Torta mimosa is a classic Women’s Day cake, made to imitate yellow mimosa flowers – it is served across Italy to celebrate La Festa della Donna.
The 8th of March is the day when women across Italy hang up their aprons, put on their best frocks, and walk out the door – leaving us poor men behind to fend for ourselves.
For many Italian men, that means settling for a mere panino or two in the bar. For me, it’s not so much of a problem as I consider myself a fairly deft hand in the kitchen, but I know it’s a day many of my friends dread.
They can’t even resort to their mother’s house for dinner because even mamma takes the day off on March the 8th.
However, the day does have its perks for men.
Though we are left to fend for ourselves, at least we don’t have to remember to buy flowers. The yellow mimosa is the flower of choice, and women exchange bouquets among themselves.
According to the stories, this flower was chosen as a symbol by the women of Rome because it was sweet-smelling, one of the few flowers available in March and – perhaps most importantly – did not cost much.
The tradition took hold, and the yellow mimosa has since become an Italian symbol of Women’s Day. This is also reflected in the recipes used to celebrate the day.
What is torta mimosa?
The mimosa cake, or torta mimosa, is a cake covered with pieces of sponge cake, reminiscent of the flowers of the mimosa. Almost certainly, it was first made around the same time as the mimosa was chosen to be a symbol of Women’s Day.
Being a poisonous flower, mimosa cannot be used as an ingredient, so, instead, the sponge is chopped up to give the appearance of mimosa.
While regional preferences still dictate menus across the country for the Festa della Donna, the mimosa cake is the one exception and is served on tables from north to south.
Here’s how to make your own torta mimosa to celebrate the occasion.
Mimosa Cake | Torta Mimosa
➤ MAKES: One 22-cm cake
➤ PREPARATION: 20 minutes (plus chilling)
➤ COOKING: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 4 free-range eggs
- 200g caster sugar
- 200g self-raising flour
For the cream:
- 300ml whole milk
- 2 free-range egg yolks
- 1 heaped tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 250ml cream
- icing sugar, to dust
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4. First, make the cake.
Separate the eggs, then add the sugar to the yolks and whisk until thick and foamy. Add the sifted flour and fold in gently.
Whisk the whites in a separate bowl to stiff peaks, then fold them into the mix.
Divide the cake mixture equally between two 22-cm greased and lined cake tins and place in the oven for 20 minutes. - While the cakes are cooking, make the cream.
Gently heat the milk, but do not boil. While heating the milk, whisk the egg yolks together with the flour and sugar in a bowl.
Add a little of the warm milk to the egg mixture and stir well. Add the egg mixture to the rest of the milk and heat until it is gently boiling, stirring all the time.
Cook for a few minutes until the mixture thickens, then set aside to cool. Once it is cold, whip the cream until stiff and fold it into the patisserie cream. - When both the cream and cake are cool, slice each cake in half so you have four layers in total. Chop one layer into 1cm dice.
Spread cream over the other layers and stack them in a tower, then spread cream all over the top and sides of the cake.
Decorate the top of the cake with the small sponge cubes and dust with icing sugar.
Find more recipes in our archive
Words and recipe by Mario Matassa