A heavenly good cake from Pavia in Lombardy. The recipe was codified in 1878 by the Cusani Visconti family.
When “swimsuit season,” which I have failed miserably in recent years, is still far away I make this delicacy to cheer myself up at breakfast.
I have tried many recipes of Torta Paradiso, but the one that comes out best for me is by Iginio Massari. I recommend everyone try it at least once in their life!

Torta Paradiso: Italian “Heaven” cake

  • Preparation time: 90 minutes
  • Ingredients for an 8-inch diameter cake pa
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 9 oz (250 grams) of clarified butter at room temperature
  • 9 oz (250 grams) of icing sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 ½ oz (125 grams) of potato starch
  • 4 ½ oz (125 grams) of all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoon (8 grams) of baking powder
  • Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
  1. Instructions
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  3. In a bowl whip the butter with the sugar and vanilla until it becomes fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time and mix continuosly.
  5. Sift the starch, flour, and baking powder at least a couple of times.
  6. After the eggs are incorporated well, add the starch, the baking powder and the flour into the bowl. Mix well until you get a uniform mixture.
  7. Pour it in a greased and floured pan.
  8. Bake in the oven for about forty to forty-five minutes.
  9. Remove the cake from the cake pan while still warm. Dust the base of the dish with granulated sugar and place the cake on top.
  10. Dust the surface with plenty of icing sugar once cold.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • Butter can also be clarified at home, but it is a rather long process and there are excellent clarified butters on the market that I normally use for cooking.
  • In the last fifteen minutes, the oven should be slightly opened to release the steam. I use a wooden spoon that I insert into the oven door.
  • The timing of cooking in the oven is indicative because each oven cooks differently.