Pavia, Lombardia
Pavia's legendary cloud cake, invented by Enrico Vigoni in the early 19th century and unchanged since: an equal-weight butter-and-sugar sponge using potato starch entirely in place of flour, producing a cake of impossible lightness — dense enough to slice but dissolving on the tongue with zero chew. The name 'Paradise Cake' was said to be given by a customer who declared it 'fit for paradise'. Traditionally served with a glass of Moscato or Malvasia.
Pure butter and vanilla with a completely neutral, cloud-like crumb — the lightest, most delicate cake in the Italian repertoire
Potato starch (not plain flour) is non-negotiable — it is the entire secret of the texture. Potato starch contains no gluten and produces a crumb that sets through gelatinisation rather than gluten network formation. The butter and sugar must be creamed to the ribbon stage (pale, tripled in volume) before adding the whole eggs one by one. Over-mixing once the starch is added collapses the air structure.
The cake is best 24 hours after baking when the butter has fully permeated the starch crumb. Dust generously with icing sugar before service — this is both traditional and functional (the sugar crust adds a micro-texture to the otherwise smooth surface). For an elevated version, split the cake and fill with mascarpone cream and fresh strawberries — the structural neutrality of the cake makes it an ideal cream-layer vehicle.
Substituting any plain flour for potato starch — even a small percentage destroys the characteristic texture. Under-creaming the butter-sugar mixture provides insufficient air for the sponge to rise. Over-baking produces a dry, crumbly result instead of the characteristic moist, yielding interior. Turning out too soon — the cake must cool completely in the tin to set before unmoulding.
I Dolci della Tradizione Lombarda — Accademia Italiana della Cucina