Magdalenas are another sweet memory from my childhood. I wanted to share a savory recipe today but I changed my mind right after feelings from the past were revived again. You see; reading beautiful thoughts from talented people that share their stories could certainly make forgotten thoughts and emotions come back to life. Indeed! I was moved and inspired after reading Rosa’s lovely-sweet post about her grandmother. Thank you, Rosa. You brought me back many wonderful memories of my grandmother too.
After reading such inspiring thoughts, I started remembering many things about my grandmother, my days as a child, the tasteful and satisfying ‘Meriendas’ 'afternoon snacks' that I enjoyed so much when coming back from school and... Magdalenas! Where I come from, 'La Merienda' is often served with a hot or cold beverage, like tea, mate, milk or cafe con leche, depending on the weather and is always served with biscuits, toasted french bread well buttered and spread with dulce de leche on top, alfajores... and among many other bites with Magdalenas.
As a child having these sweet cakes for the merienda made the afternoon simply perfect! They are a classic in Argentina, and every boy and girl experience this heavenly taste while growing up. Eating 'magdalenas' is almost mandatory palate work as a child!
As a child having these sweet cakes for the merienda made the afternoon simply perfect! They are a classic in Argentina, and every boy and girl experience this heavenly taste while growing up. Eating 'magdalenas' is almost mandatory palate work as a child!
But even though these little cute cakes look similar in shape to the famous cupcakes they are very different in taste and texture from the cupcakes.I could say that the taste and texture are a combination between a moist cupcake, a light muffin and a fluffy cookie with a sweet lemony flavor. I’m not sure if you could imagine the flavor of these little cakes after this description of mine… {Loud Laugh}
So I could not let another day go by without making some Magdalenas. I poured a few ingredients into a bowl, bake for twenty five minutes and voila, beautiful homemade Magdalenas. And yes, I ate more than one!
Have a wonderful and colorful week ahead!
MAGDALENAS "SWEET LEMONY LITTLE CAKES"
These are wonderful and easy to make. In addition I want to mention that the texture of these cakes are very different from other cakes --like muffins or cupcakes-- They are spongy- fluffy and soft.
1 ¾ C. Raising Flour
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ C. Sugar**
Zest of 1 Large Lemon*
4 Medium eggs
200 ml/ 7 oz. canola oil
¼ C. Whole milk
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 200C/ 392F. In a medium bowl add flour and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl add eggs, sugar, lemon zest and milk-- mix well and pour this mixture to the flour. Add oil and using an electric mixer beat for a couple of minutes until all ingredients are well combined. Spoon a little more than half the mixture into muffin cases and sprinkle with a little or a lot of sugar on top. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Let the magdalenas cool completely and serve.
** You can always add more sugar to the mixture preparation. I only used 1/4 cup sugar because I use sugar to sprinkle the magdalenas on top as well. And this amount of sugar suite my taste.
* To enhance lemon flavor simply add more lemon zest plus a 1/4 tsp lemon juice.
