Hat cake (hat cake/zuccotto)

• 250 g of flour
• 40 g corn starch
• 250 g of soft butter
• 250 g of sugar
• 5 eggs
• a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 13 g baking powder
• a pinch of salt

INGREDIENTS (for the custard)

• 3 egg yolks
• 20 g of corn or rice starch
• 65 g of sugar
• 180 ml of fresh whole milk
• 70 ml of fresh liquid cream
• a vanilla bean or a teaspoon of extract

INGREDIENTS (for the syrup)

• For the brandy syrup (replace it with rum or other or with fruit juice/other if children have to consume it)
• brandy, 200 ml water and 150 g sugar (simmer to obtain a syrup to be used cold)

INGREDIENTS (for the chantilly)

• 250 ml of fresh cream
• a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• icing sugar (to taste, depends on how sweet you like it, so taste)
• a basket of raspberries

INGREDIENTS (for the butter cream)

• 85 ml of water
• 135 g granulated sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 170 g soft butter
• food coloring to taste (or leave it natural color)

• Prepare the sponge cake: beat the butter with the sugar using a stand mixer or an electric whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and one egg at a time, continuing to beat; continue adding the sifted flour, baking powder and starch and finally a pinch of salt.
• Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured mold and bake in a preheated oven at 180° for about 30 minutes (do the toothpick test).
• Let it cool and cut out 2 discs using the zuccotto mould to obtain the perfect circumference and cut the rest into strips.
• Prepare the custard: in a non-stick saucepan, mix the sugar with the egg yolks and vanilla; add the cold milk, cream and cornstarch. Mix well with a whisk. Turn on the heat and let the custard thicken. If lumps form, you can pass it through a strainer or sieve.
• Pour it into a container and cover it with cling film in contact to prevent a 'skin' from forming.
• Before using it, you can mix it with a whisk to make it creamy again.
• Prepare the chantilly: whip the cold cream with vanilla and icing sugar.
• Line a zuccotto mold with cling film, leaving plenty of room on the sides so that it hangs over the sides and will be used to cover the surface.
• Line the mold with the sponge cake strips and soak them in the syrup.
• Spread a layer of custard, a layer of chantilly and the raspberries. Cover with a sponge cake disk and repeat the layers ending with another sponge cake disk. Cover with the film that comes out of the mold and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours (even overnight).
• Prepare the meringue buttercream:
• make a syrup by boiling the sugar with the water until a temperature of 121°.
• Whip the egg whites at maximum speed and, lowering the speed, add the syrup in a thin stream. Immediately return to high speed until the mixture cools a little.
• Blend the soft butter and add the Italian meringue in 3 additions, blending after each addition (remember to add the food coloring if you want).
• The butter cream is ready to be inserted into the piping bag.
• Unmold the zuccotto onto a serving plate and spread the butter cream over it using a spatula. Now you can decorate it with a piping bag as you like. I used a small star nozzle and a round one.
• For the pompom I placed an Otello Ferrero chocolate on top to have a reference and then covered it with butter cream.