Chocolate Sponge Cake with Berry Diplomat Cream

Photography and styling by Sara Ghedina. Cake by Pasticceria Regina, Mestre, Venezia, Italy.

Bring a spectacular burst of Old World flavor into your home this winter with this Chocolate Sponge Cake with Berry Diplomat Cream. TABLE’s West Coast correspondent Sara Ghedina was visiting her family in Venezia recently, and this cake mesmerized her from the window of a local bakery. Pastry chefs Andrea Marigo and Alessia Zarù of Pasticceria Regina graciously agreed to share their recipe with TABLE…and Sara took the picture. We believe that she ate the cake, too.

Chocolate Sponge Cake with Berry Diplomat Cream

Recipe adapted by pastry chefs Andrea Marigo and Alessia Zarù of:

Pasticceria Regina

Via Bissuola 110

30173 Mestre, Venezia

Italy

The cake is made with chocolate Pan di Spagna (classic Italian sponge cake), a simple and airy cake typically flavored with vanilla, lemon zest or cocoa. The basic cake batter has only 3 ingredients: eggs, sugar, and flour, and it rises without baking powder, because a lot of air is incorporated by beating the eggs with the sugar for a long time. Pan di Spagna is often soaked with a liquor or fruit juice and layered with cream fillings. It is used in traditional desserts such as cassata, zuccotto, zuppa inglese and even tiramisu.

This one is filled with diplomat cream, a traditional Italian filling made combining two pastry staples such as pastry cream and French Chantilly cream. It is then covered and sealed with a layer of simple buttercream and decorated with dripping chocolate glaze and candied orange slices. It is the ultimate indulgence, and a decadent tribute to the art of pastry making. 

The recipe is for an 8” diameter, 3-layer cake.

For the Chocolate Sponge Cake

350gr/12oz sugar

280gr/10oz cake flour

35gr/1oz cocoa powder

500gr/18oz (about 10) large size eggs, room temperature

For the Filling (Crema Diplomatica)

Pastry Cream

400gr/14oz milk

100gr/3½oz heavy cream

150gr/5½oz sugar

100gr/3½oz (about 5) large egg yolks

40gr/1½oz cornstarch

Chantilly Cream

500gr/18oz heavy cream, cold

60gr/2oz powdered sugar

3/4 cup fresh raspberries

For the Icing

Buttercream

250gr/9oz butter, room temperature

500gr/18oz powdered sugar

1 tbsp rum

INSTRUCTIONS

Cake

Take the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time as they need to be at room temperature for the batter to work.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spray three 8” cake pans with baking spray or else butter and flour them.
Beat eggs with sugar until they are very fluffy and pale yellow: it will take about 20 minutes using a stand mixer at medium/high speed. Sift flour with cocoa powder and add them to the egg mixture, a little at a time, folding the batter very gently with a wooden spoon.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn off the oven but leave cakes inside for 5-10 minutes to allow them to cool down slowly. 
Remove cakes from the oven and let them cool for 10 more minutes. Then loosen around the edges with a knife and flip them upside down on a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

1.Pastry cream

In a large pan, combine milk and heavy cream and slowly heat the mixture without boiling it. 

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar, add corn starch and mix well until combined. Slowly add the warm milk and cream mixture and keep stirring until you get a smooth batter without lumps.

Bring the cream back to the stovetop on low heat and whisk continuously until it becomes thicker and turns into custard. Be careful not to overcook it.
Transfer the pastry cream in a large bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and let cool completely.

2.Chantilly cream

Whip cold cream in a cooled container. Once half-whipped, add powdered sugar. Continue blending with an electric whisk until the desired result is achieved. The more you whip the cream, the lighter and airier it will be at the end.

To make the diplomat cream, once the pastry cream has cooled off completely, incorporate the whipped cream into it, folding it in with a spatula from top to bottom to avoid losing volume. Carefully add fresh raspberries and mix until combined.

Icing

Buttercream

Using a stand mixer, beat butter until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add remaining icing sugar and rum and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth, about 8-10 minutes.

You can make the icing in advance and keep it in the fridge until ready to use it. Remember to remove it from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before, allowing it to become soft and easier to spread. 

To mount the cake

Place one 8” sponge cake on top of a cake stand or serving tray and spread it with 1/2 of the berry diplomat cream. Gently layer the second cake on top and spread the remaining cream on it. Cover with the last round of sponge cake. 

Using a spatula, carefully cover the whole cake with the softened buttercream.

If you’d like you could cover it with a layer of chocolate glaze and decorate it with candied orange slices and frosted red currants. 

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