TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Torta Margherita
A classic Italian home-style sponge cake made with butter, eggs and potato starch. Equal parts cake flour and fecola di patate create its distinctive light, soft, melting texture. A foundation of northern Italian baking, cherished throughout Italy as “grandmother’s cake.”
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
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Ingredients (8 servings)
- Cake flour100 g
- Potato starchPotato starch, or fecola, is ideal. Cornstarch produces slightly less moistness, while using only cake flour loses torta margherita’s distinctive lightness.100 g
- Granulated sugar150 g
- EggsSeparate the yolks and whites. Bring to room temperature.4 pieces
- Unsalted butterSoften at room temperature until creamy.120 g
- Baking powder8 g
- Grated lemon peelUse an unwaxed lemon grown in Japan. Grate only the colored zest, avoiding the white pith.1 fruit
- Salt1 g
- Powdered sugar (for finishing)15 g
Method
Prepare the pan and oven
- 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- 2 Lightly butter a round 22 cm pan, dust with cake flour and tap out the excess.
Ready when
Continue once the oven is hot and the pan is ready.
Make the butter mixture
- 1 Grate only the colored lemon zest.
- 2 Beat 120 g room-temperature butter and 150 g sugar with a hand mixer for 3–4 minutes.
- 3 Add 4 egg yolks, 1 at a time, mixing well after each.
- 4 Mix in the grated zest of 1 lemon.
Ready when
Continue when pale, fluffy and creamy.
Fold in the dry ingredients
- 1 Sift together the cake flour, potato starch and baking powder.
- 2 Add to the batter in 2–3 additions, folding gently with a rubber spatula.
Ready when
Continue when no flour remains visible.
Caution
Overmixing develops gluten and makes the cake heavy. Fold gently.
Fold in the egg whites
- 1 Beat 4 egg whites with 1 g salt until they hold peaks.
- 2 Mix 1/3 of the whites thoroughly into the batter to loosen it.
- 3 Fold in the rest with cutting movements of a rubber spatula in 2 additions.
Ready when
Continue once evenly combined without white streaks.
Caution
Use lifting movements to preserve as many bubbles as possible.
Bake the margherita batter
- 1 Pour the batter into the pan and tap gently on the counter to release air bubbles.
- 2 Bake at 180°C for 30–35 minutes.
- 3 Cover with aluminum foil if it threatens to burn.
Ready when
It is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool and finish
- 1 Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- 2 Remove and cool completely on a rack.
- 3 Dust generously with 15 g powdered sugar.
Caution
Unmolding while hot makes it fall apart. Wait 10 minutes.
About this dish
Torta margherita is the “grandmother’s cake” found in homes throughout Italy. Originating in Pavia, Lombardy, it combines equal parts cake flour and potato starch, or fecola di patate, for a melting texture distinct from French and Japanese sponge cakes. An early version appears in Pellegrino Artusi’s cookbook of 1891, making it one of the sweets representative of bourgeois family tables in the period of Italian unification.
Fecola di patate is starch made from potatoes. Because it contains no gluten, it gives the baked cake a distinctive lightness that crumbles softly. Egg yolks add richness, while folded-in whipped whites create a height and fluffiness surprising in a cake of such simple ingredients. The ingredients are found in every home, and no special equipment is needed.
In Italian homes, a familiar scene is baking it for the family’s Sunday breakfast and slicing it again with afternoon caffè latte. Dust generously with powdered sugar, set on a plate, and watch it crumble softly as it is sliced. That is enough for this cake.
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