Ingredients for 6-8 people: For the sponge cake:3 eggs120 g cane sugar90 g plain Flour40 g potato starch1 vanilla pod1 pinch of salt For the syrup to “dampen” the sponge:250 ml water100 ml lemon juice100 g sugar For the “cream”:250 g fresh sheep’s milk ricotta250 g mascarpone4 tbsp icing sugar1 untreated lemon
First of all prepare the sponge cake (a tip: if you make it the day before, you’ll save time and it won’t crumble when you slice it). In a bowl, use an electric whisk to beat the eggs with the sugar, the vanilla seeds (obtained after slitting the pod open, lengthwise, with a sharp knife) and a pinch of salt. When the mixture is light and frothy, sift in the flour and potato starch together, and then amalgamate delicately stirring from bottom to top – so as not to deflate it – until smooth and homogenous. Grease a round 22 cm cake tin with butter, then dust it with flour and pour in the mixture. Bake in a preheated oven, at 180 °C, for 30 minutes. When the time is up, try sticking a toothpick into the centre of the cake, if it’s cooked, the toothpick will come out dry. Leave the sponge to cool down.
For the syrup to dampen the sponge: heat the water, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan, stir until the sugar has dissolved and then turn off the heat.
To prepare the “cream”: press the ricotta through a sieve into a bowl and mix it with the icing sugar; add the mascarpone a little at a time, stirring constantly. When the mixture is smooth and creamy, pour in the juice of the lemon and stir again.
Take the sponge cake base (it must have cooled down completely) and cut it into slices 1 cm thick. Distribute some of the ricotta and mascarpone cream over the bottom of an oven dish (preferably a glass one), arrange slices of sponge one beside the other on top of it, dampen them with a little of the syrup, and cover with a layer of the “cream”; repeat the procedure, finishing off with the “cream”. Sprinkle the surface with the grated rind of the lemon, and then refrigerate the tiramisù for at least 2 hours before serving.