A virtual baby shower for Emiko: a sponge cake with custard and chocolate
Probably 50 years ago we would live all in the same neighbourhood and we would meet regularly for our book club or for cozy afternoon teas. We would play card games in winter and we would gather for garden parties during summer with men barbecuing pork ribs and beef hamburgers. We would share recipes written in a neat hand writing on tiny pieces of paper, adding real bookmarks in our grease stained cook books. We would be good friends and we would celebrate with a perfect baby shower Emiko’s baby girl, who’s due within Christmas, the best gift she could ask for.
Nowadays we’re still good friends, though we live scattered all over the world: Italy, England, Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Australia. We make up special occasions to meet and spend time cooking, eating and laughing, being it on the seaside, in the countryside or in London. We chat on line a lot, we exchange long e-mails and, notwithstanding the distance, we support each other throughout all our life stages, plans and dreams.
If we were closer we would definitely have gathered to celebrate Emiko’s baby, choosing one of our kitchens and living rooms and sitting one next to the other at the table, with a cup of tea or a sparkling pink drink. The distance won’t stop us from celebrating today, so we decided to throw a virtual baby shower party for Emiko. Everyone’s invited, as long as you are in a good mood for celebrating and are not intimidated by a bunch of girls laughing and sobbing in commotion in front of Emiko’s belly!
– Tablecloth by Urbanara –
Everyone’s bringing their special gifts to Emiko. We have cookies, and you can even choose among vegan pumpkin chocolate chips cookies baked by Zizi and delicate rice cookies made by Jasmine. As this is a party for a special girl, we have also cakes, a flourless chocolate cake with pears – La Belle Helene – baked by Karin or a soft cheesecake beautifully made by Rossella. Muffins can not be missed, so Valeria made festive gingerbread banana muffins, while Sarka offers us something savoury, tempting mini tartlets. Wait, this is a party, we need spirit, at least for the father-to-be… Luckily Regula is bringing cobnut brandy!
As for me, I’m bringing a special cake. My special cake. Let me say this, if there’s a cake I love, something that represents family, love, affection, friendship, special occasions and every day life all shaken together, well, this would be a sponge cake filled with custard and chocolate and covered by a thick snow white icing. This has been my birthday cake since I can remember.
I have photos of me sitting in front of this cake from the Eighties, a thin girl with pigtails and polka dot dresses, from the Nineties, a chubby teenager with braces and a large smile. Then there’s my sister, my cousin, my parents, my grandma, my beautiful nieces… everyone sitting in front of the same cake, smiling, looking impatient at the custard oozing from the cake or blowing birthday candles.
Can you imagine a better cake to celebrate a virtual baby shower? I couldn’t, honestly, because if Emiko was here I would bake this exact cake for her baby girl… not that she would need a crazy aunt baking birthday cakes, since she will have the most amazing foodie mum and the most incredible gourmet dad, but cakes, especially birthday cakes, are never enough, aren’t they?
The original cake would call for simple cake flour, caster sugar and probably alchermes to soak the sponge cake, though I made it more mine using organic whole spelt flour, raw cane sugar and a pomegranate syrup. Do you know that pomegranates are considered a symbol of good fortune and prosperousness in Italy? How could I skip them in the cake?!
Sponge cake with custard and chocolate
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share by EmailIngredients
For the sponge cake
- 4 free range eggs at room temperature
- 180 g of raw cane sugar
- 100 g of wholemeal spelt flour
- 60 g of potato starch
- 5 g of baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
For the custard
- 750 ml of whole milk
- Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
- 3 free range eggs
- 6 tablespoons of raw cane sugar
- 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 100 g of extra dark chocolate, finely chopped
- Interface For the wet
- 100 ml of water
- 100 g of raw cane sugar
- Zest of 1 organic orange
- 100 ml of pomegranate juice
For the frosting
- 1 egg white
- about 250 g of icing sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Make the sponge cake. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 20 cm round springform pan with butter. Dust with flour and set aside.
- Whip the eggs with the raw cane sugar for about ten minutes in a stand mixer or with your electric whisk, until white and thick. They'll be ready when lifting the beaters the batter will fall down making a ribbon.
- Sift flour, potato starch, baking powder, a pinch of salt and vanilla seeds. Fold into the beaten eggs very gently with a spatula, making slow movements from the bottom upwards.
- Scrape the batter into the baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and springy.
- Remove from the oven and after a few minutes unmould carefully the cake and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the custard. Heat the milk over medium heat with the the vanilla bean until simmering. Remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan until smooth and creamy.
- Pour the hot milk in a thin stream into the beaten eggs and stir with a whisk to avoid eggs from curdling. Put the saucepan back on low heat and cook stirring constantly with a whisk for about 5 minutes, until thick and barely simmering.
- Remove the custard from the heat and spoon it in equal parts into two bowls.
- Add the chopped chocolate in one bowl and stir until completely melted.
- Cover the custard and the chocolate spread with plastic wrap and let cool completely.
- Make the syrup. Boil the water with the raw cane sugar and the orange zest until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool completely, then add the pomegranate juice.
- Finally, make the cake. When the sponge cake is completely cold cut it lengthwise into three equal disks.
