this is a second recipe i tried from hidemi sugino's book and its nothing short of amazing. during the lunar new year, my family requested for a cake (as with every year, or rather, every occasion) so i decided to make this coz its one of the easier recipes from the book. in terms of appearance, its similar to the fruits rouges but simpler to make and better tasting.


mr. sugino is famous for his mousse cakes and i can see why. both the blackberry and pistachio mousses were light, not too sweet yet bursting with flavor and were very very creamy. mom liked it so much that she said she's gonna visit his patisserie in tokyo but i thought the highlight wasn't the mousses but the pistachio biscuit sponge. i can safely say its the BEST sponge i've ever tasted coz biscuit sponges (where whites/yolks are beaten separately) are usually drier and firmer compared to genoises. not this one. perhaps its the use of cornflour instead of regular flour and the addition of almond paste that makes the cake really really cottony soft and fluffy, or perhaps its due to baking on very high heat for a short time that result in this wonderful cake texture, i'm not too sure. now i can't wait to try out other recipes from the book!