Milanese macaroon cake

Prepare the marzipan cream for the top decoration.

1. Mix the marzipan cream with the specified amount of water to a uniform and homogeneous consistency. You need it to be more consistent than the topping so that it will hold its shape after piping.

Decorate the top of the cake.

1. Pipe in the upper part 7-8 tears with the marzipan cream.
2. In the central part, pipe small quantities simulating small flowers.
3. Put the raspberry jam, strained without seeds, in a piping bag.
4. Fill each teardrop with the jam.
5. Refrigerate the cake for 1 hour. This step helps the marzipan to keep its shape better for later baking.
   

Bake the cake to golden brown the marzipan.

1. Preheat the oven to 482ºF/250ºC, heat up and down.
2. Place the cake, with the base disk, on a tray lined with baking paper.
3. Bake the cake, placed on the second rack starting from the bottom, for 10 minutes.
4. Remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. NOTE: I recommend you to be attentive during the whole process of this second baking because, depending on each oven, the cake may take more or less time to acquire a nice golden color.

Finish decorating the cake.

1. Brush the sides with pectin syrup  or warm apricot jam.
2. Cover the sides of the cake with toasted flaked almonds.
3. If you wish, you can decorate the gaps between the teardrops with flaked almonds.
4. Serve.
   

Notes

• To line the baking pan, you can grease the base and sides with butter to help the baking paper stick to it. The butter can be replaced with release spray.
• The sponge cake is tender, but I recommend brushing it with syrup. The final result is very moist, as if it were “drunk”, leaving a sensational texture. In my case I used almost all the syrup.
• I recommend using toasted almonds, you can toast them at home, to add more flavor and aroma to the final result. There is a big difference in this step.
• For the filling I used the raspberry jam without straining it, that is, with its seeds. But for the top decoration, I do recommend that you strain it to remove the pips. The end result is much cleaner and more attractive. After cooking, the texture is very similar to a raspberry cream or jelly.
  
• The marzipan cream ribbon on the sides is optional, but I recommend that you do it because it helps contain the jam filling without the risk of it coming out of the sides.
• As you may have noticed, a marzipan base cream is prepared from which we add more or less water for different uses. The coating needs to be softer to be able to spread it, while the decoration needs to be a little firmer (but less than the base) so that it keeps its shape after piping.
• The amount of water in the marzipan cream can vary depending on the quality of the almonds used. The fresher it is, the less water it will need. Conversely, the drier it is, the more water it will require.
  
• You won’t have any marzipan cream left over.
• For the side of the cake you can use cake glaze or apricot jam, whatever you prefer.
• Once the cake is finished and assembled, it can be kept for 2 days at room temperature or refrigerated for 10 days. It holds very well over time and remains very tender and moist.