Enjoy this age-old Maltese recipe for an octopus sauce that can be served over spaghetti or on its own and contains potatoes, tomatoes, red wine, and a hint of citrus.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground anise seeds
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 cups butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 17 egg yolks
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 5 egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the bottom and sides of a square cake pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the base exactly and grease the paper.
- Sift flour, cinnamon, cloves, anise, and cardamom together into a bowl.
- Beat butter and vanilla extract together in a bowl using an electric mixer until creamy. Cream egg yolks and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar together in another bowl until thick and tripled in volume. Place egg whites in a separate bowl using clean beaters; mix until stiff peaks form.
- Mix the creamed butter with the creamed egg yolk mixture. Slowly fold in the spiced flour, alternating with beaten egg whites. Carefully mix well.
- Pour 1 ladleful of cake batter into the prepared pan. Spread batter evenly into a layer about 1/4-inch thick.
- Bake in the preheated oven until light brown, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven; use a skewer to prick the top of the cake to prevent air bubbles from forming.
- Spread another ladleful of batter on top and bake the new layer for about 5 minutes. Repeat the process and bake each remaining ladle of batter. When done, remove the cake from pan at once. Turn it over, top side up, onto a cooling rack and let cool for at least half an hour.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 559 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 33 g |
| Cholesterol | 446 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 26 g |
| Sodium | 303 mg |
| Sugars | 23 g |
| Fat | 45 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |