How To Make A Continental Cake (Italian Rum Cake)

Hey team, Nick here. I have just been through 2 months and 27 tests to create this recipe. It’s one of my favorite cakes and its really popular amongst wogs (Greeks and Italians) at birthdays. You go to a wog birthday, especially in Melbourne and Sydney (although many of you around the world have told me you love this), this cake is on the table. And now it’s on my website ready for you to make and frankly it’s better than any bakery one I’ve had.

That’s a really big statement to make, but guys, I agonized over every single part of getting this cake right. From the mirror glaze on the strawberries (which lasts all day) to making the custard easy to make in one go. My biggest problem though was the sponge. Up until test 23, I just couldn’t find a sponge soft enough to match what the bakeries were using. That is until I started working on a chiffon cake recipe. It’s unbelievable soft and fluffy and perfect for this cake.

• Make the cocoa slurry by mixing hot milk and cocoa powder. Doing this ahead of time allows the cocoa to bloom and fully dissolve, which helps prevent any graininess in your chocolate custard later on.

I’m going to use my French pastry cream for the filling. It’s made in one pot, super creamy, and thick enough to hold the cake layers, which is why I use it here instead of an Italian pastry cream.

• Whisk together the corn flour and sugar in a large stainless-steel pot with a heavy bottom.
• Add the egg yolks and a splash of the milk. Give it a whisk to combine.

• Add the rest of the milk and whisk until combined.
• Pop it on the stove and whisk continuously on medium high speed until the mixture thickens. It’ll take about 3-4 minutes.

• Once the mixture thickens, continue whisking for 30 seconds as it bubbles away. Then turn the heat off and add 1/3 of the cold cubed the butter and whisk until melted and combined. Continue doing that until it’s all added.
• Add the vanilla extract and paste and whisk in.

• Add 600g of the pastry cream into a heatproof bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap.
• Make the chocolate pastry cream by whisking in the cocoa slurry and dark chocolate until melted and smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, cool to room temp, then chill for at least 4 hours. I like making it the day before.

I don’t know where chiffon has been all my life.

In my testing I became obsessed with the sponge for this recipe. I was going out of my mind trying to figure out which sponge the Italian and Greek bakeries are using for their continental cakes. It wasn’t until test 17 that I tried using a chiffon. It was my first time. 

Not only was it the right sponge for this cake, but it is incredibly soft and moist, but still ‘meaty’ enough to hold the syrup without going soggy. A problem I had in tests 1-3 using my sponge cake recipe. Let’s start with the cake tins!

How to prepare the cake tins – I’ve switched over to rubbing cold butter on my cake tins instead of oil spray. Tastes better. For this cake you want to only grease the bottom of the tin and line it with baking paper. We want the cake to stick to the sides of the tin because as this cake cools it wants to shrink. Letting it stick to the sides of the cake tin stops that from happening, so you end up with a nice round cake. 

• To make the sponge separate the egg yolks from the whites. The yolks go in a jug, the whites go in a large mixing bowl. 
• Whisk the egg yolks, water and oil in a jug. Set aside.

• Whisk together the flour, corn flour, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
• Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar (or lemon juice) for 60 seconds until frothy. 

• Add the sugar gradually by pouring it in 1 tbsp at a time with the mixer running so it dissolves properly.
• Whip to stiff peaks by continuing for 8 to 10 minutes until thick and glossy. It should feel dense when you swirl the whisk, and hold a firm peak that doesn’t bend.

• Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and use a whisk to whisk it until smooth. 
• Fold through 1/3 of the meringue to loosen the batter, then fold in the next third, and finally the rest until smooth and uniform.

• Pour the batter into the three cake tins. It works to about 290g per tin if you want to weigh it.
• Use a spatula to even out the tops.

• Bake the cakes for 25 minutes or until golden on top. Bake them all in the middle rack of your oven if they’ll fit. Otherwise two seperate levels will work.
• To cool the cakes, turn the upside down on top of a cooling rack to cool to room temp. This will stop them collapsing as they cool and also stop them coming away from the sides.

If your cakes came away from the sides – In my testing, this only happened if the cakes were underbaked. It’s not a disaster the cake will still come out ok, it just wont look as uniform when you slice into it.

• Release the cakes from the tins by running a knife around the edge, turning them onto your hand, and placing them onto a cooling rack to stack.
• The base may be slightly concave, I found this happened in some tests and not others. Gently press the centre so it sits flat on the bench before trimming for even layers.

• Trim the cakes using a large serrated knife or cake leveler to 1 1/2cm in height. Any taller and the cake to pastry cream ratio feels off.
• Don’t worry about the offcuts. In my testing, reducing the batter meant the sponge didn’t have enough structure to grip the sides of the tin, so this amount gives you the right texture and rise.

