Preparation

• First, prepare the two sponge cakes. Preheat the oven to 320°F in static mode

• Break the eggs and place them in the bowl of a stand mixer, and start whisking them at moderate speed.

  Slice open both vanilla pods, extract the seeds, and add them to the eggs along with a pinch of salt.

  At this point, gradually add the sugar

  

• Continue whisking for about 15 minutes until the eggs have tripled in volume and you obtain a fluid, creamy mixture.

  Stop the stand mixer and place a sieve directly above the bowl. Sift in the flour and potato starch

  

• and gently fold them into the mixture from bottom to top using a spatula to avoid deflating it.

  Once you have a homogeneous batter, butter and flour two 8-inch diameter molds. Divide the batter between the two molds

  

• At this point, bake the sponge cakes in a preheated static oven at 320°F, on the lowest rack, for about 50 minutes.

  Check if they are cooked by using the toothpick test; if it comes out completely dry, you can remove them from the oven.

  

• Then, let them cool completely before taking them out of the pans.

  

• Then start with the custard: slice open the vanilla pod, extract the seeds, and set them aside.

  In a saucepan, pour the milk, cream, and emptied pod and gently heat until almost boiling.

  

• Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla seeds; you don’t need to whip them, just combine everything well.

  

• Sift the cornstarch directly into the mixture and combine. Once the milk is hot, remove the pod and pour a small amount, about a glass, into the mixture, stirring with a whisk to temper it. Then pour everything back into the saucepan with the hot milk, continuously stirring to thicken over low heat.

  

• When it’s ready, place it in a low and wide baking dish and let it cool, covering it with cling film in contact while the custard is still hot.

  

• Only when it is cold, pour the fresh cream into a bowl, add the powdered sugar, and start whisking with beaters.

  

• Once you have a well-whipped cream, take the custard and transfer it to another bowl. Whisk slightly to soften it and start adding the cream. Add a spoonful at a time and mix to dilute the custard, then incorporate the remaining cream very gently, moving the spatula from bottom to top.

  

• Again cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator to set for about 40 minutes.

  

• In the meantime, prepare the syrup for the cake. Pour the water, limoncello, and sugar into a saucepan.

  Turn on the heat and stir, heating the syrup until the sugar has dissolved, then let it cool.

• First, you need to remove the outer crust from both sponge cakes, being careful to only remove the darker part. I do this with a grater

  

• then collecting the crumbs, which will be used later for decoration.

  

• Take one of the two sponge cakes and, using a long serrated knife, cut it to obtain 2 discs.

  

• Place the first layer of sponge cake on a plate, and using a brush, spread the previously prepared syrup over the entire surface.

  

• Now add about 1/3 of the cream and level it with a spatula.

  

• Place the second disc on top, soak again, and cover with another layer of cream as before,

  keeping some aside for the edges. Level everything well

  

• Also, take the second sponge cake and cut it into rather small cubes, and set them aside in a bowl

  

• Use the remaining cream to cover the edges of the cake, using a spatula, and sprinkle over the entire surface first the crumbs we grated, then the sponge cake cubes.

  

• Place the cake in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. When ready to serve, dust with powdered sugar. And here is my Mimosa Cake with Lemon Cream ready