Magdalena (4 Minute Cake)

Kitty FloridoFebruary 15, 2011

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

I was really lucky to grow up surrounded by family. Literally. Both my aunts live next door (one on each side of my parent’s house), so I was able to see my cousins every day. Right across the driveway, was my grandparents house. Every sunday, both my uncles and their families would come to visit, and we would meet all together at my grandparents. My dad is one of 5 siblings, so to make the math for you, that’s 12 adults and 14 kids. Grandma Lucy made sure that there was always a pair of freshly baked cakes or pies.

This recipe was a bit hard to master under her eyes. She was an amazing baker: she knew if you over (or under) beat the batter, or if you didn’t let the butter and dry ingredients mix properly. When I was in my school vacations, I would spend entire days just sitting in her kitchen, watching her do her thing and try to learn as much as I could. At first she would only let me get the butter out of the wrapper, or get her the spoons to measure the dry ingredients. After that, she would let me add things to the mixer… Eventually graduating to making the cakes or pies myself and getting them in and out of the oven.

The secret from grandma Lucy (as with every baking recipe) is to follow the steps to the dot. She first softens the butter and then slowly adds the sifted dry ingredients. Tablespoon by tablespoon. Make sure to mix it until all of the ingredients are blended together, resulting in a mixture that looks like coarse cornmeal. You will think it’s not Ok, but it totally is – this is not the usual method of making a cake but it’s worth it trust me! Takes it about 10-15 minutes (if you are using a KitchenAid mixer is about 5 minutes) to blend together and make sure there are no crumbs left. After that you add the wet ingredients and mix for 4 minutes. The two ounces of rum the recipe asks for is barely noticeable, but it gives the cake a nice flavor. If you prefer, you can remove the rum from the recipe.

Preparing this recipe always gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling that reminds me of those Friday or Saturday afternoons in my grandmothers’ kitchen making two cakes for all the family that would be guaranteed to visit the next day. Share this one with your friends and family! You won’t regret it!

Kitty

Grandma Lucy’s 4 Minute Cake

A Foodies’ Kitchen Original by Kitty’s Grandma Lucy
Serving Size: 12

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs
6 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 cup whole milk
2 ounces dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350ºC. Gently grease & Flour a teflon covered bundt cake pan (works much better for unmolding).
Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder twice.
In a mixer bowl, soften butter and then add the sifted ingredients by tablespoons (mixer on low-med speed), until there’s no crumbs are left. This will take time but this is this recipe secret. It will take you about 10-15 minutes (or 5 minutes in a KitchenAid mixer).
Measure the milk, and for easy handling add to the same container the vanilla, rum and eggs.
Add the liquid mix to the butter slowly (mixing on med-high speed), making sure to clean up the sides of the bowl from time to time.
Count 4 minutes mixing on medium speed (or 1 minute in a KitchenAid mixer). Do not over mix. This is the secret from Grandma Lucy!
Put mix in a greased cake pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is lightly brown and cracked.
Cool for at least 30 minutes, remove from pan and place top side up on cooling rack.
For decorating, this cake just needs a tablespoon of all-purpose flour and one tablespoon of sugar sifted on top of the cake. You can replace that mix with confectioner’s sugar too.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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