Toasting the almonds

Some continental cakes use crushed peanuts, but I prefer flaked almonds for a cleaner look and better flavor. If you toast them it brings out a deeper nutty taste and makes them crisp. Bake at 180C / 340F (fan off), 150C / 300F (fan on) for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly golden, then cool them before using.

Turning this into a bespoke cake (optional)

This is mostly a celebration cake, but you can make it your own. I see it a lot at birthdays, but it works just as well for weddings and anniversaries. Bakeries usually pipe messages with gel, but I went with melted chocolate piped onto baking paper. Let it cool slightly so it’s not too hot, then use a small round tip. 

Piping template – I’ve also created a printable template you can place under the baking paper to help guide a neater message.

A glossy strawberry glaze that lasts all day (optional)

Glazing your strawberries it totally optional but it takes this from being a home made cake to bakery worthy. Again, it’s all about impressing wogs. And this glaze is so easy to make.

• Make the strawberry glaze by adding the sugar, water, and corn syrup to a small pot and bringing it to a boil.
• Thicken it by whisking in the corn starch slurry (corn starch mixed with water), then continue whisking until it turns thick and translucent. Transfer to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and let it cool.

• Coat the strawberries by dipping the cleaned and dried strawberries into the glaze. You want to scrape the base on the edge of the bowl, then place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Let them set for 10 to 15 minutes before adding to the cake.

Tip – You want to make the glaze when you’re ready to glaze the strawberries. If you make it too far in advance and it sets, you can’t thin it out to use it. I tried. It comes out lumpy.

Layering the cake

Your cake is baked and trimmed, and the pastry cream is set and smooth. Let’s layer! Just a tip, you want to layer your cake at least 4 hours before decorating, or the day before for a proper overnight set.

• Line the tin by laying three large pieces of plastic wrap on your bench, slightly overlapping, then press them into your cake tin. A tall tin works best, but you can use the same one you baked in.
• Prep the first layer by peeling away the baking paper from the base before placing it into the lined tin.

• Place the first layer into the tin and gently press it down, making sure the plastic wrap isn’t trapped underneath.
• Brush with syrup by lightly coating the surface using a pastry brush.

• Add the vanilla custard and spread it around as flat as you can get it. I like using an offset spatula for this.
• Add the next layer of cake and lightly brush with syrup.

• Add the chocolate custard and spread around evenly.
• Add the final layer of cake and brush with syrup.

• Then cover the cake with the excess plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge to set for 4 hours. Overnight is best.

A Chantilly cream that won’t melt

I won’t bore you with how to make my famous Chantilly cream. It all goes into a bowl and gets whipped. You can make this the day before if you like.

Just some tips on how to use it to cover this cake:

• Whip the cream a little less than you think. You want it to hold its shape but stay ultra smooth so it spreads cleanly over the cake.
• For the top, I like thinning it slightly with a couple tablespoons of unwhipped cream. It makes it look much smoother, especially if you’re using a textured scraper like I did.

Decorating the cake

• Unwrap your chilled cake.
• Place your serving plate on top of the cake and flip it over.

• Lift the tin up and unwrap the cake from the plastic.
• Cover the cake by spreading chantilly cream over the top and sides. An offset spatula makes this much easier. Get it as neat as you can, the sides don’t need to be perfect as they’ll be covered in nuts.

Tip – Frosting is much easier with a cake turntable. It helps you get a much neater finish.

• Thin the cream out a little by using a spatula to mix in a small splash of unwhipped cream until smoother. Add some to the top, saving about 125g (about 1/2 cup) for the final swirls, then spread as evenly as you can.
• This is optional, but I like to use a textured cake scraper to give the top a nice wavy look. Make sure your holding the scraper straight at a slight angle so your fingers don’t touch the cream.

• Add the chocolate message. Use an offset spatula to very slowly and gently go under the set chocolate message you piped out. If it breaks it’s ok, it can still be used and it’ll look fine! Add it to the cake.
• Coat the sides with almonds by scooping them up and gently pressing onto the cake. I like starting at the top edge. The excess falls to the bottom of the plate, I just scrape them away into a tray that sits under the cake turntable and keep using them.

• Use an open star tip to frost swirls on top of the cake. You want to leave gaps big enough to add a strawberry in the gaps.
• Add the glazed strawberries to finish the cake.

Tip – You can finish decorating the cake up to 2 hours before serving. The biggest problem you’ll have is the strawberry glaze which will start to turn a milky white the longer you leave it on the cake.