COMPLEANNO ITALIANO 3.0

It’s another year around the sun, and again, like in the past two years, I get to celebrate it back in Bel Paese.

As I was sharing a couple of years ago, I haven’t had the chance to travel back home for my birthday for a long time. Back in 2023, I finally had the opportunity not only to celebrate my compleanno italiano but also the birth of a new family member, my little nephew, with whom now I share the birthdate – I am such a proud auntie! Since then, it has become a bit of a tradition to travel to Italy around this time to celebrate together.

So here I am, celebrating another wonderful compleanno italiano (version 3.0) on a lovely sunny day in the Venetian coast (if you wonder what happened to compleanno italiano 2.0, let’s just say that I spent it super sick, sharing a nice bronchitis with my nephew – but we still got to celebrate our bdays later!).

While feeling well this year, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to bake something as per tradition – this time by experimenting with flours and flavours. After all, getting older doesn’t mean giving up on feeling young (especially when it comes to baking adventures). And in the spirit of continuing my tradition of giving cakes iconic names, say hello to Torta 35 — proudly joining the ranks of 33, 30, and 25. It’s been ten years since Torta 25, my first more elaborate and good-looking birthday bake. Time flies when you are baking fun!

Torta 35 is a coconut-flavored rustic cake with blackberry jam and fresh berries.

TORTA 35 (Coconut rustic cake with blackberry jam)

Ingredients

For the batter (for a cake tin 22 cm diameter):

240 gr type 2 flour
4 eggs
195 ml vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
195 ml milk
180 g shredded coconut
16 gr baking powder
170 g sugar
blackberry jam for filling (other berry jams, like raspberries and blueberries can also fit)

For the topping:

fresh blackberries (around 150 gr, also possible to mix with raspberries and blueberries, like I did)
1 tsp shredded coconut
powdered sugar

Prepare the batter

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the sugar and mix well to obtain a smooth mixture. Add the oil and milk, and continue mixing. Next, add the sifted flour and baking powder and mix everything together until smooth. Then, add the shredded coconut. Pour the mixture into a round mold of about 22 cm in diameter, either buttered or lined with parchment paper.

Bake the cake

Bake in a preheated (static) oven at 180°C (356°F) for 45/50 minutes. Before removing from the oven, test with a toothpick to ensure it’s done.

Fill in the cake

Once the cake has completely cooled, carefully cut it in half horizontally. Spread a generous layer of blackberry jam over the bottom half, then gently place the top half back on.
For a creative touch, you can optionally cut out a small disk from the center of the top layer to create a space for a little “fruit basket.”

Decorate the cake

Arrange fresh blackberries (and/or other berries) on top of the cake — either scattered across the surface or nestled in the center basket area. Dust the entire cake with powdered sugar, then finish by sprinkling a bit of shredded coconut over the blackberries.