I won’t go into too much of a story about this cake, I tell you all about it in the video below, complete with photos! This recipe was given to me by my Great Aunt Margherite when we visited her and my Great Uncle Sebastian in the Alsace-Lorraine region in France. This couple actually was born and raised in Naples, and after the war was forced to move to France. There they lived fairy tale days in the mountains. When we saw them many moons ago, I fell in love with them, their home, their town, their garden and their cooking. This cake was served after a simple meal and was a must make in my book, and my Aunt verbally gave me the recipe. But as so often is the case with regional recipes, locale and ingredients-even the air quality and humidity have so much to do with food preparation. It’s why the same beignet recipe made in Chicago will never taste like beignets from New Orleans. It took me years to get this cake recipe tasting like what we enjoyed that evening in the mountains of France. I also needed the invention and growth of a shopping behemoth like Amazon to get me a couple regional ingredients too, and I finally nailed it.
This is a simple, rustic cake. It’s made all in one bowl and Galliano and vanilla powder gives it flavor. When you have guests coming over for afternoon espresso in Naples, Italy-this is what you whip up and serve.
I gave some to my mom and dad, and my mom-an off the boat “Napolitan”-gave me a head nod and asked for seconds. That’s a big deal. She also told me I pronounced the name wrong in the video. It’s called “cassatiel” (KA-SA-TIEEL) in Neopolitan dialect.
Typical Italian mom; compliment on one hand, critique on the other.
Oh well. I’ll take what I can get.
European Galliano Mix and Bake Cake
Ingredients:
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of good quality, real vanilla powder
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or canola oil
1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of Galliano liquor or Strega
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of single acting baking powder such as ALSA
Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚.
With a hand mixer beat the eggs in a medium bowl until thick and yellow, then add the milk and the sugar and continue beating. Add the vegetable oil, salt, and the vanilla powder and beat, mixing well.
Add flour slowly and beat on low to just incorporate but do not over mix. You’re looking for a smooth polenta texture. Per the video, I usually use all 2 cups. Add the baking powder at the end and give it a quick mix.
Pour into a greased and floured baking pan (or use baking spray) with a side at least 2 inches high. I like to use my spring form pan for this. (If you have two small cake pans that can work as well and you can use whipping cream for a filling.)
Bake until golden, toothpick comes out clean and top springs back to the touch. This usually takes about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then run a dull knife around the edge and unclip/remove the sides to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with some whipping cream or ice cream. If you want to pull in more Galliano flavor, make a whipping cream laced with a little Galliano.
How-To Video here, one of my “Friday’s with Flora” Series.
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