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Alcoy meat cakes, Mama ía blog

ALCOY MEAT CAKE

Pastel de Carne de Alcoy
Cuisine: Spanish, Valencian
Servings: 22
Author: Natacha Sanz Caballero, Mama Ía blog
Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

For the puff pastry:

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 Lb lard + 3Tbs
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 cups flour

For the filling:

  • 2 Lbs ground pork ideally, twice ground
  • 1/3 Lb lard
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup pinenuts
  • 1 1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon

For the cakes:

  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 Tbs granulated sugar

Instructions

Make the puff pastry:

  • In the bowl of a stand up mixer, beat the sugar with 1/2 Lb lard. Add the egg yolks and beat at medium speed.
  • Next, alternate adding the water and the flour in batches, while continuing to beat, until you obtain an homogenous dough.
  • On a floured surface, roll the dough into a log. Divide the log into 10 equal portions.
  • In a small bowl, melt 3 Tbs lard (I use the microwave, about 30 seconds).
  • Flour the surface again and form a ball with one of the portions. Flatten it with a rolling pin until it becomes very thin and about 12 inches in diameter. Dip a brush in the melted lard and brush the whole surface of the dough disc. Starting on one edge, roll the disk and set aside.
  • Repeat the process with a second portion of dough. Once this second disk is brushed with melted lard, place the roll we had set aside on one edge of the new disc and roll. Set aside.
  • Continue this process with the remaining portions of dough. The final log will be the size of a small baguette or loaf of bread. Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, cover with a kitchen towel and keep in the fridge overnight.

Make the filling:

  • In a medium to large skillet, disolve the sugar in the water over medium heat. Add the ground pork and the lard and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the pinenuts and the cinnamon and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat source and let cool down.

Make the cakes:

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
  • Flour the work surface. Slice the dough into 1/2 inch slices. Working over the floured surface, flatten one of the slices with your fingers, then gently with a rolling pin to obtain a disk of about 5 inches.
  • Place about 2 tablespoons of filling on one half of the disk, fold over the other half and close, pinching with your fingers. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat the process with the remaining dough slices.
  • Mix the sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle the cakes, covering the whole surface. Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden (check at the 15 minute mark)
  • Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool down. Then wrap each cake in a square of tissue paper.
  • To serve, reheat in the oven or in a skillet over low heat.

Notes

  • This recipe makes 20 to 24 cakes depending on the size (mine are pretty irregular, as you can see), so you will need at least 2 or 3 cookie sheets to bake them
  • All ovens are different, so check after 15 minutes of baking
  • I cut 10x10 in squares of tissue paper to wrap each cake
  • The cakes can be frozen by placing them in a freezer bag or plastic container.