America, America!

Time to celebrate our Independence!

It feels good to finally be back in the kitchen, whipping up some delicious treats, especially when it came to whipping up some fresh cream.  Today's freshly baked sweet is a pan di spagna (sponge cake) layered with fresh whipped cream and topped with the American flag (strawberries and blueberries).

Pan di Spagna Ingredients

5 eggs (room temperature)

150 grams sugar

vanilla extract, lemon zest, or orange zest (to taste)

pinch of salt

150 grams flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Spray pan with cooking spray (can also use butter and flour).
3. Using the whisk attachment on your mixer, whip together the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla for at least 15 minutes.
4. Sift the flour into mixture, a little at a time, and fold after each addition.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan. DO NOT beat the pan, you will get rid of the air in the batter. Bake for 40 minutes.
6. Let it cool and then enjoy or top it with some whipped cream =)

One important tip...

• Do not open the oven before 20 minutes or the cake with deflate.

Whipped Cream

1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream/whipping cream

2 tsps. vanilla extract

3 tbps. confectioners sugar

1. Using the whisk attachment on your mixer, whip all the ingredients together until stiff and peaks are forming.  Do not overmix or it will look curdled like butter.

Once cooled, I cut the cake in half.  I layered the first half with half of the whipped cream and some strawberries.  The second half of the cake was placed on top and covered with the remaining whipped cream and the American flag made out of strawberries and blueberries.

Happy Independence Day!