How To Make A Continental Cake (Italian Rum Cake)
This Continental Cake (Italian Rum Cake) features soft chiffon sponge soaked in rum syrup, layered with silky vanilla and chocolate pastry cream, finished with cream and strawberries, just like classic Italian and Greek bakery cakes in Australia
Ingredients
Cocoa Powder Slurry (for pastry cream)
- 20 g Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 50 g hot milk not boiling!
Pastry Cream
- 80 g corn starch corn flour
- 105 g caster sugar superfine sugar
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 750 g whole milk not skim
- 15 g pure vanilla extract
- 6 egg yolks
- 120 g unsalted butter cubed and cold
- 4 g vanilla bean paste
- 60 g dark cooking chocolate see notes
Chiffon Cake
- 160 g all-purpose flour plain flour
- 40 g corn starch corn flour, see notes
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 130 g cold water
- 55 g vegetable oil
- 5 large eggs 50-55g each, separated
- 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 215 g caster sugar superfine sugar (not granulated)
- 14 g pure vanilla extract
- 7 g teaspoons vanilla bean paste
Simple syrup
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 150 g water
- 20 g rum or liqueur of choice OR
- 10 g pure vanilla extract
Strawberry glaze
- 180 g water divided in half
- 55 g granulated sugar
- 12 g corn starch corn flour
- 20 g corn syrup glucose syrup
- 12 medium sized strawberries washed and dried
Chantilly Cream
- 200 g heavy cream cold (see notes)
- 14 g vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract see notes
- 125 g mascarpone cold (see notes)
- 20 g powdered sugar sifted (optional)
Decorations
- 140 g almond flakes lightly toasted until golden
- 50 g dark chocolate melted (for happy birthday message)
Instructions
Make cocoa powder slurry
- Make cocoa powder slurry - Add the cocoa powder and hot milk into a small mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside. It will dissolve the cocoa powder, so you end up with a smooth pastry cream.
Pastry Cream
- Mix dry ingredients and eggs - To a medium sized, heavy bottomed stainless-steel pot (not non-stick), add the corn starch, sugar and salt and use a whisk to combine. Add the egg yolks and a little splash of the milk and whisk until smooth.
- Add the milk - Slowly add the milk, about 1/3 of it at a time, and whisk each time until all the milk has been added.
- Cook pastry cream - Place the pot on medium heat. Use a hand whisk to continuously whisk. Do not stop mixing or the pastry cream will become grainy. After about 3-4 minutes the mixture will begin to thicken. Continue whisking until the mixture begins to bubble. When it bubbles, whisk for 30 seconds, then take off the heat. If the mixture becomes lumpy, run it through a fine mesh sieve before cooling.
- Add butter - Add 1/4 of the butter and both vanillas and whisk until the butter is melted and well combined. Repeat until all the butter has been added. You want to do this slowly, so the pastry cream doesn’t split.
- Divide the pastry cream - Add 600g of the vanilla pastry cream into a medium sized heatproof bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Allow to cool at room temp and then place in the fridge for 4 hours to set.
- To make the chocolate pastry cream and set - Add the cocoa powder slurry and dark cooking chocolate to the pot and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. Transfer to a separate mixing bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap. Allow to cool at room temp for 30 minutes. Then transfer to the fridge to set for 4-5 hours or overnight.
- Whisk to smoothen - Give the pastry cream a whisk to smoothen it out again. I actually like to transfer it to a larger mixing bowl and use my electric hand mixer to whisk it until smooth. This will break down the gelatin formation in the pastry cream and cause it to thin out a little, but it will still be thick enough to hold it’s shape in the cake layers.
Chiffon cake
- Preparing your oven - Preheat your oven to 165C / 330F (fan off), 145C / 300F (fan on). I like baking with the fan off for an even rise. Position your rack in the middle of the oven.
- Preparing your cake tin - Rub cold butter on the bottom (not sides) of three 20cm / 8-inch cake tins and line the bottom (not sides) with baking paper. You don’t want any butter on the sides of your tins because you want the sponge to stick so it holds its shape as it cools instead of shrinking away.
- Combine dry ingredients - Run the flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt through a sieve into a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to combine and create a little well in the center. Set aside.
