The minute cake is my grandmother’s cake. The one that will taste like my summer vacations for the rest of my life, I think. I’ve been trying to find this recipe for a long time but haven’t been able to put my finger on it.

I’ve tried a lot of simple cakes for which I knew the recipe, but I couldn’t find the simple yet delicate taste of this cake. And above all, it’s impossible to find the softness and thickness that are so characteristic of it.

Talking to my mom on the phone one day, she said “Have you tried the minute cake? I know she made it quite well for a while”. Without missing a beat, I set about finding a recipe and then got behind the stove to try out this new recipe.

And then, miraculously, it was this cake. My madeleine de Proust XXL version 😬

And while it’s cooking… what could be better than to knit a little? 😉

Download the free Radiative sock pattern (in English and French) to keep your feet warm. The pattern of these socks, made up of knit, purl and crossed stitches, is quite easy to remember, perfect for knitting with an occasional glance at what’s in the oven.

In the meantime, I’ve done a bit of research on the subject: apparently, this typical cake from the Marais Poitevin (logical, I should have started looking there!) owes its name to its long shelf life. It’s a cake that goes with everything (jam, *half-salted* butter, both at once, compote, etc.) and keeps for a very long time (almost two weeks). By always having a cake ready in advance, all it takes is a minute to whip up a great dessert or snack, even when you’re not expecting it. I can easily confirm that it goes well with everything we’ve tested. As for shelf life, I have no idea, as the cake rarely lasts more than three days in our house, but it’s a total hit with young and old alike!

I’ve adapted the recipe found at Aux Fourneaux very slightly by removing a little of the classic sugar and adding vanilla sugar. I also added my own special touch with a sugar crust on top of the cake (a trick that comes from my great-grandmother, by the way – it really is a family cake!).

Minute Cake

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Course: Cake, SnackCuisine: Regional, Marais PoitevinDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

Mode cuisine

Garde l'écran de votre appareil allumé pendant que vous cuisinez.

Ingrédients

• 200 g of sugar

• 4 eggs

• 165 g of butter

• 165 g flour

• 75 gr cornstarch

• 1 sachet baking powder

• 2 packets of vanilla sugar

• 20 g sugar for the crust

Instructions

• Melt the butter.
• Beat sugar, vanilla sugar and egg yolks until pale.
• Add the melted butter and mix gently until smooth,
• Add the yeast, flour and cornflour. Mix well. This will form a fairly thick paste.
• Beat egg whites until stiff
• Gradually fold the egg whites into the batter, mixing gently (wrapping the batter around the egg whites to avoid breaking them).
• Line a soufflé dish with the mixture.
• Sprinkle the remaining sugar evenly over the dough.
• Bake at 170°C for 40-45 minutes.
• Allow to cool before unmolding.