SIGNORA ELVIRA’S FLUFFY POUND CAKE
Makes 2 5 by 9-inch loaves
Elvira was Cecilia’s mother and she was, I can attest, a great cook. The recipe she used was not exactly this, however. It had two tablespoons of Strega, and we don’t know how much other liquid because she never wrote that amount down. I’ve figured out the amount of milk you need, and I might well put the Strega back in next time, making the total liquid a half cup. Strega is an herb-flavored, saffron-colored liqueur from Benevento, another province outside Naples, and I like it in desserts more than I like it to drink. Indeed, along with orange and lemon, the scent of Strega to me is the scent of Neapolitan dessert. Sal De Riso uses it, another reason I love him and his pastry. Elvira marbleized her cake with chocolate, but I think it should be optional.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar (I may use 1 ¼ cups next time)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour the 2 loaf pans.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks until well mixed, then gradually beat in the sugar, beating until the eggs are very thick and pale yellow. Beat in the grated lemon zest.
Beat in the olive oil, then beat in the milk, then the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture all at once and beat until thoroughly blended and smooth.
In a clean bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until they hold firm peaks.
Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter.
Pour the batter into the two pans. If a marble effect is desired, reserve about 1 cup of the batter and stir in the melted chocolate. Drizzle it over the top of the cake. It should sink in a little.
Bake for 45 minutes, until the cake tests done with a toothpick or wooden skewer, and pulls slightly away from the pan. It will be a mounded cake, with a split on top.
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out and cool thoroughly before slicing.
Note: Instead of baking powder and vanilla extract, you can use 1 packet of Paneangeli powder, available in some U.S. specialty stores and readily available in New York City.
About Arthur: The New York Times Magazine called Arthur Schwartz “a walking Google of food and restaurant knowledge.” As the restaurant critic and executive food editor of the New York Daily News, which he was for 18 years, he was called The Schwartz Who Ate New York. Nowadays, he is best known as The Food Maven, the name of his website. Whatever the sobriquet, he is acknowledged as one of the country’s foremost experts on food, cooking, culinary history, restaurants, and restaurant history.
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1/2 Liter~16.9 ounces, regularly
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Editors Note: Arthur is in Italy at his cooking school in Solerno at Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli Baratta's farm.
