Suggestions from chef Giovanni Rota
What inspired you to prepare this cake?
Since I had to make a dessert for the book With what is there, it was essential to use simple and easily available products, what we usually have at home, precisely cookies, eggs, flour and lemons. And those who use organic lemons know that they do not have a very long duration and, with this recipe, they can be recovered and exploited quickly.
As for the flavor, the intent was to create a contrast between the sweet biscuits and the acidity of the lemon, in order to revive the spirit of the dessert.
Before arriving at the final recipe did you consider other versions?
You could think of adding a classic shortcrust pastry instead of the crumbled biscuit, or of preparing a custard flavored with lemon or vanilla juice, adding orange peel to further perfume it.
The cream can also be prepared in a single portion, cooked in an oven in ceramic glass molds, placing the whole biscuit directly inside the cooked cream.
The pearls of our stylist Beatrice Prada
The cake was served directly on the baking paper, why this choice?
This picture comes from a service called Con what there is so the important thing is to return a simple image, not only in the preparation but also in the presentation. The fact of using baking paper is also to make the idea of a cake baked in the oven although it is eaten like a cold cake.
In addition, serving the cake without a plate there are no constraints to read the recipe, the point of recovery and cutting the image so it will also be easier in post-production to handle the processing and layout.
How else would you serve this cake?
Since when it is time to serve it on the table the need to put it on a plate takes over, I opted for a white tray that is comfortable with the color of the cake and does not intrude on reading the recipe. As for the bottom I chose an American table napkin that I use for breakfast, with a Mediterranean flavor that goes perfectly with lemons. It also creates a frame that embellishes the dish, I then decorated with biscuit crumbs to recall the ingredient of the base.
The advice of the photographer Riccardo Lettieri
Can you give us some advice to photograph this cake?
I state that there is no light scheme a priori, when I approach a dish I look at it from different angles and points of view to understand which one transmits more emotions and then decide which lighting to use.
To highlight the volume and shape of this cake the side light is the best, even better if it penetrates the window, the important thing is that there is no direct sun. The side light produces beautiful shadows, but they should not be too dark because they would ruin the dish. If you can not use natural light, I recommend using a white panel (cardboard or polystyrene) to be placed on the opposite side of the light.
As for the yellow color of the cake there are some tricks to consider?
In the case of such strong and full colors it is better to use a soft light source with a wide light surface like that of a lamp reflected on a panel and not direct, thus producing delicate and not too sharp shadows.
I also like to convey with light an idea of the season in which we find ourselves, in this case I imagined a day at the end of winter with the desire of a hot sun coming soon.
