How to make sponge cream cake

The Italian sponge cream cake  (pan di spagna alla crema) is a simple, airy sponge cake flavored with vanilla or lemon zest.

It’s made with only 3 ingredients: eggs, sugar, and flour…no baking powder, no butter, no oil, and no dairy!

Yields 1 (9-inch) cake; serves 6 – 8

Prep time: 20 minutes | Bake time: 40 minutes | Total time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 vanilla pod (or zest of 1 organic orange or 1 organic lemon)
• 1-1/8 cups flour type doppio zero or “00” (can be replaced with all-purpose flour)
• Oil spray or butter
• 1/8 cup almond liqueur or orange juice (any kind of liqueur or juice will do)
• 1/8 cup water
• 2 cups pastry cream (see recipe below)
• 1/3 cup icing sugar

METHOD:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare the baking pan (springform works best) by spraying it with oil or rubbing it with butter. Line the bottom part and sides with baking paper in the correct size.
3. In a large bowl, whip the eggs, sugar, vanilla or citrus zest and salt on medium for about 10 minutes.
4. Sift the flour, and fold it into the whipped egg mixture.
5. Pour the batter into the baking pan, and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until the cake is baked through. Check by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean, then it is cooked. If not, bake for a few more minutes.
6. When the cake is done, let it cool.
7. Slice the cake in the middle with a very sharp knife or a thin nylon thread (like the kind used for fishing) to make the slice even.
8. In a small bowl, mix together the liqueur and water, then brush both inner parts of the sliced pan di spagna with the mixture to moisten the cake.
9. Spread the pastry cream all over the pan di spagna, then put the other half back on top.
10. Garnish the top with the icing sugar by using a sieve to distribute it evenly. You can be creative and make some shapes too.

Crema pasticcera (pastry cream) recipe

Yields 2 cups

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes | Total time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

METHOD:

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm up the milk with the vanilla pod and the seeds scraped off from the pod until the milk is almost boiling.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until creamy and light in color. Add the cornstarch gradually while whisking, and then set aside.
3. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk, and discard it.
4. Turn on the heat again, and over low heat, whisk the egg mixture gradually into the milk until it becomes thick and creamy. If the pastry cream becomes too thick after it cools down, just thin it out with a little bit of milk, and whisk well.

Recipe from: https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/1105085/pan-di-spagna-recipe/