Those who know Spain will almost certainly have heard of Motril's Royal Cake.
It is as famous as the locally made Pale Rum and the delicious sea food.
This Spanish dessert takes its name from our town, the second largest town in the province of Granada, located near the Guadalfeo River.
Granada was the last Muslim province to be reconquered by the Christians in 1492 and the Moorish influences are still clearly visible in the architecture and food of the region.
The last Muslim in Iberia, Emir Muhammad XII, known as “Boabdil” to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of the Emirate of Granada, to Ferdinand II and Isabella I (“Los Reyes Católicos”) after the last battle of the Granada War on January 2nd 1492.
“Torta Real de Motril” and many other Spanish desserts are very almondy and almonds are a rich source of vitamin E.
They are also rich in dietary fiber, B vitamins, essential minerals and monounsaturated fat, one of the two “good” fats which potentially may lower LDL cholesterol.
Typical of nuts and seeds, almonds also contain phytosterols, associated with cholesterol-lowering properties.
INGREDIENTS:
This amount makes two
small and one medium cakes.
• 250 gr. ground almonds
• 175 gr. sugar
• 4 eggs
• Grated lemon
• For icing:
• 2 egg whites
• Icing Sugar
• 2 egg whites
• Icing Sugar
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugar, add ground almonds and lemon zest. Mix until a smooth paste.
We take the custard cups ( you can make double quantities in a mold of 24 cm.)
This recipe uses a medium and two small cakes.
Oil and scatter a little flour and drop the dough in.
Do not fill the moulds right up to the top.
Put in the oven for about 45 minutes.
When a skewer comes out clean, remove from the oven and let cool.
After demoulding cover with Royal Icing, (whisked egg whites and icing sugar).
Leave until the icing is firm.
If preferred, just cover with sifted icing sugar and ground cinnamon.
Delicious!
The most international ambassador available to Motril, an iconic dessert that has crossed national boundaries to get as far away as Australia and Japan thanks to new technologies, sold over the Internet by the Videras family, whose surname has five generations in their craftsmanship.
In Motril, Videras pastry sold about twenty thousand kilos of actual cake a year, at 400 kilos a week. It is believed that this dessert is Moorish their ingredients, although it is unclear whether there are changes in the original recipe.
The Videras family recipe dating from 1840 and until now is secret.
