Sise delle Monache
A light three-peaked sponge cake from Guardiagrele, also known as Tre Monti, filled with smooth Italian pastry cream and dusted with icing sugar.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 18 min
- Total
- 53 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 310 kcal
Equipment
- •Electric hand whisk
- •Baking tray
- •Piping bag with plain nozzle
- •Piping bag with star nozzle
- •Saucepan
- •Baking parchment
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- fat
- 11 g
- carbs
- 45 g
- fibre
- 1 g
- protein
- 8 g
- calories
- 310 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- 2
Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form.
- 3
Whisk the egg yolks with 100g sugar until pale, thick and doubled in volume.
- 4
Gently fold the whites into the yolks using a spatula, lifting from bottom to top.
- 5
Sift the flour and potato starch over the mixture and fold lightly until smooth.
- 6
Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a wide plain round nozzle.
- 7
Pipe triangular trios of three connected conical peaks onto the prepared tray to make 6 pastries.
- 8
Bake at 180C for 12 to 15 minutes until lightly golden, then cool completely.
- 9
Heat the milk and lemon peel in a saucepan until steaming, then remove from heat.
- 10
Whisk the 4 yolks, 100g sugar and cornflour together, then whisk in the warm milk.
- 11
Return to medium-low heat and stir constantly until the custard thickens into a glossy cream.
- 12
Cool the cream, pipe it through the bases of the sponge peaks, and dust with icing sugar.
Chef's tips
Do not knock the air out of the sponge batter when folding in the starches. The conical shape holds best when the egg whites are beaten firmly and the batter is piped immediately. Let the custard chill completely before filling the pastries so the sponge remains crisp.
Ingredient substitutions
- potato starch → an equal quantity of cornflour (maizena)
- lemon zest → one split vanilla pod infused into the warm milk
Storage
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Reheating
Serve chilled or at cool room temperature; do not reheat.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Over-mixing the sponge batter, which causes the piped peaks to flatten during baking.
- •Piping warm custard into the pastries, which makes the delicate sponge soggy.
- •Baking at too high a temperature, burning the delicate peaks before the centres set.
Serving suggestions
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