replicating Alba Pastry Shop cake

For big occasion birthday parties when I was little, we always got banana cake from Bensonhurst's Alba Pastry Shop, a classic Italian American bakery. It was described as being a vanilla sponge cake with chocolate Bavarian cream filling. The banana was layered thinly on top of the filling, and the exterior of the cake was covered in whipped cream with strawberries on top. I'd like to replicate the sponge and cream, but don't know where to begin. The sponge was super-light; are there different kinds of sponge cake? And should I go with a specific Bavarian cream recipe and whipped cream frosting (it wasn't straight whipped cream)? Any recipe suggestions appreciated!

brooklynite
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4 Comments

brooklynite
brooklynite February 23, 2013
Thank you all for your help! I'll give these two suggestions a try soon.
 
minibakersupreme
minibakersupreme February 23, 2013
I really enjoyed the sponge cake recipes from Tartine Bakery's cookbooks. They also have good filling recipes. Just be sure to follow the directions to a T- the instructions and methods are solid.
 
sdebrango
sdebrango February 23, 2013
Here is a recipe I posted here that is as close as anything I have found to the sponge cake in an Italian bakery, as a matter of fact that is exactly why my Mom created this recipe, she wanted to replicate a cake from our favorite Italian bakery in upstate NY http://food52.com/recipes/11618-tender-yellow-cake
I also make a whipped cream icing that is stabilized with a cornstarch pudding and that is very close if not exactly like the whipped cream icings from Italian Bakeries,
 
sdebrango
sdebrango February 23, 2013
Here is the link for the icing http://food52.com/recipes/11619-whipped-cream-frosting
 
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