Multicolor cream cake
- Vegetarian
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Prep time: 60 min
- Cook time: 55 min
- Serving: 10
PRESENTATION
The Torta con panna multicolor is, honestly, the kind of layered cake you'd see at a party and totally assume it came from a fancy bakery. But really, it's a beloved treat from Italian kitchens. It’s super, super popular at spring gatherings and birthdays because it’s so colorful—with its playful swirls of whipped cream and adorable sugar flowers on top. And inside? You’ll find a rich chocolate sponge that’s perfectly moist and tender. The deep cocoa flavor, seriously good, pairs beautifully with the light white chocolate cream filling, offering a creamy balance that makes you crave another slice.
You know what? Food coloring gives the whipped cream its rainbow hues, making each cake look unique and extra festive for any special occasion. In Italy, this multicolor cake often pops up at spring parties when folks want something impressive yet, and here's the thing, simple to put together. Despite its elaborate look, this whipped cream cake is way easier than it seems. Layering the soft chocolate sponge and spreading the smooth white chocolate cream isn’t time-consuming, and you don’t need to be a cake-decorating expert.
Many families let kids help with the rainbow whipped cream because the cake is meant to be fun and not too serious. Pretty much. You’ll find various versions, with different colors or extra sprinkles, turning it into more of a rainbow cake or an Italian take on funfetti. No matter how you style it, this cake brings joy—it has a playful look and a light sweetness that suits any celebration. Even if you’re not a confident baker, the straightforward layering and decoration mean anyone can create a homemade cake that looks like it came straight from a pastry shop—which is awesome.
INGREDIENTS
- Ingredients for the cocoa sponge cake (for a 9-inch diameter mold)
- Sugar 1 cup (200 g)
- Type 00 flour 1 cup (130 g)
- Potato starch 6 ¼ tbsp (50 g)
- Unsweetened cocoa powder 4 tbsp (30 g)
- Honey 2 tsp (15 g)
- Eggs 3
- Egg yolks 8
- for the white chocolate cream
- White chocolate 3 cups (500 g)
- Whole milk 2.7 cups (500 ml)
- Sugar ½ cup (100 g)
- Type 00 flour ¼ cup (30 g)
- Egg yolks 4
- for the colored chantilly cream
- Fresh liquid cream 6.3 cups (1.5 l)
- Powdered sugar 0.67 cup (80 g)
- Vanilla bean 1
- Food coloring to taste - red, blue, yellow
- for decoration
- Sugar flowers to taste
How to prepare Multicolor cream cake
To make the multicolor cream cake, start with the base dough: in a bowl, place the eggs and yolks, the honey 1, add the granulated sugar 2 and beat with electric whisks 3 (or a stand mixer)
until you get a light and frothy mixture 4. In another bowl, collect the flour, cocoa 5, and cornstarch 6.
Sift the powders and gather them in the bowl containing the egg mixture 7, mix with a spoon 8 to blend the ingredients. Pour the batter into a 9-inch diameter cake pan, greased and lined with parchment paper 9.
Bake the sponge cake in a static oven preheated to 356°F for 45 minutes (or in a fan oven at 320°F for 35 minutes). Once cooked, remove the pan 10 and let it cool before removing the cake. Now take care of the filling: chop the white chocolate 11, then place a saucepan with the milk 12 on the heat and bring it to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, place the egg yolks 13, add the granulated sugar and mix with a whisk 14 until you get a light and frothy mixture, then incorporate the sifted flour 15.
Pour the mixture into the hot milk 16 and, continuing to stir 17, add the chopped white chocolate 18, continue cooking over low heat until the cream thickens.
When the cream has thickened 19, turn off the heat and transfer it to a wide glass bowl to cool quickly, making sure to cover it with cling film in contact 20. Meanwhile, the sponge cake will have cooled, remove it from the mold and cut it horizontally to obtain 3 layers 21.
Transfer the cold cream into a pastry bag with a plain tip 22 place the base layer on a serving plate and fill the first layer of sponge cake with the cream 23. Cover with a second layer of sponge cake, fill again with the cream, and close with the third layer of cocoa sponge cake 24.
Now focus on the decoration: whip the cream with electric whisks 25 add the powdered sugar 26, then cut a vanilla bean lengthwise, and with a small knife, extract the seeds 27
and add them to the freshly whipped cream 28. Divide the cream into 5 parts, take one part to cover the entire cake 29, smoothing the surface with a spatula so that it is very smooth. Transfer the remaining cream into 4 separate bowls 30
color each cream with a different color by adding a few drops of coloring to the cream at a time until you get the desired color 31; we made pastel colors: pink (with a little red coloring), yellow, green (combining yellow with blue coloring), and blue (with a little blue coloring) 32. Transfer the creams into 4 pastry bags with star tips 33
decorate the edge and the entire surface of the cake with tufts of colored cream 34 alternating the colors. Finally, take the sugar flowers 35 and apply them around the entire circumference of the cake 36. The multicolor cream cake is ready; all that's left is to serve it!