Cuca Italiana

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 0.75 cup warm water
• 2 eggs
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons lard or butter
• 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• fennel seeds
• cinnamon
• cloves
• 1 cup sugar
• 0.5 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons lard or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

Cuca Italiana is a butter-cake enriched with yeast-fermentation, which means you're building both structure and lift in the same dough. The yeast will give you an open, tender crumb; the eggs and fat will keep it moist and rich. Start by whisking together the flour, nutmeg, and salt in one bowl. In another, combine the warm water (around 40°C), sugar, lard or butter (softened), instant yeast, and vanilla essence. Mix these wet ingredients until the yeast dissolves completely — there should be no granules left. Pour the wet mixture into the flour and mix by hand or machine until no dry flour remains, then knead for eight to ten minutes. The dough should come together smoothly and feel slightly sticky to the touch; if it's dry enough to handle without sticking to your palms, you're overtightening it.

Transfer the dough to a greased baking tray — use a 23 cm round cake tin or a rectangular bread tray, depending on your preference for height and crumb structure. Cover loosely with a cloth and let it rise at room temperature for two hours. You're looking for the dough to increase by about half its volume and to feel airy when you press it gently with a finger; the impression should spring back slowly, not immediately.

While the dough proofs, make the faroça topping. Combine the sugar, flour, lard or butter, and vanilla essence in a bowl and rub the mixture between your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs with no streaks of fat remaining. This crumble-topping will bake into a sweet, buttery crust that contrasts with the soft interior. Once the dough has risen, scatter the faroça evenly across the entire surface, pressing gently so it adheres but doesn't compress the dough beneath.

Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 35 to 40 minutes. The cake is done when the crumble topping turns deep golden-brown and the sides pull slightly away from the tray. Tap the base with your knuckles — it should sound hollow. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving. Slice it thick and pair with grape jam or dulce de leche on the side, with strong black coffee. The cake keeps for two days wrapped in greaseproof paper.