Forest Moss Cake with Whipped Cream and Pomegranate

Preheat a conventional oven (no fan) to 170°C. Line the base and sides of a 24 cm springform pan with parchment paper, without greasing. Wash the spinach, dry the leaves very thoroughly in a salad spinner or with kitchen towels, and weigh out 250 g; the eggs should be at room temperature, while the cream and mascarpone stay in the refrigerator.

Pour 100 ml oil into a tall container and add some of the spinach. Blend with an immersion blender, gradually adding the remaining leaves, until the mixture is smooth and green without visible pieces of spinach. Do not add water: the oil and moisture in the leaves are enough for blending.

In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs with the superfine sugar for about 6–8 minutes, until pale, thick, and noticeably increased in volume. A ribbon falling from the beaters should remain on the surface briefly. Reduce the speed and pour in the remaining 50 ml oil in a thin stream, mixing briefly just until combined.

Add the spinach mixture to the beaten eggs and combine gently with a whisk. Mix the flour with the baking powder, sift into the bowl in two batches, and fold in with a spatula from the bottom upward just until no dry flour remains. Transfer the smooth, fairly thick batter to the prepared pan and level the top; do not use the mixer after adding the flour, as this can make the crumb unnecessarily dense.

Place the pan on the middle oven rack and bake for about 50–60 minutes at 170°C on the conventional (no-fan) setting. Do not open the oven door during the first 40 minutes. The cake should rise, brown lightly on top, and spring back when gently touched, and a skewer inserted into the center must come out without raw batter; if raw batter clings to it, bake for a few more minutes and check again.

After removing the cake from the oven, leave it in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then release the pan ring, carefully remove the parchment paper, and transfer the cake to a wire rack so the underside can cool too. Allow about 2 hours for all the cooling, counted from when the cake comes out of the oven; slice and fill only when the center is completely cool.

Use a long serrated knife to trim off the thin, slightly domed top of the cake to level it. Remove only the dry browned crust from the trimmed piece, then crumble the green interior into fine crumbs with your fingers. Slice the remaining cake horizontally into two layers as evenly as possible, supporting the top layer with a wide spatula or a flat plate.

Put the very cold mascarpone in a large bowl, pour in the very cold cream, and sift in the powdered sugar. Start mixing on low speed, then increase to medium once combined and whip until the filling is thick, retains the marks of the beaters, and keeps its shape on a spatula. Stop the mixer as soon as it reaches this consistency; further beating may make the filling grainy.

Place the bottom cake layer on a flat cake stand and spread about three quarters of the cream filling evenly over it, right to the edge. Cover with the second layer, press down lightly, and spread the remaining filling thinly over the top; leave the sides exposed. Sprinkle the top with the green cake crumbs and gently press them into the cream, then scatter the patted-dry pomegranate seeds evenly over the cake.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours so the filling firms up and the layers settle together. Cover with a cake dome or a tall container that does not touch the topping. Keep refrigerated until serving and cut into twelve servings with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts.