Bolo de Fubá Cremoso com Erva-Doce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Blender, at least 2-liter capacity
• •33 x 23 cm (9 x 13 inch) baking pan
• •Large bowl, at least 3 liters, for finishing the thin batter
• •Whisk
• •Fine grater for the cheese
• •Standard measuring cups and spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pan

   Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter a 33 x 23 cm (9 x 13 inch) baking pan and dust it with 1 tablespoon fubá, tapping out the extra. Do this before the batter because the batter is thin and the baking powder starts working once wet; a waiting pan means you pour and bake without letting the lift spend itself on the counter.

2. 2

   Crush the seeds

   Rub the erva-doce between your palms or press it once or twice with the back of a spoon, just until you smell that sweet anise perfume. Don't grind it to dust. Light crushing wakes the oils; pulverizing it makes bitter little specks and steals the gentle smell a gente wants in the cake.

3. 3

   Blend the base

   Put the milk, eggs, sugar, melted butter, grated cheese, salt, 1 cup fubá, and flour in the blender. Blend until smooth, about 45 seconds, then stop. The batter should pour like thin cream. Don't add more flour to make it look like ordinary cake batter; that loose texture is what lets the cake split into a tender top and creamy bottom.

   If your blender is small, blend with only 2 cups of the milk, pour into the bowl, then whisk in the remaining 2 cups milk by hand. Same cake, fewer countertop floods.
4. 4

   Finish by hand

   Pour the blended batter into a large bowl. Add the baking powder and crushed erva-doce, then whisk gently for 8 to 10 strokes, just until the baking powder disappears and the seeds float through the batter. Once baking powder is wet it starts doing its job, so don't beat and beat. Too much mixing knocks out the lift and makes the top tight.

5. 5

   Bake until set

   Pour the batter into the prepared pan and slide it onto the center rack. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is deep golden, the edges pull slightly from the pan, and the center jiggles softly like firm custard instead of sloshing like liquid. Don't use the dry-toothpick test here; this cake is supposed to have a creamy layer, and a clean toothpick would mean you baked the poor thing past joy.

   If the top browns before the center is set, lay a loose sheet of foil over the pan for the last 10 minutes. Loose is the word. Press it down and you'll mark the top.
6. 6

   Cool and cut

   Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 2 hours before cutting. It will puff in the oven and settle as it cools. That's not failure, that's the creamy layer finding its place. Cut into squares when the pan is cool to the touch; the knife should come out with creamy streaks, not raw batter. Serve at room temperature or chilled, preferably with coffee.

Chef Tips

• •Use fubá mimoso, the fine yellow cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal or polenta stays gritty and sinks heavily, and then you blame your hands instead of the bag. Wrong suspect.
• •Grate the cheese from a real piece. Queijo meia-cura is lovely here, Parmesan works too. The shelf-stable dusty kind tastes flat and salty in the wrong way, and this cake has nowhere to hide that.
• •The honest shortcut is the blender. It makes the batter smooth in under a minute. The shortcut I won't hand you is boxed cake mix or artificial anise flavor; you lose the corn, the milk, the butter, and the smell of real erva-doce.
• •The batter is supposed to look too thin. Say it out loud if you need to. Thin batter gives you the cream layer. Thick batter gives you an ordinary cornmeal cake, which is good, but not this.
• •If you dislike erva-doce, leave it out. The cake still works, but the cost is real: it loses that festa junina smell, the one that makes a kitchen feel like June.
• •Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 4 days. The creamy layer firms up cold, so let a piece sit out 20 minutes if you want it softer with coffee.

Advance Preparation

• •Grate the cheese up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
• •Bake the cake up to 1 day ahead. Chill it covered, then bring it to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving if you want a softer creamy layer.
• •Do not make the batter ahead. Baking powder starts reacting as soon as it gets wet, and the cake should go into the oven right after mixing.
• •The cake must cool at least 2 hours before cutting. For the neatest squares, chill it first, cut it cold, then serve at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 125g)