Magical Magdalenas
These little cup cakes hold fond memories of long, hot, summer holidays in Spain as a child, coming home from the beach, salty hair from the sea, sun-drenched skin, and sitting on my yaya Ana’s (granny Ana) balcony as everyone was having their siesta, scoffing my face with them, and washing them down with ice cold chocolate milkshake. That's why they are magical, food is always at it's best when it's one of your childhood favourites – whenever I eat them I am that goofy 7 year old in that magical homeland. Traditionally these are eaten at breakfast dunked in a café con leche (coffee with milk), or hot chocolate, or milk shake - they are a perfect treat for little ones, using nutritious olive oil and a small amount of caster sugar (each cake contains around 6g of sugar – less than most shop bought health sweet baked treats for babies!). On top of that they are really versatile, swap the traditional lemon zest for orange zest or vanilla extract, pop a bit of nut spread on top, or even chocolate and sprinkles for older children. These are a great snack to have with cows milk and encourage you 1+ year old to drink cows milk, as the flavours really complement each other. Also as they don't contain dairy they are a great treat for babies with a dairy intolerance. Legend has it they were first made by a girl called Magdalena for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela.
Makes 8 small cup cakes
Ingredients
1 egg
50g caster sugar
50g self raising flour
3 tbsp olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Method
1. Beat the egg white with an electric beater until it forms firm white peaks.
2. Beat in the egg yolk, sugar and lemon zest.
3. Pour in olive oil and carefully fold with the sifted self-raising flour.
4. Pop approx. 1 tbsp of the mixture into each cup case (ideally silicon cup cases) and into a preheated fan 180C oven for 15 mins. Test the cake is cooked by carefully skewering one and checking there is no cake mixture stuck on the skewer.
5. Cool on a wire rack before removing from silicon cases (if using) and serving.
Tips
These are a great snack to have with cows milk and encourage you 1+ year old to drink cows milk, as the flavours really complement each other. Also as they don't contain dairy they are a great treat for babies with a dairy intolerance.
Facts
Legend has it they were first made by a girl called Magdalena for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela.