Magdalenas de Limón

Method

1. 1
   • egg 3
   • white sugar 200 g

   Whip the eggs to ribbon stage — Beat the eggs and the 170 g of sugar with an electric whisk for a full 5-6 minutes, until the mixture is pale, thick and roughly tripled in volume and a trail of batter sits on the surface for a couple of seconds. This aeration is most of the lift the cakes will get, so do not cut it short.

2. 2
   • olive oil 1¼ dl
   • milk 4 tbsp

   Emulsify the oil and milk — With the whisk on its lowest speed, pour in the olive oil in a thin, steady stream so it emulsifies rather than splits, then the milk. The batter should look glossy and loose.

3. 3
   • wheat flour 200 g
   • baking powder 2 tsp
   • lemon zest 2 tsp
   • ground cinnamon ½ tsp
   • salt 1 pinch

   Fold in flour and lemon — Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt over the bowl, add the lemon zest and fold everything in with a spatula in a few decisive strokes. Stop the moment no dry flour is visible — overworking here gives flat, tough magdalenas.

4. 4

   Chill the batter — Cover the bowl and chill the batter for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Cold, thickened batter is exactly what forces the classic high, cracked dome once it hits a very hot oven.

   ⏱1 hr
5. 5
   • white sugar 200 g
   • baking powder 2 tsp

   Fill and sugar the cases — Heat the oven to 250 °C with a baking tray on the middle shelf. Stand paper cases in a 12-hole muffin tin, fill each one three-quarters full with the cold batter and sprinkle the tops with the extra sugar.

6. 6
   • white sugar 200 g

   Bake for a cracked dome — Slide the tin in and immediately turn the oven down to 210 °C. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the domes have split open, the sugar crust is deep gold and a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before lifting them out.

   ⏱14 min