Pão de Ló- Portuguese Sponge Cake

 Everyone who is Portuguese and their mother has a recipe for a Pão de Ló, it's a classic. A super simple sponge cake, that is fluffy, light, delicious and made with a few basic ingredients! Pão de ló can be served with a scoop of ice cream, fresh fruit or eaten as it is. I promise you, this traditional dessert is good for any occasion and will not disappoint.









10 eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups sifted flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp grated lemon peel or orange peel or vanilla – Optional


Pre-heat oven, 180/ 350º

-Beat eggs  and sugar in electric mixer for about 20 minutes, on medium high speed, mixture will be very thick.
- Mix flour, cornstarch, salt and baking powder in a bowl, ( I like to sift it)
-Next with mixer running low, and in your flour mixture, I divide it into about four parts, using a big spoon. Just keep the mixer running slow, till it is all incorporated and mixed in. The key is not to deflate the volume of the mixture ( and yes it does happen)
- Next pour into a large greased  cake 10 inch  tube pan. You could also line with parchment paper for a tradtional look.
-Bake for  40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

-Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 -15 minutes, before turning out.


notes

-for a crunchy top, you can sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of sugar, over the batter before you bake the cake
- I have used this batter in regular round cake tins, to make layered birthday cakes
- the trick is not to deflate the batter, most recipes will have you add the flour mixture in, a tablespoon at a time. I have done this, and always end up with a flat cake, I find this none fussy approach of only adding in about 4 larger portions of flour, to always be a winner.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Grandmother's Alcatra de Carne

Lapas Grelhadas- Grilled Limpets

Fannie Farmer's Apple Pie