Piononos de Santa Fe

Small rolled sponge cakes soaked in syrup, topped with toasted pastry cream. The texture is meltingly soft and moist, featuring a crunchy caramelized sugar top and a hint of cinnamon.

• Prep time: 40 min
• Cook time: 20 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 211
• Protein: 6 g
• Carbs: 36 g
• Fat: 5 g

Ingredients

• 2.7 piece Egg ( yolks and whites separated )
• 100 g White sugar ( divided for sponge and cream )
• 26.7 g Wheat flour ( sifted )
• 166.7 ml Whole milk
• 13.3 g Corn starch
• 0.7 tsp Cinnamon ground
• 66.7 ml Mineral water ( for the syrup )

Instructions

1. Prepare the pastry cream

   In a saucepan, heat the whole milk with cinnamon. Whisk the egg yolks with white sugar until pale, then add cornstarch. Pour the hot milk over the mixture, return to heat, and stir until the cream coats the spoon and thickens. Chill.

2. Make the sponge cake

   Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beat the yolks with sugar until they form a ribbon, then gently fold in the sifted wheat flour and the whites. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180°C until the surface is pale gold and soft to the touch.

3. Make the soaking syrup

   Boil the mineral water with white sugar for 5 minutes to create a light syrup. Let it cool slightly.

4. Assembly and rolling

   Generously soak the sponge with the syrup using a brush. Spread a thin layer of pastry cream over the entire surface. Roll the sponge tightly into a log, then cut into 4 cm tall cylinders.

5. Caramelized finish

   Place a dollop of pastry cream on top of each cylinder. Sprinkle with white sugar and torch with a blowtorch or red-hot iron until the sugar is brown and crunchy.

Chef's tips

• The sponge must remain very soft; do not overbake it or it will break when rolling.
• Soak the sponge while it is still slightly warm so it absorbs the syrup to the core.

Storage

Consume quickly. Keeps for 24 hours in the refrigerator in an airtight container.