- To clean your bowl - Just to be on the safe side, add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar around a large glass or metal mixing bowl and use a paper towel to wipe dry. This removes any grease in your bowl so your egg whites whip properly. Avoid plastic bowls as they hold onto grease.
- Make the meringue - Add the egg whites and cream of tartare to your mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to whisk on medium high speed for 1 minute until frothy. Then, while the mixer is still running, slowly add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time. This will allow the sugar to dissolve properly and should take about 3 minutes for all of it to be added. Continue whisking until the meringue reaches stiff peaks, about 8-10 minutes. The meringue should hold it’s shape completely when the whisk is lifted up.
- Add water, egg yolks and oil to dry ingredients - Add the water, vegetable oil and egg yolks to the bowl with the dry ingredients and use the whisk to combine until smooth and no lumps are showing. You want to do this when the meringue is almost done whipping.
- Fold meringue into batter - Add 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture and use a balloon whisk or spatula to fold through until the batter is uniform. No meringue streaks are showing. Then repeat until all the meringue has been added. You will have a thick, fluffy batter.
- Bake - Carefully distribute the cake batter into the three cake tins. It works to be about 290g of batter per tin. Use a spatula or spoon to spread evenly. Bake them in the middle rack of your oven for 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Once baked, allow them to completely cool in the tin until they reach room temperature.
- Taking out of the tin - Run a knife around the inside of the cake tins to loosen and turn the tins upside down to let the cakes gently come out of the tin onto your work bench. Peel the baking paper away and turn over so the bottom is facing down.
- Trimming the cake - Use a serrated edge cake leveler or serrated knife to trim the top of each cake off so that each cake layer is about 1 1/2 cm in height. Discard or eat (the latter is perfectly acceptable). It’ll give you nice uniform looking cake layers. It might seem like a lot of excess cake going to waste, but trust me, this amount of batter distributed amongst three cake tins is what works. Less cake batter doesn’t work as well, and this cake needs three sponge layers.
Simple syrup
- While the cakes are cooling, make the syrup - Add the granulated sugar and water into a medium sized pot. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling let it continue for 1 minute. Then turn the heat off and add the rum or vanilla extract. Stir and let it cool to room temp.
Layering the cake
- Prepare your cake tin again - To encourage an easy release of your layered cake, line the bottom and sides with two layers of plastic wrap. I like to lay the plastic wrap out on my workbench first. Two large pieces side by side, overlapping by 10cm, then crisscross that with another layer of plastic wrap. Again, slightly overlapping each other in the middle.
- Cake, simple syrup and vanilla pastry cream - Place your first layer of cake into your lined cake tin and brush lightly with simple syrup. Then add the vanilla pastry cream and spread evenly. Nice and flat as you can get it.
- Chocolate pastry cream - Repeat this process with the next cake layer and add all the chocolate pastry cream. Spread evenly. Add the final layer of cake and brush with simple syrup.
- Chill the cake (very important!) - Cover the top of the cake with plastic wrap and let it set in the fridge for 4 hours. Overnight is best. This will give the cake and pastry cream time to get to know each other in the fridge and settle their differences, so everything is super chill and copesetic.
Toast almonds
- Spread the almonds on a large baking tray and bake at 180C / 340F (fan off), 150C / 300F (fan on) for 6-8 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool completely and store in a zip lock bag until ready to use.
Strawberry Glaze
- Make slurry - To a small bowl, add the corn starch to half the water (90g) and stir until well combined. I like using a whisk for this, it helps get rid of the lumps!
- Make syrup - Add the sugar, remaining water (90g) and glucose syrup into a small pot. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to low.
- Finish glaze - Add the slurry to the syrup and mix using a spatula (not whisk it’ll add too much air). Mix until everything is combined and the mixture thickens and becomes translucent. Pour into a small bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and let it cool completely at room temperature. Give it a little mix before dipping the strawberries.
- To coat strawberries (right before topping) - Dip your cleaned and well dried whole strawberries into the cooled glaze and allow as much excess to drip off as you can. I like scraping the bottom of the strawberry on the bowl to get rid of excess. Place on the cake or on a baking tray lined with baking paper
Tip - I like adding just a little drop of red food dye (liquid not gel) to brighten up the glaze and make the red on the strawberries pop!
