Bolo de Fubá com Queijo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •23 cm round cake pan or 22 cm square pan
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Medium mixing bowl
• •Whisk
• •Spatula
• •Measuring cups and spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pan

   Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 23 cm round cake pan or a 22 cm square pan, then dust it with flour or fine fubá and tap out the excess. The thin coating gives the batter something to grip and helps the cake release cleanly, instead of leaving half its golden bottom stuck to the pan.

2. 2

   Mix the dry base

   In a large bowl, whisk the fubá, 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt until the color looks even. Do this before the wet ingredients arrive, because baking powder trapped in one little pocket gives you one bitter bite and one flat corner. Recipes that work are boring in the right places.

3. 3

   Coat the cheese

   Put the queijo Minas cubes in a small bowl and toss them with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour until lightly coated. Shake off the extra. That little dusty coat helps the cubes cling to the batter, so you get cheese pockets through the cake instead of one stubborn cheese floor at the bottom.

4. 4

   Beat the wet mix

   In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for 1 minute, until the mixture looks a little lighter and looser. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla if using, and whisk until smooth. You're not trying to make foam for a contest. You're dissolving the sugar and bringing the eggs into the batter evenly, so the crumb bakes tender instead of streaky.

5. 5

   Make the batter

   Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a spatula just until you don't see dry flour. Stop there. A few tiny lumps are fine. Stirring after the flour disappears makes the cake tougher, and then people start blaming the fubá, coitado, when the spoon was the problem.

   Use fine fubá, the kind often called fubá mimoso. Coarse cornmeal stays gritty here and steals the soft cake texture we're after.
6. 6

   Fold in cheese

   Fold in two thirds of the coated cheese cubes with slow turns of the spatula, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the remaining cubes over the top and press them halfway in. This gives you cheese inside and little golden spots on top, which is the Mineira variation defending itself without making a speech.

7. 7

   Bake until set

   Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden, the edges pull slightly from the pan, and a toothpick inserted in a cake-only spot comes out with moist crumbs. Don't stab a cheese pocket and panic. Melted cheese on the toothpick is cheese, not raw batter. The center should spring back gently when touched.

8. 8

   Cool and slice

   Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and turn it out or slice it straight from the pan if that's your house style. Warm, the cheese pockets are soft and salty. Cooled, the crumb settles and slices more neatly. Both are correct. Eat with coffee, because some traditions need no improvement.

Chef Tips

• •Queijo Minas meia cura is ideal if you can get it: salty enough to speak, firm enough to cube. Fresh queijo Minas works too, but it melts softer and wetter, so pat it dry before cutting.
• •No queijo Minas? Use a mild, firm farmer's cheese or a young, not-too-salty white cheese. Parmesan alone is too strong and dry for the whole amount, though a spoonful grated into the batter is welcome.
• •Don't use a boxed cake mix and call it a shortcut. That's the powder version of dinner wearing a sweet hat. This batter takes minutes, and you get to decide what goes into it.
• •The honest Tuesday shortcut is the blender: blend the eggs, sugar, milk, and oil, then stir that into the dry ingredients by hand. If you blend the flour and fubá too long, the crumb gets heavy, and that's the cost.
• •Store covered at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for up to 4 days because of the cheese. Warm slices briefly in a low oven or skillet to soften the cheese again.
• •This cake freezes well in slices. Wrap once cooled, freeze for up to 2 months, and warm from frozen until the crumb softens. Future you will act very grateful.

Advance Preparation

• •Cube the queijo Minas up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. Pat it dry before coating with flour.
• •The cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Keep it covered, then warm slices gently before serving if you want the cheese pockets soft again.
• •Freeze cooled slices for up to 2 months. Wrap tightly, then warm in a low oven until the crumb feels tender.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 115g)