Orange blossom ‘mimosa’ cake (torta di mimosa al profumo di fior d’arancio)

In Italy, tradition has it that on the 8th March, you give the ladies in your life a bunch of mimosa to celebrate La Festa Delle Donne (Ladies’ Day). It’s a truly charming tradition. Of course, in our household, there is no festa without food and the 8th March calls for torta alla mimosa– just as Christmas calls for panettone and Christmas means lentils. I don’t know how ‘mimosa cake’ came to be customary on this day, other than for the fact that, when made right, the layers of crumbled yellow sponge looks like a heap of mimosa beads on a plate. It’s a simple recipe, albeit with a couple of stages: a light-as-air genoise sponge layered with sweet whipped cream and a thick crème patissière. If the 8th March is a celebration of womanhood, then this cake is a sweet embodiment of it: it’s delicate, light and flirty. And just so very delightful.