First of all, prepare the sponge cake: separate the yolks and whites, whip the latter until stiff peaks and keep them aside.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with sugar and vanilla until the mixture is light and smooth.
Incorporate the sifted flour and yeast into the yolks first, then the whipped egg whites.
Try not to disassemble the egg whites, incorporating them gently, with a bottom-up movement.
Pour the mixture into the greased mold and cook for about 35 minutes in a preheated static oven at 170 ° C, then remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
In the meantime, start preparing your decorations, so that they have time to dry: color a small part of the sugar paste with food coloring (we used black, blue and orange) and proceed: we have created 3 penguins, 2 seals, 1 polar bear (yes, polar bears and penguins do not share the habitat, but it is a cake decorated by a 9 year old girl, that's okay!), 2 snowmen, some snowballs and the door of the igloo.
Then prepare the syrup by boiling the water with sugar and rum (or orange peel, if you prefer it non-alcoholic) to a boil.
Also prepare the filling: whip together mascarpone and cream, then add icing sugar and chocolate chips.
At this point proceed with the cake: cut the sponge cake, now completely cold, into 4 equal layers and moisten them slightly with the wet.
Line a bowl (mine was about 20cm in diameter by 9cm high) with cling film, then line the surface with part of the sponge cake discs.
Add a first layer of filling to the bottom of the bowl and cover it with a layer of sponge cake.
Create a second layer of cream and cover with the last remaining sponge cake disc.
Put the sponge cake in the fridge and let it rest for at least 6 hours.
Roll out the white sugar paste in a thin layer, take the zuccotto back, turn it upside down on a serving dish and line it with the sugar paste, letting it overflow a little, so as to create a sort of snow carpet on the plate as well: will be used to apply some of the decorations.
Apply all the decorations previously created as desired by wetting the sugar paste slightly: the igloo cake is ready.
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