There are things you do in your childhood that, for some reason, just stick with you. Whether are names, dates, faces, episodes or stories… they just stay with you and come back and visit, every once in a while.  My memory of today is a cake, a particular one. On winter Sunday afternoons, after having lunch with family, watching football on TV, done with homework it was time to bake. The recipe was always the same so it is probably no surprise that after 25 years I still remember it and do it exactly the way I used to.

It’s super easy, you only need to use one mixer (so incredibly fast to clean kitchen afterwards) but the ingredients need to go in this order… very important, and make sure you taste all the way!
First in the processor are 300gr sugar and 150gr unsalted butter. Let it go for a while, until sugar and butter have no lumps. Next step, add 4 eggs and let it go for couple of minutes and then add 300gr of  flour 00. While the mixture is going, add 1 glass of milk, this should make the mixture a lot softer. Also add 1 bag of Pane degli Angeli yeast, it’s beautiful for cakes and you can find it in little Italian shops, it comes in a box of ten I think and it’s really the best.

After a few minutes when the mix is nice and smooth, batter a baking tin and dust over some flour. Make sure that the layer of flour is light but cover across the whole tin and then pour the mixture. You can leave it as it is, or put some chocolate chips… up to you!

The one I did this afternoon was with chocolate chips and orange zest… the cake has to bake for about 45 minutes at 180°/190°. Check with a toothpick that the cake is cooked through and let rest out of the oven for a while. Then make a tea, call some friends and enjoy a good movie. Or maybe a cartoon… it’s always good to feel like little kids again!

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