Fool’s Cake or What started my interest in cooking?
I’ve always loved to cook. Always, I don’t remember not being fascinated about how things changed in the kitchen, how mixing some uninspiring things as flour, sugar and eggs could develop into a spongy, moisty and comforting cake...
So this is what it’s the business about today! We call it in Spain “fool’s cake” or “badly done cake” or "tin cake”, but you may know it as pound cake. It seems that all around the world we do the basic stuff quite alike.
I was so small the first time I helped my granny to do it, that I was sitting sprawled on the counter, with the bowl between my legs and I had to stir with the wooden spoon two handedly. I probably made a mess of everything, including myself, but I was so proud afterwards, when it came out of the oven, so golden and fluffy, smelling heavenly, that the feeling stayed with me, and just to think about it makes me feel better. Even when I’m ungrounded or really distressed, the sweet smell of lemon, cinnamon and slightly caramelised sugar puts some ground under my feet again.
Probably, this is the first for almost everybody. It’s simple, and it’s almost failproof, and except taking it in and out of the oven, it’s safe enough for a kid to make. And also a child. It’s called fool’s cake for a reason, you know.
I know it’s pretty basic, and I’m a bit embarrassed to make a post about it, but, being a classic, so reliable and keen to experiment with it, just had to show how I make it. Some people make the “yogurt method” one, which is easier, because you don’t have to bother with scales, but, the batter won’t be as liquid and cake will be tougher, I’ve made both and I prefer this one.
Let’s get down to business, then:
Ingredients:
250 gr of flour, regular one
250 gr of sugar
250 ml of milk (full fat gives richer results, but I usually use semi-skimmed, as it’s what I have around the house)
125 ml of olive oil (I like to use a light olive oil, not extra virgin, because I like the flavour, and because my granny does it this way, but you can use sunflower if olive is too strong for you)
3 eggs
1 lemon zest
1 pinch of salt
1 sachet of baking powder
2 tablespoons of sugar mixed with 1 tbs of cinnamon for sprinkling the top
Procedure:
- Preheat your oven at 180ºC and line a square tin (pff, regular size, I’m not going to start measuring my tins/pans)
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, zest and baking powder in a big bowl.
- Mix the milk, oil and eggs in another bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir until everything is combined, but don’t overmix it, or you’ll end up with a very tough cake.
- Pour the batter into the tin and sprinkle the top evenly with the cinnamony sugar.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, but check around 15 to see how it goes. Remember, to check a cake, you must insert a skewer into the center of the cake and it should come out clean. Also, should spring back to the touch. If at 20 it’s not done yet, check every two minutes, it can go from raw to overbaked in a blink.
- Take it out from the oven and let it cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
- Feel free to add chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, orange zest, ginger, a small glass of rum or any spirit of your like, cubed apple, candied peel...have fun with the batter and play around a bit to make your own. Just remember the batter is quite liquid, so anything you add should be very small and has to go sprinkled on top just before baking it, for it will sink into the batter as it cooks. If you mix it with the batter, you’ll end up with a bottom layer of “ingredient” and the rest of cake. Happened quite a lot of times, and dusting them with flour...doesn’t help. Been there, done that, more than once. You can play with the flour too, half flour-half cocoa powder will make it chocolate, or a quarter ground almonds, or any other nut...
Detail of the crumb, look how moist and spongy is!
Hope you love it as much as I do!!
I was so small the first time I helped my granny to do it, that I was sitting sprawled on the counter, with the bowl between my legs and I had to stir with the wooden spoon two handedly. I probably made a mess of everything, including myself, but I was so proud afterwards, when it came out of the oven, so golden and fluffy, smelling heavenly, that the feeling stayed with me, and just to think about it makes me feel better. Even when I’m ungrounded or really distressed, the sweet smell of lemon, cinnamon and slightly caramelised sugar puts some ground under my feet again.
 |
| Ah, I knew it had a reason... |
 |
| Kid |
Let’s get down to business, then:
Fool’s Cake
Ingredients:
250 gr of flour, regular one
250 gr of sugar
250 ml of milk (full fat gives richer results, but I usually use semi-skimmed, as it’s what I have around the house)
125 ml of olive oil (I like to use a light olive oil, not extra virgin, because I like the flavour, and because my granny does it this way, but you can use sunflower if olive is too strong for you)
3 eggs
1 lemon zest
1 pinch of salt
1 sachet of baking powder
2 tablespoons of sugar mixed with 1 tbs of cinnamon for sprinkling the top
 |
| Mise en place |
Procedure:
- Preheat your oven at 180ºC and line a square tin (pff, regular size, I’m not going to start measuring my tins/pans)
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, zest and baking powder in a big bowl.
 |
| Dry ingredients |
- Mix the milk, oil and eggs in another bowl.
 |
| Wet ingredients |
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir until everything is combined, but don’t overmix it, or you’ll end up with a very tough cake.
- Pour the batter into the tin and sprinkle the top evenly with the cinnamony sugar.
 |
| Batter in the tin |
- Bake for about 20 minutes, but check around 15 to see how it goes. Remember, to check a cake, you must insert a skewer into the center of the cake and it should come out clean. Also, should spring back to the touch. If at 20 it’s not done yet, check every two minutes, it can go from raw to overbaked in a blink.
- Take it out from the oven and let it cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
 |
| Out of the oven and cooling |
- Feel free to add chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, orange zest, ginger, a small glass of rum or any spirit of your like, cubed apple, candied peel...have fun with the batter and play around a bit to make your own. Just remember the batter is quite liquid, so anything you add should be very small and has to go sprinkled on top just before baking it, for it will sink into the batter as it cooks. If you mix it with the batter, you’ll end up with a bottom layer of “ingredient” and the rest of cake. Happened quite a lot of times, and dusting them with flour...doesn’t help. Been there, done that, more than once. You can play with the flour too, half flour-half cocoa powder will make it chocolate, or a quarter ground almonds, or any other nut...
Detail of the crumb, look how moist and spongy is!
 |
| Soooo good!!! |
Hope you love it as much as I do!!
