Torta alla Panna–Italian Birthday Cake!

This Torta alla Panna- Traditional Italian Birthday Cake Recipe is my Italian mother-in-law's cherished recipe! The cake is moist and aromatic from the liqueur we used. The pudding in the middle adds the perfect touch of creaminess. Make it for any special birthday and impress everyone!

If you love Italian desserts, also try my Tortine Soffici and my Italian Chocolate Cake.

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Traditional Italian Birthday Cake Recipe

This Italian birthday cake - called Torta alla Panna in Italy - is my mother-in-law Teresa's recipe, and it is the cake she has made for every family birthday for as long as I can remember.

A light Pan di Spagna sponge soaked with a rum sugar syrup, filled with vanilla pudding, and covered in freshly whipped cream and strawberries. It sounds elaborate but it is genuinely simple, and it is the kind of cake that makes people ask for the recipe every single time.

I first made this with Teresa when my sister-in-law in Italy turned 40 and somehow ended up with no birthday cake - her husband gave her gold earrings instead. Teresa could not believe it. "How many earrings does she need?!" So we made the cake here and sang to her across the ocean. My husband and his mother decorated it together while I took photos. That memory alone is reason enough to keep making it every year.

Does a woman need good cake or a nice pair of earrings on her birthday? Feeling guilty that her cake-making mamma was here during her birthday spoiling us, I decided we should make the cake she would've eaten and we will celebrate and sing to her here! Brilliant idea!

Why You'll Love This Italian Birthday Cake

• It is Teresa's actual recipe. Not adapted, not simplified - this is exactly how my Italian mother-in-law has made it for decades.
• The sponge stays incredibly moist. The rum sugar syrup soaks into every layer and makes the cake taste bakery-quality.
• Simple Italian baking at its best. No fancy techniques, no special equipment - just eggs, sugar, flour, and time.
• You can use boxed pudding. Teresa approves. None of our guests have ever noticed the difference.
• Make it for any occasion. It is called a birthday cake but it works for any celebration - it is stunning on a table and easy to scale up.

What is Torta alla Panna?

Torta alla Panna means "whipped cream cake" in Italian. It is one of the most traditional Italian birthday cakes - a Pan di Spagna sponge cake soaked in a liqueur syrup, filled with pastry cream or pudding, and covered in fresh whipped cream. Every Italian family has their own version, and this one belongs to Teresa.

What is Pan di Spagna?

Pan di Spagna is the Italian name for sponge cake. It is made with just eggs, sugar, flour, and baking powder - no butter, no oil.

The eggs are beaten until very light and airy, which gives the cake its lift and that signature soft, delicate texture. It is the base for many Italian layer cakes and pastries.

I have a full standalone Pan di Spagna recipe if you want to learn more about it.

INGREDIENTS

Pan di Spagna (Sponge Cake)

• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sugar Syrup

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ to ½ cup rum or your favorite liqueur (mandarinetto, amaretto, and limoncello all work beautifully - substitute fresh orange juice or lemon juice for a non-alcoholic version)

Filling

• 1 small box (3.4 oz) Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups cold milk

Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
• ¼ cup powdered sugar

Decoration

• 1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half

How to make torta alla panna

Whipped Cream:

1. Chill a medium sized metal bowl in the freezer. Remove the bowl from the freezer and add the heavy whipping cream.
2. Using a hand mixer on high speed, whip the cream until soft peaks begin to form.
3. Gradually add in the ¼ cup of confectioner's sugar.
4. Continue to beat the whipped cream until it is thick and velvety, about 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Don't over beat or you will have butter! Store in the fridge while you make the cake.

Directions to make Pan di Spagna

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-inch round cake pan with parchment paper (or 2 9-inch cake pans). Beat the eggs all at one time with the sugar on high speed until it is nice and frothy. Beat in the vanilla.
Sift the flour and baking powder.

Beat in the sifted flour on medium speed in small doses.

This is how the batter should look. Just delizoso!

Pour the batter into the lined cake pan. Teresa didn't butter and flour it. She put it in dry.

Bake the Pan di Spagna for 30 to 40 minutes, until it is well risen and feels firm when pressed gently with the palm of the hand. Check the cake after the first 20 minutes to make sure it isn't getting too brown. Every oven is different. If needed, lower the temperature to 325 for the rest of the baking time.

While the cake is baking, whisk together your pudding mix.

Let the cake cool completely.

Slice the cake carefully in half. Let boil one cup of water with 2 tablespoons sugar.

In a bottle add your liqueur and the sugar syrup (we used mandarinetto that Teresa made and brought from Italy. She recommends Rum very highly). Squirt the syrup on the bottom layer very well with ½ the bottle.

