Whole spelt Paradise cake on berries

I had way too many eggs leftover after Easter. With their expiration date approaching fast, I decided to make Paradise cake, or Torta Paradiso in Italian, with 8 eggs, butter, flours, sugar and lemon.

And since it's starting to feel that cold season is over, I wanted berries. No local variety yet, so I got satisfied with frozen, from a local supermarket.

The cake is an Italian recipe and it does taste like heaven. It's simple but not plain. Light but firm. Buttery and lemony. Very popular with kids or bambini. No chemical rising agents included. Just a lot of egg beating.

Very popular in my family too since I saw it on RaiUno over a year ago. I've made it numerous times ever since.

This time, I just used a different flour, decreased sugar amount a bit, covered it with a glaze...and set it on lots of berries. I turned a coffee cake into a fruit extravaganza. And Easter leftovers into a fantastic dessert.

Recipe adapted from La Prova del Cuoco and Gray Apron
time: 20 min preparation + 45 min baking

 ingredients 
cake
2 1/2 sticks (300 g) butter + extra for the form
1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
8 egg yolks, room temperature
3 egg whites, room temperature
zest from 1 lemon, grated
1 cup (240 ml) flour; I put 1 cup (120 g) whole spelt
1 cup (240 ml) potato flour (starch)
pinch of salt
glaze
1/2 cup powder sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
berries
1-2 lbs (500g - 1kg) mixed berries, frozen
2-4 Tablespoons sugar

 instructions 
Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F (fan forced function). Butter a 26 cm (10 inch)  round baking form. In a medium bowl, sift in both flours and mix.

In a bowl (of a standing mixer), melt butter over hot water. Don't let it get hot, the water should never boil. Let butter cool to room temperature. Put the bowl on the mixer's stand. Add egg yolks and sugar and beat it on high speed using a whisk attachment, about 5 min (not less) till pale and fluffy. Add lemon zest.

In another clean bowl, beat the 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt. Don't overbeat it. The ready whites should be smooth and glossy, not grainy and dull. Do this just before adding to the batter.

Add flours to the batter. Mix them (with a paddle attachment) or fold them in (I tried both ways with the same result) till all incorporated. Stop the mixer. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the egg whites slowly and gently. Don't over do it. It's better to under-do-it.

Pour the batter in the form. Transfer to the hot oven and bake for about 45 minutes, till the toothpick from the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the heat, let it cool in the form about 15 minutes. Set it on a cooling rack.

prepare glaze: in a small bowl, whisk sugar with lemon juice till smooth. Spread it on a cooled cake (room temperature).

prepare berries: in a medium pot, thaw berries with sugar on medium heat and cook for 3 min.

NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES

• since there is no chemical rising added, the cake needs a special attention to mixing/beating time and method;
• but I'm always happy to bake without artificial additives;
• whole spelt flour did change the cake a bit, it wasn't as light (in color and texture) as with white flour but no one complained;
• the cake was as sweet as I remembered it; I bet I can reduce sugar even more next time...