ugly cake Italy Recipe

First, make a sponge cake. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites and whisk the latter until stiff peaks form.

Whip the egg yolks with boiling water, add the sugar and grated lemon zest, and whisk again.

Next, add the sifted flour and yeast, and finally add the egg whites and mix carefully, moving from the bottom to the top to avoid crumbling.

Pour the mixture into a mold sprinkled with butter and flour and cook in a static oven preheated to 180 ° C for about 40 minutes.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and let cool, then remove from the mold and cool completely, preferably upside down, on a wire rack (this will give you a smoother base for the top to decorate with).

Next, prepare the custard. Heat the milk with the lemon zest.

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.

Add the flour and vanilla to the egg yolks.

Then add the strained milk, put it back on the fire and cook, stirring constantly, on low heat until a thick cream is obtained.

Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap to prevent an oxide film from forming on the surface, and let cool completely.

Next, prepare the syrup. Bring the water, sugar and lemon zest to a boil in a saucepan, cook for a few minutes (until the sugar is completely dissolved), let it cool and remove the zest at the end.

Finally, prepare the frosting. Take the cream out of the refrigerator and let it cool thoroughly before whipping.

Mix together the cheese and sugar, and mix carefully so as not to break the cream.

Take 2-3 tablespoons of the frosting, put it in a bowl, and add the food coloring of your choice for the letters (I used yellow).

Take another 3-4 tablespoons of frosting and set aside for the tassels (I left them white, but if you wish you can color this as well, preferably in a different color) ).

Finally, color the rest of the frosting you’ll need to frost the cake (I went pink for a perfect Mithian look).

Cut the cooled sponge cake in half horizontally.
Place the disk you want to use as a base on a plate, moisten it with half of the syrup, pour all the custard over it, then cover with the second disk and moisten this too.

Cover everything with pink frosting, smooth the surface with a spatula, then create the letters with yellow frosting (use a piping bag with a smooth, thin tip), and finish with white frosting for decorative shapes. Create tassels (use a piping bag with a star-shaped spout).

And now the ugly cake is ready to be served.