Easy cake from Bellver & Erika to Sofia

This is the first post I write in English, but there was a guestfriend* who told me last week it was hard for her to understand my posts so… I’ve decided to try in English for the first time. Please apologise all the mistakes (for sure) I’ll make.

This is another post about small happy things going on at myhomeinlisbon. Erika, one of the girls on the staff at home loves baking. Her dream is opening somewhen* in the future her own bakery in the village at Minas Gerais (Brazil) where she’s originally from. A few weeks ago I started thinking on how could we collaborate in making her dream come true in a certain way. We serve fresh cakes every morning for breakfasts at home and also at Baixa House. Up to now sometimes I prepare them at home, we’ve been also ordering in a close shop, or at the bakery. Scones or "pão de queijo" are prepared at home, but why not starting to organize the necessary infrastructure to bake our own cakes every day? We have the right person (Erika), her work will be much more appealing so she’ll be (even) more happy and we all will also be more happy (and fat, I’m afraid).

Last week we started testing different cakes recipes so we can find easy but delicious ones that she can prepare and we all can enjoy. The first recipe was her own one of a simple basic yogurt cake. She tried it, and the results where not the expected as taste was delicious but texture was not what we wanted to have. We left that recipe on a side and experienced another 3, Gael’s orange cake, something very Portuguese called “mármore”, and a simple egg whites one. All of them delicious, they are being served this week at Baixa House.

Then yesterday I remember a very simple recipe that Bellver, a good friend and great Spanish artist gave me a few months ago with the idea of serving it at Baixa. We try it, and it was the most easy, simple and delicious cake I’ve taste in my life. I guess this is going to be the king of the cakes, as it’s a perfect base to add other ingredients that will make our life’s even more happy. Yesterday we try it with an evening tea at home with Sofia (another part of the team). She was needing some treat so this is a present for her, just to bake at home if you feel a bit needed of a little “miminho”.

The funny thing is that it has the same ingredients as Erika’s yogourt cake…(but different measures).

INGREDIENTS:

180 grs. sugar • 180 grs. flour • 2 eggs • 3 tea spoons of raising powder • 1 lemon curd • 125 cc. seeds oil • 12 – 14 crushed almonds • 250 cc. milk

Preheat the oven to 200 ºC.

Mix all ingredients (keep a bit of almond on a side). Grease a cake pan with seeds oil and flour, and pour the mixture. Put the almonds on top of the mixture. Turn down oven to 175ºC and bake 55 minutes. Wait a little bit even if smelling is so good: don’t be anxious!

Bellver’s original is done with olive oil, but I guess it’s too Spanish for international guests, and Erika’s original had seeds oil so we’ve changed it a little bit to make it softer.

We are using small pans so we can serve one cake per double room/apartment, or big pans for more guests sharing an apartment. If you use small pans, 25 minutes baking will be enough.

We’ll try to substitute almods on Thursday. I’ll update results.

Happyfat* moment!

* maybe these words don’t exist, but I guess they are understandable…