My grandma's Gateau Paulette

Name: My grandma's Gateau Paulette
Total time: 3600 s
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 200 g plain flour; 200 g sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 3 eggs; 100 g butter, melted; 100 ml milk (approx)

Malou Herkes @malouherkes

London

A couple of years ago, my grandad found my French grandma's recipe for Gateau Paulette. Before she died, she baked it so often we began naming the cake after her.

She’d serve it with tea, coffee, sometimes bowls of hot chocolate, cutting it open to reveal the sweet yellow sponge beneath. We never knew how to make it ourselves.

The recipe my grandad found was less of a recipe and more a list of ingredients, intended I guess for nobody else but her.

When grandpapa gave it to us, me and mum picked it apart, reaching back, sticking together bits of memory, trying to remember how exactly she’d have folded in the eggs, the temperature of the oven. Garniture 100g? We don’t recall a topping. It had been 15-20 years since we'd tasted it.

Finally, cake baked, we sliced it open. It tasted just like hers. At least how I remember it 2 decades later.

This is why I #ChooseToCook 💚

A couple of years ago, my grandad found my French grandma's recipe for Gateau Paulette. Before she died, she baked it so often we began naming the cake after her.

She’d serve it with tea, coffee, sometimes bowls of hot chocolate, cutting it open to reveal the sweet yellow sponge beneath. We never knew how to make it ourselves.

The recipe my grandad found was less of a recipe and more a list of ingredients, intended I guess for nobody else but her.

Finally, cake baked, we sliced it open. It tasted just like hers. At least how I remember it 2 decades later.

This is why I #ChooseToCook 💚

Malou Herkes @malouherkes

London

A couple of years ago, my grandad found my French grandma's recipe for Gateau Paulette. Before she died, she baked it so often we began naming the cake after her.

She’d serve it with tea, coffee, sometimes bowls of hot chocolate, cutting it open to reveal the sweet yellow sponge beneath. We never knew how to make it ourselves.

The recipe my grandad found was less of a recipe and more a list of ingredients, intended I guess for nobody else but her.

Finally, cake baked, we sliced it open. It tasted just like hers. At least how I remember it 2 decades later.

This is why I #ChooseToCook 💚

A couple of years ago, my grandad found my French grandma's recipe for Gateau Paulette. Before she died, she baked it so often we began naming the cake after her.

She’d serve it with tea, coffee, sometimes bowls of hot chocolate, cutting it open to reveal the sweet yellow sponge beneath. We never knew how to make it ourselves.

The recipe my grandad found was less of a recipe and more a list of ingredients, intended I guess for nobody else but her.

Finally, cake baked, we sliced it open. It tasted just like hers. At least how I remember it 2 decades later.

This is why I #ChooseToCook 💚

Saved

Ingredients

1 hour

8 servings

200 gplain flour
200 gsugar
1 tspbaking powder
3eggs
100 gbutter, melted
100 mlmilk (approx)

Saved

Steps

1 hour

1

Preheat the oven to 180C. Gather your ingredients.
2

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3

Separate the egg yolks and whites into 2 clean bowls.
4

Beat the yolks and beat into the flour along with melted butter.
5

Gradually add a little milk at a time, beating until you get a smooth batter.
You may need slightly more or less milk.
6

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. You'll know its ready when you can tip the bowl over your head with no danger of egg falling on you!
7

With a metal spoon, carefully fold in the egg white so it is incorporated. Careful you don't overmix it, you want to keep the air in the batter so it's nice and light.
8

Pour into a greased and floured loaf tin.
Use a spatula to get every last bit - just as my Gran would have done!
9

Bake for 30 mins until golden and risen, and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
If it browns too quickly, cover with tin foil.
10

Serve (the french way) with bowls of milky coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

Saved

Cooksnaps

Saved

Malou Herkes @malouherkes

on October 13, 2022 13:03

London

A passionate home-cook, food writer and lover of leftovers. Inspired by forgotten, frugal dishes. Writing at: https://theforgottenpantry.substack.com/