- Brush first disc with the pomegranate syrup and spread generously with chocolate custard. Lay the second disc on top, brush again with the syrup and slather with custard. Close with the third disc.
- Stack the cake in the fridge for at least half an hour.
- Meanwhile, make the icing. Whisk the egg white with a fork and gradually add the icing sugar and the lemon juice until smooth and thick enough to cover the cake without slipping.
- Spoon the icing on the cake and spread evenly with a spatula, letting it drop on the sides.
- Decorate the cake with colourful sugar, fresh fruit or chocolate curls and let cool in the fridge a few hours before serving.
All the happiness in this world to you, Emiko, and to Marco, can’t wait to meet your sweet bundle of joy. Love from a far-away proud aunt!
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What a gorgeous cake! It looks really tempting.
Congratulations to Emiko and Marco!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa!! xx
E’ tutto meraviglioso! Te l’ho scritto poco fa su FB ma devo ripetermi: ME-RA-VI-GLI-O-SO!
Emiko impazzirà di gioia 🙂
Grazie Jas, è venuto fuori proprio una bella sorpresa, vero?
You really have created the perfect party, how beautiful are those pictures! I can picture you cake on the table next to my Cobnut brandy, Karin’s Belle Helene, Zita’s vegan cookies…
Lovely words for a lovely lady!
it is true, we managed to create such a perfect party, a great celebration od a sweet baby girl! Loved doing this with you! xxx
What a wonderful baby shower and sweet way of welcoming the little baby to come!
I have just baked a Winter loaf full of spices and citrus flavours and I dedicate it to Emiko too – another slice to toast the imminent arrival.
All the best
Francesca
that would be perfect, everybody loves a good winter loaf, especially with a cup of hot black tea!
Dearest Aunt Giulia, you have as always created the perfect party setting!
Simply beautiful!!
Big hugs
Karin
ehehehe, I just love being an Aunt! xx
This babyshower is so touching and sweet. I’m sure Emiko will love it !
And your cake is THE cake, I have pictures of my birthdays with the same one 😉
Congratulations to the parents-to-be!
Claudia
I know, I know this is such a perfect and traditional cake, isn’t it? We have the same sweet memories from our childhood! baci
I wish Emiko still lived in Italy and would could all gather in your garden and enjoy this amazing cake together! Lovely post! x
yes, me toooo! now we just have anther perfect excuse to go visit her! xx
That’s a really nice way to celebrate the arrival of a new baby!!Your cake looks gorgeous and delicious!
All the best for the parents to be
Chiara
Thank you Chiara!!! xx
Giulia, where do I even start?! Well, first I better stop crying like a baby. I cannot imagine a better cake than YOUR cake, Aunty Giulia’s cake, for the baby’s ‘birth day’ and all the other occasions to come after this! 🙂 This wonderful surprise has really touched me, thank you so much my dear friend, what would I do without you? xx
I don’t know where to start, too. No words, just crying… Miss you so much! xxx
This is a fantastic cake, Giulia! wow, I want to have you as an aunt too, to bake me these bday cakes!! lovely words, but that goes without sayin’. <3
well, I would love to have you as aunt as well, those banana muffins, let’s talk about that!! xx
This is just the loveliest gesture and Emiko is so touched that you did this (I just spoke to her!) – baby Lami is lucky to have such wonderful aunts! Your cake looks delicious. Bravissima!
I love baby Lami, hehehe, like it! We were all so touched by her being touched, just a bunch of crying girls! Grazie! I’ve seen also your beautiful baby, Oliver, on Facebook: he’s the cutest baby boy!! xx
I love this post so much, Giulia! And the first photo of this post… OMG! I’m speechless… or not. Did you take it at sunset or during the day?
The cake looks very yum. I could have a big slice right now!
Thank you Zizi! the first photo was taken at sunset, about 4pm, it was one of the last sunny days of November! then we just add rain and clouds and cold!! Hugs xx
What a beautiful blog you have, Giulia. And not just because of the photographs – which are very gorgeous – but because of the warmth with which you write. It does feel like snippets of conversation from around a warm Tuscan kitchen table 🙂
Hi Pia, nice to meet you! you make mw really happy with your comment, hope to see you around soon! Have a wonderful day!
Another beautiful entry. You always touch me with your thoughtfulness.
Also, will you bake me this cake? 😉
Ciao Holly, thank you so much! this was really a special post for us! and yes, why not, come on over here and I’ll offer you a slice of cake!
love your blog would have loved you as a friend best of luck
VINCENZA FROM CANADA
Vincenza, you’ll always find good friends here! best wishes to Canada! xx
Hi Juls, This cake reminds me of the one my mother used to make when we first came from Italy. I was wondering about the possibility of substitues for some ingredients that I cannot find in my area. Can I use cornstarch in place of potato starch in the cake? I would like to substitute something else for pomegranate juice? Also, what is meant by “Interface for the wet?” I will have to convert the measurements. Thank you for sharing this. Toni
Potato starch has a different role, it makes the cake softer, while usually the cornstarch is used as a thickener.
Definitely substitute pomegranate juice with any fruit syrup.
As for the “Interface for the wet”, I cannot find it, where is it?