Chantilly Cream
- Prepare mascarpone cheese - Add the mascarpone to a large mixing bowl (glass or metal) and use a spatula to stir and break up as some brands can be firmer than others. This helps break it up a little to prevent lumps in your whipped cream.
- Whip remaining ingredients - Add the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla to the mascarpone. You can use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment to whip to stiff peaks. I find it easier to get the right texture with a hand whisk. You’re aiming for a smooth, stiff whipped cream that holds its shape but still looks silky and smooth. If it looks split or grainy, it’s been overwhipped.
To Decorate the cake
- Transfer cake to serving plate - Unwrap the top of the cake while its still in the cake tin. Place a serving plate on top and flip them both over. Slowly lift the cake tin away and then the plastic the cake was in.
- Cover in cream - I like to add the Chantilly to a piping bag and pipe it on the sides and top to get a nice even cover. Then use an offset spatula or cake scraper to even and flatten it out on the top first, then the sides. Use the offset spatula to scrape from the top edge inward to the center of the cake to neaten up the edges as much as you can. I went a little fancy and use a texture cake scraper that I bought online.
- Add chocolate message - Add the chocolate message on top of the cake now to make things easier.
- Add toasted almonds - scoop up some of the toasted almonds in your hand and encourage them to gently stick to the sides of the cake. Most of the almonds will fall, just pick them up and keep sticking until you’ve gone all the way around the sides of the cake.
- Swirl more cream and add strawberries - Add the remaining cream to a piping bag fitted with an open star tip and pipe swirls on top of the cake. Then add the coated strawberries on top to finish.
Notes
Corn flour - Also known as corn starch is what’s going to give you a super soft sponge. I also use it to thicken the custard and strawberry glaze.
Caster sugar - Also known as superfine sugar is best for this recipe when making the meringue. It dissolves into the meringue much quicker which means you lessen the risk of overwhipping. Granulated sugar will not work for the meringue but can be used for the pastry cream and syrup.
Dutch processed cocoa powder - Is an unsweetened cocoa powder which has been treated with alkaline and potassium carbonate to neutralize the acidity that is naturally found in cocoa powder. It’s darker in color and strong in chocolate flavor and its perfect for the custard because it gives it a strong chocolate flavor without making it overly sweet.
Dark cooking chocolate - I used dark cooking chocolate for the custard. Specifically, the Nestle cooking buttons which are designed to easily melt. You can use pretty much any dark chocolate you like just make sure its good quality.
Cream - Make sure you use cream labelled heavy cream for this recipe. Whipping cream will work but won’t be as stiff as heavy cream. Low fat cream will not work.
Mascarpone - Is an Italian cheese that is similar in flavor to sour cream, but more creamy and less sour. Adding it to your Chantilly cream helps stabilize it so that it doesn’t melt as quickly and holds its shape on top of desserts. It even helps hold the air in the whipped cream until the next day! Opt in for a better brand one as they tend to be thicker and make sure it’s cold straight out of the fridge! Make sure you give your mascarpone cheese a mix before using. Some brands are soft, some are firm and can cause your Chantilly cream to go lumpy.
Powdered sugar - I don’t like my cream too sweet, but if you like yours on the sweeter side you can use up to 50g. Make sure you sift it!
Vanilla - I have a great recipe for Vanilla extract here on the blog which is alcohol based. It can be used for most recipes. However, I would advise against using it for whipped creams (yes, even stabilized ones like this one) or meringues as it can muck around with the air whipped in the mixtures. Instead use a syrup based vanilla extract. I find vanilla bean paste is best.
Strawberries - I find the easiest way to clean my strawberries is to run them under some cold water then place them on top of a tray lined with paper towels. Give them a jiggle to let them gently rub on the paper towel and dry themselves.
Strawberry glaze - This is optional, but it helps give your strawberries a gorgeous gloss. You want to add the strawberries no more than a couple hours before you serve your cake. It can mess around with the cream and start dripping which makes it look messy.
Storage - This cake can be layered and then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap 1-2 days before you decorate it. It can only be decorated up to 1 day before you serve it. Ideally the night before. Store it in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to three days.
Nutrition – is an approximate and is based on per slice. This serves 20.
A note on measurements – This recipe uses weight measurements for the most accurate results. Cup measurements can vary depending on where you are, which affects the precision needed for a recipe like this. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.
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