Baking is one of those things you’ve got to get just right. The timing, age of ingredients, the way you beat an egg – it can all make a difference. Who hasn’t known the disappointment of a cake that collapsed in the center, or one that came out of the oven with an undesired texture? It’s the reason you turn to mixes and Peel and Bakes more often than you care to admit.
With Mother’s Day coming up, you’ve thought about honoring Mom with baked goods, but want something fresher, and more from the heart than a store bought dessert. “380 Cake” is the foolproof cake recipe you’ve been waiting for. Near impossible to screw up, it’s finished after just 15 minutes in the oven, at, you guessed it, 380 degrees.
Now, as a cookbook author who has spent her entire career helping time pressed families cook better and more nutritiously, I will admit that it surprised me this cake recipe didn’t make it into my repertoire sooner. But I suppose I live too far away from where my research says the recipe originated: Brazil. It’s crazy easy! You simply pulse the ingredients in a blender to create a foolproof batter; these ingredients are easy to remember because the recipe calls for just one of everything, except for the eggs. You’ll need two of those.
I asked around and learned that 380 Cake, the name I gave it, doesn’t really have a name. It is something virtually every Brazilian homemaker was taught to make in childhood. They grew up with the stuff, loving it because it pairs so well with afternoon tea, and tastes like a churro, but with a fluffy cake-like texture.
The churro flavor is due to covering the baking pan in a thick layer of cinnamon and sugar, before folding in the batter, and popping it into the oven. It’s the first cake recipe I’ve come across, where you risk nothing, opening the oven door for a sneak peek.
The cake is just the right amount of sweet, with cinnamon mingling in its sugar crystals and best served just as it is, no icing required. I like mine sliced into squares, and served with a cup of my favorite piping hot, chamomile & lavender tea.
What will you and your Mom talk about during your afternoon tea? I hope it’s good, and I also hope that the time and money saved in creating this foolproof dessert, shines through in the special gifts you and your mother receive this May.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Use this in good health!
380 Cake Recipe
1 cup milk
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons each, cinnamon and sugar
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 380 degrees. Grease a 13X9 cake pan with butter, and coat the bottom and sides of the pan with cinnamon and sugar. Like this: 
Place the milk, cornmeal, flour, vegetable oil, sugar, baking soda and eggs into a blender. Pulse to combine until you have a thick batter, or until there are no lumps. Like this: 
Place the cake on the top rack of your oven and bake for 15 minutes. Your end result should look like this:
Jorj Morgan is a cookbook author and party planner, with over 30 years in the food business. Her last book: Sunday Best Dishes lit up iPads everywhere! Her next project is for foodies who haunt farmers markets, and expected by early 2017.
