The mimosa cake is an Italian symbol par excellence linked to Women’s Day celebrations, held on March 8th, just like the rest of the world. During the day, in addition to the classic present of a mimosa bouquet that men give to all the women in their lives (girlfriends, wives, mothers and even daughters or friends), it is Italian custom to serve this famous, simple, refined and highly appreciated dessert.
The mimosa cake pleases young and old because it is made with simple sponge cake filled with custard and is one of the simplest desserts that exist in our cuisine. It is quick to prepare and is error proof, but at the same time it looks great on the table because of its very scenographic appearance.
Woman’s day and the mimosa cake
March 8th is considered by the whole world as a “women’s day”. This very important day, which aims to celebrate women, is an unmissable opportunity to honor the beauty, sensitivity and strength that women from all over the world have in common. In Italy, the celebration has a traditional dessert, typical of the central-northern pastry-making tradition, called Torta Mimosa.
Consider this: the mimosa cake is a great classic of our local confectionery and was developed more or less around the middle of the last century, between Rome and Rieti. It has an inviting appearance and comes in the form of a zuccotto looking soft and fragrant, sprinkled with crumbled sponge cake and icing sugar that, on the surface, makes it similar in appearance to a bouquet of mimosa, from which it takes its name. It is a very simple cake to make but with a great scenic effect.
March 8: Women’s Day
March 8th is Women’s Day, celebrated all over the world that wants to honor women as a symbol of strength, sensitivity, maternal love, tenacity and beauty. It is mistakenly believed that the celebrations were initiated by an unfortunate event, which involved the death of hundreds of women in a factory. Actually, we know that this is not the case and that the UN version is completely different.
Mimosa: the origins of the mimosa cake
The mimosa cake is made by pastry chefs throughout Italy taking inspiration from the flowers of the fragrant mimosa, an ornamental plant that has always been a symbol of the celebrations for March 8th which has very thin twigs with crowns of spherical flowers of a bright yellow and straw-colored. In Italy it is the typical gift that men give to women during their day and was established (as a custom) in 1946, by initiative of the communist parliamentarian Teresa Mattei.
Mimosa Cake: how to prepare it?
To prepare the mimosa cake, simply use:
- base for white sponge cake
- dampened with lemon or pineapple juice
- white custard cream for the filling and cream to cover the outside
- icing sugar q.s.
- yellow food coloring (optional) with which to dye the sponge cake crumbled for decoration.
The mimosa cake is one of the fastest Italian desserts to make. To prepare it, it is sufficient to use two layers of sponge cake on top of each other and fill them with a neutral or lemon custard, after having wet the surface with pineapple or lemon juice(or, in some cases, Marsala).
It will then be sufficient to carve the sponge cake and shape it to get a round shape, cover it with a thin layer of whipped cream and sprinkle with the discarded sponge cake, cutting it into tiny cubes or crumbling it with your hands. Sprinkled with icing sugar, the dessert is ready to serve!
