Sponge Cake with Custard

Directions

1. For the sponge cake: combine the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5–6 minutes.

   

2. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, being careful not to overbeat them, to avoid lumps when you fold them into the rest of the batter.

   

3. Add the egg whites to the egg yolks and fold them in with a spatula or wooden spoon, using a gentle up-and-down motion to avoid deflating the egg whites.

   

4. Sift the flour with the starch and gently fold it into the mixture.

   

5. Pour the batter into a 24-cm baking pan and level it with a spatula. Never tap the pan to level the batter: this would release air bubbles and prevent it from rising enough.

   

6. Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes.

7. For the custard: beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they turn pale.

   

8. Once whipped, add the flour.

   

9. In a small saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla extract, and as soon as it begins to boil, lower the heat. Slowly pour the egg yolk and flour mixture into the hot milk and stir vigorously with a whisk.

10. Let it boil until it reaches the desired consistency, then pour the cream into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool.

    

11. For the filling: Once the sponge cake has cooled, cut it in half and moisten both halves with orange juice.

    

12. Spread a generous layer of pastry cream, then shave the chocolate into shavings and sprinkle them over the cream. It’s important that the cream be cold so that the chocolate doesn’t melt into the cake. To finish the filling, slice a banana and arrange the slices on top of the chocolate shavings.

    

13. Close the cake without pressing down, so the filling doesn't leak out.

    

14. For the decoration: Roll out 300 g of white sugar paste with a rolling pin until it is 3 mm thick, keeping it in a round shape. Cover the cake with buttercream, made by beating the butter with the sugar and milk for a few minutes.

15. Apply the fondant by smoothing it out and making sure it adheres perfectly to the cake.

16. Make the little figures by shaping the pink dough and coloring half of the remaining white dough with green food coloring and the other half with light blue. Let the little figures dry for 24 hours.

17. Add some red food coloring to the leftover pink sugar paste and roll it out with a rolling pin. Cut it into wavy strips and apply them by moistening the side to be glued with a little water.

18. Using the leftover sugar paste, cut out small flowers with a cookie cutter and use them to further decorate the cake.