Torta Paradiso can be mistaken for sponge cake, but the crumb comes from butter and starch rather than a cold egg foam. Treat it like Pan di Spagna and it turns heavy fast.
We keep this as the classic unfilled cake: soft butter, careful egg incorporation, flour folded just enough, and a veil of powdered sugar after cooling. Cream-filled snack versions are their own thing. This one should slice cleanly and feel fine, tender, and rich.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9 in round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.
Beat the softened butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and salt for 5 to 6 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
Beat the eggs lightly in a separate bowl. Add them to the butter mixture in 6 small additions, mixing well after each. If the batter looks split, add 1 spoonful of the flour mixture.
Sift the flour and potato starch together. Fold them into the batter in three additions with a spatula, stopping as soon as the batter is even.
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 32 to 38 minutes, until the center springs back and a skewer comes out dry.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Let the cake cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar.
Serve plain. For storage, cover the cooled cake and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.
You made Torta Paradiso. Time to eat.
A new recipe in your inbox each month. No noise.
Butter should be soft enough to dent, not oily. If it is too warm, the batter loses air before the cake reaches the oven.
Six Italian regions. Nothing reformulated. Imported direct.
No comments yet. Be the first.