Hailing from the city of Pavia, Torta Paradiso is made with simple ingredients and characterized by the divine lightness of its dough. Legend has it that the version handed down to us today was developed by a friar from Certosa di Pavia who learned to make the cake from a young woman living near the monastery. The friars, after tasting it, called it Torta Paradiso (“paradiso” means “heaven” in Italian) for just how good it was. It was said to be Maria Callas’s favorite cake – no doubt true as well for children everywhere, who devour it plain or stuffed with vanilla cream at breakfast or as a snack, soaked in a cup of milk. Perfect any time of day, it’s also easy to prepare: simply follow the instructions in the tutorial for “heavenly” results.
Torta Paradiso recipe
- In a mixer’s bowl, collect 4 egg yolks, 3 eggs and 1 3/4 cups of sugar and start beating with a whisk. The mixture will be yolk-colored in the beginning.
- Continue beating until it has definitively lightened and turned into a soft foam. Left to drip from the beater, the mixture should “write,” or leave a raised mark on the rest of the foam.
- Add 3/4 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of sifted starch, stirring gently by hand from bottom upwards so as not to cause the mixture to collapse.
- Finally incorporate 2 1/3 ounces of melted, but not hot, butter. Continue stirring gently, pour into a buttered and floured mold without filling more than 3/4 of the way to the top.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack.