Preparation

• Use eggs at room temperature. Place the eggs, sugar, and salt in a mixer with beaters and whip for about 20 minutes. The mixture should be fluffy and when you lift a bit of it and let it fall, it should not sink but leave a trail.

  

• At this point, sift the flours two or three times to aerate them and add them along with the vanillin to the egg mixture. Mix very gently with a spatula until the ingredients are well blended. Butter and flour a 10-inch diameter pan, pour the mixture into it, being careful not to tap it to avoid losing air. Bake at 320-340°F for about 45/50 minutes. Always perform the toothpick test.

  

• Place water, sugar, and vanillin in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring with a whisk. Remove the syrup from the saucepan and let it cool on a plate.

  Cut the sponge cake into three equal-height discs, place the bottom disc on a plate and soak the top with 1/3 of the syrup. I used a kitchen brush, but you can use a perforated cap bottle or a teaspoon if you prefer.

  

• For the custard, I tried a new method: place eggs with sugar in a saucepan, beat with a whisk until slightly frothy. Now add the flour and vanillin and mix again until the ingredients are well combined. Heat the milk in the microwave and pour it over the egg mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with the whisk until firm and smooth. Turn off the heat and place the custard in a container, covering it with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface.

  

• Place some custard in a syringe with a star nozzle and cover the previously soaked disc with syrup.

  

• Place the central disc over the custard layer, soak the surface with 1/3 of the syrup, and cover with dollops of custard still using the syringe with a star nozzle. You will have leftover custard to fill the cream puffs and decorate the top of the cake.

  

• Now place the last sponge cake disc on top, soak the surface with the last third of the syrup.

  

• Put the powdered sugar with a tablespoon of water in a bowl, mix until you get a rather thick but spreadable mixture. Add a few drops of water if necessary.

  Now cover the cake’s surface with the glaze, allowing it to drip slightly over the edges.

  

• Follow the procedure to prepare the choux pastry found here, but with the quantities in this recipe.

  Prepare small cream puffs, once ready, fill them with custard using a cake syringe,

  

• Place the cream puffs on the cake, decorate the center with custard and sprinkle colorful sprinkles on the glaze.