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Bebinca

Between seven and sixteen layers, each one baked before the next is poured on.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (ghee).

Ingredients

Method

  1. BETWEEN SEVEN AND SIXTEEN LAYERS, EACH ONE BAKED BEFORE THE NEXT IS POURED ON. Its article gives the count as a property of the cake: baked the older way, A BEBINCA HAS BETWEEN 7 AND 16 LAYERS, and BAKERIES CAN MODIFY THE CAKE RECIPE AS PER CONVENIENCE AND TASTE. That is the whole labour and the whole point -- one batter, poured and baked a dozen times over.
  2. SO THERE IS ONE BATTER AND IT IS MADE ALL AT ONCE. Egg yolks, coconut milk and sugar beaten until the sugar has gone, then the flour and nutmeg sifted in and beaten smooth. It should be thin -- like single cream. A thick batter gives thick layers and you will not get seven of them.
  3. NO WHITES AND NO RAISING AGENT. Ten yolks and nothing else to lift it. The density is correct: its article calls bebinca a layer cake of Indo-Portuguese cuisine and the Queen of Goan desserts, and it is closer to a set custard than to a sponge.
  4. GHEE GOES BETWEEN EVERY LAYER AND NOT INTO THE BATTER. This is what separates the layers. A tablespoon brushed over the hot surface before the next ladleful is poured on.
  5. BAKE THE FIRST LAYER UNTIL IT IS SET AND BROWNED AT THE EDGE. A ladleful in a greased tin, 180C, eight or ten minutes. Browned, not pale -- the colour is what makes the finished slice striped.
  6. THEN GHEE, THEN THE NEXT LADLEFUL, AND BACK IN. Repeat it. Eight layers is two hours of standing by an oven and there is no way to shorten it.
  7. POUR EACH LAYER ONTO A HOT SURFACE, NOT A COOL ONE. Taken out and left to cool between layers, the batter sinks into the one below and the stripe is lost.
  8. COOL IT COMPLETELY IN THE TIN BEFORE TURNING IT OUT. Hours. Cut cold, in thin slices, so the layers show. Its article notes it is eaten particularly at Christmas and keeps for a long time.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes