Maspen

Name: Maspen
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Seychelles
Ingredients: 180 g plain wheat flour; 120 g softened unsalted butter, plus a little for tin; 90 g fine sugar; 3 medium eggs, about 150 g without shells; 6 g baking powder; 30 ml milk; ½ teaspoon vanilla; A small pinch of salt

Seychellois butter-and-egg cake with fine, slightly dense crumb, eight plain vanilla loaf slices without marzipan.

Ingredients

180 g plain wheat flour
120 g softened unsalted butter, plus a little for tin
90 g fine sugar
3 medium eggs, about 150 g without shells
6 g baking powder
30 ml milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
A small pinch of salt

Preparation

Preheat conventional oven to 170 °C. Lightly butter a roughly 20 × 10 cm loaf tin and line base. Weigh ingredients and combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat butter and 90 g sugar for 4–5 minutes until paler and aerated. Stop and scrape bowl with a clean spatula.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each, then vanilla. If slightly split, add a spoon of already weighed flour rather than extra butter.

Fold remaining flour mixture in two additions alternating with 30 ml milk. Mix only until no dry flour remains, fill and level tin.

Bake 45–50 minutes, checking from 40. Top should be golden and centre skewer free of raw batter. Extend as needed and loosely shield if top browns too fast.

Cool in tin on rack 10 minutes, unmould and cool 30 more before cutting eight slices. Serve plain; jam and icing are separate.