• Dessert
  • |
  • Snack

Torta Paradiso with Stewed Plums

  • 15 mins
    • |
  • 70 mins
    • |
  • SERVES 8-12

An elegant Italian sponge cake from Julia Busuttil Nishimura's latest book Good Cooking Every Day. (This recipe also featured in our latest Artist Collection made in collaboration with Arts Project Australia! )

Originally created by Pavese pastry chef Enrico Vigoni in the late 1800s, torta paradiso is still on the menu at Vigoni and celebrated across Italy for its simplicity and lightness.

The Torta Paradiso is traditionally served with fresh strawberries and cream, but Julia opts for stewed plums and creme fraiche. But Julia encourages you to use whatever fruit is in season - macerated berries, stewed rhubarb or even a spoonful of Amarena cherries in syrup are delightful with this airy cake.

Torta Paradiso with Stewed Plums

Ingredients

  • - 250g unsalted butter, softened
  • - 250g caster sugar
  • - 4 eggs
  • - finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • - 125g self-raising flour
  • - 125g potato starch
  • - good pinch of sea salt
  • - pure icing sugar for dusting
  • FOR THE STEWED PLUMS:
  • - 100g caster sugar
  • - 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
  • - 3 strips of lemon peel
  • - juice of 1 lemon
  • - 1 fresh bay leaf
  • - 600g plums, halved and stones removed
  • - creme fraiche, fresh ricotta or mascarpone, to serve

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced. Grease and line a 23cm round cake tin.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on a medium-high speed for 6-8 minutes or until pale and very fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula intermittently if needed. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and mix to combine.
  3. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and sift in the flour, potato starch and salt. Gently fold into the mixture with the spatula until just combined, being careful not to overmix. The batter with be quite stiff.
  4. Transfer the batter to the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested. Allow for the cake to cool in the tin fr 15 minutes, then remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. For the stewed plums, place the caster sugar, vanilla pod and seeds, lemon peel, lemon juice and bay leaf in a large saucepan and add 200ml water. Bring to a simmer over high heat and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the syrup is slightly thickened. Add the plums and reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently stew the plums for 10-12 minutes or until they begin to collapse. Very ripe plums will take no time at all, so be sure to keep an eye on them.
  6. Dust the cake with the icing sugar and serve with the creme fraiche, ricotta or mascarpone and the stewed plums.

Other Recipes