Classic mimosa cake (Cake covered with sponge cake cubes)

To prepare the classic mimosa cake you first need to make the two sponge cakes. Make sure you have two 8" (20 cm) diameter pans and that both fit into the oven on the same shelf next to each other. If this is not the case, you will have to make one sponge cake at a time (just halve the indicated amounts). Preheat the oven to 325° F (160°) in static mode. Crack open the eggs, put them in a stand mixer and start whipping them at moderate speed 1. Cut both the vanilla pods, take out the seeds 2 and add them to the mixing bowl with a pinch of salt. At this point slowly add the sugar 3. 

Continue to whip for about 15 minutes until the eggs have tripled in volume and you have obtained a fluid and creamy mixture, slightly thickened 4. Stop the mixer and place a strainer directly over the bowl. Sift together the flour 5 and starch 6

and gently fold the powder in with upward movements from the bottom using a spatula 7, so as not to risk separating the mixture. When it is homogeneous 8, butter and flour the two 8" (20 cm) diameter cake pans. Divide the dough equally between the 2 cake pans 9.

Bake your sponge cake in a static oven preheated to 325° F (160° C), on the lower shelf, for about 50 minutes 10. Make sure they are baked by testing with a toothpick; if it emerges completely dry, you can take them out of the oven 11. Let them cool completely before you take them out of the pan 12. Then place them on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Now make the cream to fill the mimosa cake. Start with the pastry cream: cut the vanilla pod, take out the seeds 1 and set them aside. Pour the milk, cream and the empty pod 2 into a pan and heat it all on low until it is almost boiling. In the meantime, beat the yolks together with the sugar and vanilla seeds 3 in a bowl; it won't be necessary to whip them, just mix everything together. 

Sift the corn starch directly into the mixture 4 and stir again 5. As soon as the milk is hot, remove the pod using kitchen tongs 6.

and pour one ladle of it into the egg yolk mixture 7, stirring with a whisk to dissolve it. Pour everything into the pan with the hot milk 8 and, stirring constantly, let it thicken over low heat 9. 

Once ready, place it in a low and wide ovenproof dish and let it cool completely, covering it with transparent wrap when the cream is still hot 10. After it has cooled, pour the fresh cream into a bowl, add the powdered sugar and start whipping with the beaters 12. 

As soon as the cream is whipped well 13, take the cream and transfer it into another bowl. Whip lightly to soften it and start adding the cream. Add one spoonful 14 and stir vigorously to dilute the cream, then incorporate the remaining cream by moving the spatula very gently from the bottom to the top 15. Cover again with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to set for about 30 minutes. 

In the meantime, prepare the syrup for the cake too. Pour the water 1, liqueur 2 and sugar 3 into a saucepan. 

Turn on the burner and, while stirring, 4 heat the syrup until the sugar has melted 5, then pour it into another bowl 6 and let it cool. 

As soon as everything is cool, you can assemble the dessert. First remove the outer crust from both sponge cakes, starting with the edges 1, then from the top 2 and finally from the bottom 3. At this stage try to remove only the darker part, so as to reduce waste. You can use the scraps as indicated at the bottom of the recipe.

Take one of the two sponge cakes and use a bread knife to cut 3 uniform layers. To cut the sponge cake as regularly as possible, you can cut laterally: make two notches with the bread knife to set the measure, then slowly sink the blade crosswise to obtain the first layer, helping the movement by turning the sponge cake as you cut to make it homogeneous and precise (4-5-6).

Place the first layer of sponge cake on a plate (we used a turntable, but a normal serving plate will do fine), then a pastry ring (you can also fill the cake without one): using a spoon, spread the previously prepared syrup over the whole surface of the disc and let it cool down 7. Now add about 1/4 of the cream 8 and level it with a spatula 9. 

Insert the second disc into the ring 10, bathe again 11 and cover with another layer of cream as previously described 12. 

Now insert the last disc and soak it again with the remaining syrup 13. Add one more layer of cream 14, saving some for the edges, and level evenly 15. 

Take the second sponge cake and cut it into vertical slices 16, then make some rather small cubes from each of them 17 and put them in a small bowl 18. 

Gently remove the ring from the mimosa cake 19 and use a spatula to add the remaining cream to the edges of the cake 20. Using a spoon, place the sponge cake cubes over the entire surface 21,

including the edges: the cubes will easily stick to the diplomatic cream 22. Once the whole surface 23 has been carefully covered, place the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours. When serving, dust your classic mimosa cake with powdered sugar 24!