This is a very traditional Italian sponge cake. Before today’s commercial world, it was the granny’s and mum’s cake by definition, especially in the north-center of Italy, from where the original recipe comes from.
It is very plain and simple, but its texture and flavour are really nice. A very good cake for breakfast of for your afternoon’s teas or coffees.
Margherita means daisy in Italian. Perhaps, the name originates from the the yellowish colour the cakes gets from the eggs, combined with the white of the icing sugar, and which together remind of the popular flower.
My recipe contains no butter or milk. Moreover, I used baking soda combined with some vinegar for extra softness.
I hope you will enjoy it 🙂
Ingredients
- 180 glight muscovado sugar
- 150 gwhite spelt flour (or white flour type 0)
- 150 gcorn starch
- 150 mlsunflower oil (cold pressed)
- 6eggs
- 1organic lemon (zest only)
- 1vanilla pod
- 1 spoonapple vinegar
- 1 teaspoonbaking soda
- 1 pinchtable salt
- q.s.icing sugar (for the topping)
Preparation
– take 5 of the 6 eggs and separate the egg whites form the yolks in two distinct bowls;
– add the sugar, the remaining full egg and the vanilla seeds to the yolks, and whisk until you get a frothy cream;
– when the yolk cream doubles its volume, add the oil slowly while keeping on whisking;
– now add the vinegar and whisk well till everything amalgamates with the yolk cream;
– take the bowl with the egg whites, add a pinch of salt and whip them until stiff;
– take another large bowl and sift the flour, the corn starch and the baking soda onto it, mix well to avoid lumps;
– add the grated lemon zest and mix well;
– pour the yolks cream onto the flour, and fold gently till you get a smooth mixture;
– now pour the stiffed whites and fold gently to incorporate them into the dough;
– pour the obtained cake mix onto a greased 24 cm baking tray;
– bake at 165 degrees for about 40/45 minutes;
– transfer the cake onto a wire cooling rack and allow it to cool down;
– serve topped with some icing sugar;
