Torta Paradiso with Nectarines

Paradise is eating a slice of cake filled with cream, nectarines and cacao nibs. # 305: Torta Paradiso with Nectarines

There are several different origin stories for this cake (some seeming like the start of a joke, involving a monk and an aristocratic lady) but they all agree on two things: the recipe is Italian, and it’s an edible version of paradise. Good enough for me!

She seems like the more decadent Italian cousin to Britain’s Victoria Sponge. Swap out the lighter sponge cake layers for a denser butter cake and the simple chantilly cream for a richer whipped cream with sweetened condensed milk. Half of the recipes leave the cake plain without filling and dust it with powdered sugar, while the other half sandwich a thick layer of cream in the middle. I had some ripe nectarines that wanted to join the party and it seemed rude to say no.

I have no excuse for the cacao nibs. I’m a chocolate monster and I have no regrets.

Who can resist a Pac-Man overhead shot? Chomp chomp.

I got inspired by Ruby Bhogal’s “Around the World in 80 Cakes” project (recurring theme here!) and she suggested swapping half of the butter for olive oil. Dare I say, an excellent idea. It’s the kind of cake that can turn out dry if you bake it even the tiniest bit too long, and so replacing half of the solid fat with one that is liquid at room temperature is like waving a magic wand. This is on top of the the fact that the recipe already calls for my other favorite cake magic trick: swapping out some of the flour for potato or corn starch. By reducing the amount of gluten present, you can whip your batter without fear of over-mixing and still end up with a fluffy, tender crumb.

Even though half of the fat is olive oil, it still partners with the sugar to trap air and go from a lackluster grainy batter to a pale, smooth mixture.

Voila! (Not quite there yet, since the sugar is still visible. Keep on keeping on.)

Sifted-flour glow-up complete.

I cut the volume in half and baked it in a 6″ pan. Honey, I shrunk the cake!

Oh hi aren’t you cute?

I’m getting full moon vibes here with all the cracks and cake tester holes. Good thing I can distract everyone with fruit and cream!

Ready, set, assemble cake!

Had a slight terror moment when I started to slice the cake in half. I haven’t made an olive oil cake in a minute and forgot how moist they can be fully baked! I was worried it might be undercooked in the center, but I should know by now that the cake skewer test never lies. Phew!