Filled Paradise Cake

Paradise Cake is a classic Italian pastry dessert, a soft and light cake that can be filled in various ways. Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients

• 150 g sugar
• 120 g 00 flour
• 120 g potato starch
• 150 g softened butter
• 4 eggs
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 packet baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• Powdered sugar to taste (for decorating)
• For filling (optional):
  • Pastry cream, jam or Nutella

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and prepare a pan about 24 cm in diameter by greasing and flouring it.

2. In a bowl, cream the softened butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Add the yolks to the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4. Add the grated lemon zest to the mixture and stir.

5. In another bowl, sift the flour, potato starch, and baking powder.

6. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter and yolk mixture, stirring gently from top to bottom to avoid deflating the batter.

7. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt and fold them into the mixture little by little, always stirring gently.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

9. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely. Once cooled, if you wish to fill it, cut it horizontally to obtain two layers.

10. Fill with pastry cream, jam or Nutella, then cover with the second cake layer and dust with powdered sugar.

Trivia

This cake takes its name from the “paradise of sweets” for its lightness and delicate flavor. Originally, it was made with simple ingredients that could be easily found in homes of the past, such as eggs, sugar, and flour. Paradise Cake is perfect to be filled or served simply with a dusting of powdered sugar.