Notes
About mascarpone frosting
- Cream whips best when it’s cold and to prevent curdling, the cream and mascarpone have to be at the same temperature, so both need to be cold.
- Mascarpone gets softer in a warm environment. So the more time it spends outside the refrigerator, the softer it’ll get. Take it out when you are ready to make the frosting, no sooner.
- If your frosting is too fluffy and soft, has a hard time staying put and making hard peaks, you should chill it before you put it on the cake. 1-2 hours should be enough. This will allow the mascarpone to harden again.
- You can also make it in advance, as I find that whipped cream keeps pretty well overnight. Store made frosting in an airtight container, lightly mix it with a spatula before putting it on the cake the next day.
You don’t have to use a springform pan, a simple cake pan is good enough. However you want one with high sides, because this is a pretty tall cake. If you only have classic cake pans, bake this cake in two 9-inch cake pans instead and make it a layer cake instead!
Gold leaf on top is very, very optional. Gold or colorful sprinkles would make this cake extra pretty. For a more classic look, use chocolate shavings instead.