place 3 tablespoons of the batter in the bowl with the melted butter (it should be at room temperature, not hot) and mix everything with a spatula. Slowly, you will emulsify the ingredients, creating a mixture similar to the cake batter.
Pour the butter mixture into the bowl with the cake batter and incorporate it with a spatula, mixing from bottom to top.
Immediately pour the batter into the greased and floured cake pan and gently level it.
Bake the cake in a preheated static oven at 356°F (180°C) for about 30 minutes.
Do the toothpick test to check doneness. If necessary, cover the surface with aluminum foil.The Iginio Massari’s Margherita Cake is ready, take it out of the oven, wait ten minutes and turn it over onto a plate. Let it cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Tips
Storage
The Iginio Massari’s Margherita Cake can be stored at room temperature for 3 days, well covered.
It can be frozen whole or in slices.
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