The Margherita cake is an all-Italian dessert, extremely simple, soft, and fragrant. It can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a snack, or prepared instead of the classic sponge cake for parties and birthdays, perhaps filled with creams and whipped cream. For this cake, I followed the recipe of a pastry master like Iginio Massari, with some very small variations. The preparation is simple, and the ingredients are flour, sugar, eggs, butter, potato starch, and a pinch of baking powder. It may not be a fancy dessert, but it immediately makes me think of the genuineness and simplicity of cooking, which is what I love! Here’s the recipe for you.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6/8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 7 tbsps melted butter
- lemon zest
- powdered sugar
Tools
Diameter 8 inches
- Baking Pan
Steps
In the stand mixer, place the eggs and sugar, set to medium speed, then add salt and lemon zest. Increase speed to maximum and work for 10 minutes.
After the time has passed, still with the mixer running, add one egg yolk at a time, then lower the speed, sift the powders and add them to the mixer, increase the speed again to absorb and turn off. The mixture will be compact.
In a small bowl, take a little bit of the mixture and add the melted butter, emulsify well.
Pour it into the mixer with the rest of the mixture and with the spatula work it from bottom to top.
Butter and flour the baking pan.
Pour the mixture and bake at 355°F in a preheated static oven for 20 minutes. Always check with a skewer; if it comes out dry, turn off.
Let it cool and turn it over, it will be even more uniform.
Dust with plenty of powdered sugar and the Margherita cake is ready!
Storage
You can keep the Margherita cake covered for several days.
Variations
You can fill the Margherita cake with classic custard or lemon custard, or chocolate or simply with whipped cream.
