Sienese Cream Cake

A perfect sweet for snack or dessert.

Filled with cream and topped with pine nuts.

Preheat oven to 330º

Grease and sugar bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan.

CAKE INGREDIENTS FOR 8-INCH CAKE:

3 Eggs
½ C. + 1 tsp OO or Cake Flour*
1/3 C. + 1 tsp. Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 Tbsp. Boiling Water
2 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar
2 Tbsp. Butter – unsalted

DIRECTIONS FOR CAKE:

Break the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on medium speed slowly adding the teaspoons of boiling water, one at a time. This should give you a nice frothy mixture.

While still mixing, add the sugar and whisk again until frothy. Add the flour through a sifter or a sieve and delicately mix with a wooden spoon to get as much air into the mixture as possible. Add the vanilla and mix in well.

Butter an 8-inch cake mold and sprinkle it with a tablespoon of sugar, shaking the pan to make sure it all adheres to bottom and sides.

Pour in half of the mixture, cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer while you prepare the cream.

INGREDIENTS FOR CREAM:

17 oz. Whole Milk
¼ tsp. Salt
¾ C. Granulated Sugar
2 Tbsp. Pine Nuts – for sprinkling
Zest from 1 Lemon
1 tsp. Vanilla – or to taste
2 Egg Yolks
4 Tbsp. OO or Cake Flour

TO MAKE THE CREAM:

Bring the milk to a boil in a medium size saucepan then remove from the heat and add salt, lemon zest and vanilla.  Beat together the egg yolks and the sugar until frothy. Sift the flour and add it to the yolks/sugar mixture and mix well.

Add a few tablespoons of milk and mix well. Slowly add the remining milk and cook it over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until it thickens.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:

Transfer the cream to a piping bag and add the remaining cake mixture to another.

Remove the cake mold from the freezer and gently pipe the cream evenly on top of the frozen mixture.  Do the same with the remaining cake mixture, piping it evenly over the cream. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the pine nuts.

Bake 40-45 minutes. It is difficult to test with a cake tester because the middle is cream.  Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before removing from pan.  When completely cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.  If not serving immediately sprinkle with the sugar just before serving.

NOTE: You can use any flavoring you prefer in this cake such as almond or lemon. Additionally, vanilla beans work well, if you have them, in place of the vanilla extract.

Also, I find it easier to use an 8-inch springform pan since this cake is a little delicate. Piping the cream and the cake mixture makes the cake more airy and lighter.  But you can certainly spoon both on, if you wish, making sure you don’t pack down when smoothing.

In Italy it would be almost sinful to say that cake flour can be substituted for 00 flour as it will change the texture a bit.  However, if you can’t find 00 flour, cake flour is the next best thing.

BUON MANGIATA!