Spoon on the pudding around the bottom layer.

Spread out the pudding evenly with a spatula.

Carefully place the second layer on top.

Squirt on the other ½ bottle of syrup on the top of the cake.

Whip the cream until nice peaks form.

Start spreading the whipped cream around the top and sides of the cream.

We decorated the top with strawberries sliced in half.

Pipe the sides of the cake with more whipped cream.

Finish adding the rest of the strawberries to the top.

And this is an Italian birthday cake!

Tips for Making Torta alla Panna

• Do not skip the sugar syrup. This is what makes Italian sponge cake taste different from a dry American layer cake. Soak both layers generously.
• Let the cake cool completely before slicing. If you cut it warm it will fall apart.
• Make the whipped cream last. It holds best when made fresh just before assembling. Keep it cold in the fridge if you need to prep it slightly ahead.
• Teresa lines the pan with parchment but does not butter it. The cake releases cleanly this way - trust the process.
• The liqueur is flexible. Teresa uses mandarinetto and recommends rum. Amaretto, limoncello, or orange juice all work well.
• Make it the day before. This cake actually tastes better after sitting overnight in the fridge. The syrup fully absorbs and the layers hold together more cleanly when sliced.

How to Store Italian Birthday Cake

Cover the assembled cake loosely and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Because of the fresh whipped cream it does not freeze well once assembled.

You can bake the Pan di Spagna sponge up to 2 days ahead and wrap it tightly at room temperature until you are ready to fill and decorate. Add fresh strawberries on the day of serving for the best presentation.

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5 from 3 votes

Traditional Italian Birthday Cake Recipe

This Traditional Italian Birthday Cake Recipe is my Italian mother-in-law's cherished recipe! The cake is moist and aromatic from the liqueur we used. The pudding in the middle adds the perfect touch of creaminess. Make it for any special birthday and impress everyone!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Birthday cake, sponge cake, Strawberries, whipped cream

Servings: 8

Calories: 380kcal

Author: Lora

Ingredients

PAN DI SPAGNA CAKE

• 12 inch round cake pan
• 5 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FILLING

• 1 small box Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix

TOPPING

• 1 pint whipping cream
• container of strawberries
• SUGAR SYRUP
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ¼-1/2 cup of Rum or your favorite liqueur use more or less depending on your taste.If you don't like taste of alcohol, add orange juice or lemon juice to the sugar syrup

WHIPPED CREAM

• pint of heavy whipping cream I used organic
• ¼ cup confectioner's sugar

Instructions

• Chill a medium sized metal bowl in the freezer. Remove bowl from the freezer and add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl. Using a hand mixer on high speed, whip the cream until soft peaks begin to form; gradually add in the ¼ cup of confectioner's sugar. Continue to beat the whipped cream until it is thick and velvety. (about 1-2 minutes). Take care not to over beat or you will have butter. Store whipped cream in fridge while you prep and bake the cake.

PAN DI SPAGNA- CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-inch round cake pan with parchment paper (or 2 9-inch cake pans). Beat the eggs all at one time with the sugar on high speed until it is nice and frothy. Beat in the vanilla.
• Sift the flour and baking powder.
• Beat in the sifted flour on medium speed in small doses.
• Pour the batter into the lined cake pan. Teresa didn't butter and flour it. She put it in dry.
• Bake the Pan di Spagna batter for 30 to 40 minutes, until it is well risen and feels firm when pressed gently with the palm of the hand. Check the cake after the first 20 minutes to make sure it isn't getting too brown. Every oven is different. If needed, lower the temperature to 325 for the rest of the baking time.

PUDDING

• While the cake is baking, whisk together your pudding mix according to directions. Set aside to cool down.

ASSEMBLE CAKE

• Let the cake cool completely.
• Slice the cake carefully in half. Let boil one cup of water with 2 tablespoons sugar.
• In a bottle add your liqueur and the sugar syrup (we used mandarinetto, which is an orange liqueur that Teresa made and brought from Italy. She recommends Rum very highly). Squirt the syrup on the bottom layer very well with ½ the bottle.
• Spoon on the pudding around the bottom layer.
• Spread out the pudding evenly with a spatula.
• Carefully place the second layer on top.
• Squirt on the other ½ bottle of syrup on the top of the cake.
• Remove the whipped cream from the fridge. Start spreading the whipped cream around the top and sides of the cream.
• Decorate with fresh strawberries slices or any other fruit you like. We decorated the top with strawberries sliced in half.
• Pipe the sides of the cake with more whipped cream.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.

Nutrition

Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 169mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 1018IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 2mg

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