Among my childhood memories baking a cake with my grandma is one of the, yes, sweetest. Now that we have plenty of time at home this could be a nice diversion for your kids, too. And maybe one day when looking back they will remember this moment rather than the confinement during the crisis. It doesn’t take much to become a pastry cook. At least if you have a good role model. Possibly someone in your family or one of the famous chefs on Mallorca. Many of them have been sharing recipes with us over the last couple of weeks. When I asked Joan Marc in Inca he recommended a plum cake that he did with his own children. It’s not only easy to prepare, Joan also got some advice in case you need to substitute an ingredient. So there is no excuse not to bake a little cake for your loved ones for Easter. Here is how.
Ingredients:
3 eggs
110 g sugar
15 g cornstarch
150 g almond flour
150 g apples (golden delicious)
80 ml apple juice
1 dash of salt
In a bowl, beat three egg whites, 50 g sugar and a dash of salt to a stiff merengue-foam. Set it aside.
Fill a saucepan with water and heat it on the stove but don’t let it boil.
Put the three egg yolks in a bowl, add 50 g of sugar and set the bowl in the hot water, constantly stirring eggs and sugar. Don’t let it become an omelette! You will know it is ready when the cream has doubled in volume, is more dense and has reached about 50° C. Now, this is what you know as zabaglione.
Add the grated apples (make sure they don’t turn brown), the apple juice, starch, and almond flour to the zabaglione.
Carefully add the merengue with a baking spatula. Make circles from bottom to top so the dough gets fluffy.
Finally, put the dough in a greased and floured loaf pan so that once cooked it comes off well. And bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes at 160° C.
You can vary this recipe depending on what’s in your pantry. Use whatever apples you have at home. If you don’t have apple juice, use peach juice, orange juice or water with sugar. If you don’t have starch, use flour. And if you don’t have almond flour, grind some nuts instead. Just don’t forget one thing: “These days of confinement cheer up and have fun in the kitchen”, says Joan Marc. 
