COMPLEANNO ITALIANO

After 8 years, this time I finally celebrated my birthday in Italy. I was never able to be back home for the special occasion since I moved to TulipLand, when I was very much younger. But this time being in the Bel Paese for my bday was also a very special family occasion as I was blessed by the greatest gift of becoming auntie on the same day. Happy to share the passing of years not alone anymore in the future!

And as usual, I couldn’t miss to prepare a bday cake (much simpler this time, but still a good success!), which revisits an all time favourite bday combination: pear and chocolate (for other bday cake celebrations on the theme, you can see my Swedish birthday post with the very first torta cioccolato e pere or a pie version of a few years later of my first Dutch bday).

So here for you TORTA 33, a Victoria sandwich sponge with pear jam and chocolate.

TORTA 33 (Victoria sandwich sponge with pear jam and chocolate)

Ingredients

For the Victoria Sandwich (baking tin 20 cm, the one in the picture is 25cm so multiply the ingredients by 1,56):
50 gr sunflower oil
125 gr nosugar unroasted almond milk
8 gr vanilla sugar
90 gr sugar
170 gr baking flour
10 gr baking powder
70 gr egg whites (about 2 eggs)
1 lemon zest
pinch of salt

For the filling & decorations:
250 gr pear jam
50 gr dark chocolate
Powdered sugar (enough to cover the cake)
1 pear

Procedure

Prepare the the Victoria sandwich like I did here.

While waiting for the cake to cool down, prepare some pear chips for the final decorations. Slice the pear finely and place the slices in a bowl with some water and lemon juice in the meantime while the oven heats up (180 – ventilated mode). Dry the slices with some kitchen paper before placing them in the baking tray, covered in parchment paper. Bake the pear slices for 30/40 minutes until they turn dry and start to crisp (it can take more, it depends on the oven).

Once the cake is cooled down completely, cut the cake horizontally in two parts. Soften 2 tbsp of jam in a bowl with 2 tbsp of hot water to turn it more liquid. Brush the liquid jam on the top of both the lower cake layer and upper cake for more moisture.

Then, spread the jam on top of the lower cake, and add the chocolate finely chopped (keep 1-2 tbsp for final decorations). Add the other part of the cake and, when a bit before serving time, cover the whole cake with a thin layer of powdered sugar. Decorate with the pear slices and some chocolate chips.

Buon compleanno!