Mimosa Cake

The Mimosa Cake is a classic Italian dessert, perfect for celebrating Women’s Day. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 120 g of sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 120 g of 00 flour
• Grated zest of 1 lemon (untreated)
• 1 packet of vanillin or vanilla extract
• For the cream:
  • 500 ml of milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 150 g of sugar
  • 40 g of 00 flour or cornstarch
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 packet of vanillin or vanilla extract
• For the soak:
  • 100 ml of water
  • 50 g of sugar
  • Liquor (optional) to taste (e.g., Alchermes, Maraschino)

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the sponge cake: beat the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt until you obtain a foamy mixture. Gently fold in the sifted flour, lemon zest, and vanillin.
2. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30 minutes or until golden. Let cool.
3. For the custard, heat the milk with the lemon zest. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until foamy, then add the sifted flour and vanillin.
4. Add the hot milk, straining it, and stir. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring continuously, until the cream has thickened. Let cool.
5. Prepare the soak by bringing the water and sugar to a boil until you obtain a syrup. Once ready, you can add the chosen liquor.
6. Cut the sponge cake into three discs. Crumble one disc to create the “mimosa” you will use for the final decoration.
7. Soak the two sponge cake discs with the soak, then fill them with a generous layer of custard. Stack the discs, cover the entire cake with a layer of cream, and decorate with the crumbled sponge cake pieces.
8. Let rest in the refrigerator before serving to allow the cake to set.

Fun Facts

The Mimosa Cake takes its name from the small pieces of sponge cake on the surface that resemble the yellow flowers of the mimosa tree. It is a tradition in Italy to gift a bouquet of mimosa to women on March 8th, and this cake has become a symbolic dessert of this celebration.