History

Coca de llanda (tray cake) is the Valencian housewife's daily sponge, baked in a flat metal tray (llanda) and eaten with afternoon coffee or hot chocolate. The recipe varies by family; the canonical version uses lemon zest, cinnamon, olive oil and sugar. The cake is sliced into squares and stored in a tin for a week. Horno de San Bartolome has baked the canonical version in central Valencia since the 1920s.

Common allergens: Gluten, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 30Hands-on 15 minTotal 55 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 200ml mild olive oil
  • 200ml whole milk
  • 300g plain flour
  • 1 sachet (16g) baking powder
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Demerara sugar and cinnamon, to top

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 30x20 cm metal baking tray.
  2. Whisk the eggs and caster sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
  3. Whisk in the olive oil and milk.
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder, lemon zest and cinnamon into the mixture; fold gently to combine.
  5. Pour into the prepared tray; smooth the top with a spatula.
  6. Sprinkle the top generously with Demerara sugar and a dusting of cinnamon.
  7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
  8. Cool in the tray, then slice into squares.

Tip from the editors. The cinnamon-sugar top forms a crackly crust; do not skip it. The cake keeps for a week in an airtight tin and gets better on day two.

Where to eat coca de llanda

Coca de llanda in Valencia

Horno de San Bartolome ★ 4.5

Bakery€Mon-Fri 07:30-21:00Walk-in onlyTraditional Valencian pastries

Horno San Bartolome on Carrer del Duc de Calabria in Valencia is master baker Jesus Machi's flagship oven, with the canonical coca de llanda (a tray-baked.

Tip: Cash preferred. The coca de llanda is best eaten same day; pair with a glass of mistela.

Worth the queue: Coca de llanda

Calle Duque de Calabria, 14, 46005 Valencia

Levaduramadre ★ 4.8

Bakery€Mon-Sat 08:00-20:00, Sun 08:30-14:30Walk-in onlySourdough breads and Spanish pastries

Levaduramadre on Carrer de la Pau in Valencia's Ciutat Vella is the flagship Valencia branch of the Madrid sourdough chain, serving wood-fired loaves.

Tip: Walk-in only; the pan de pueblo sells out by noon on Saturday. Open Sunday morning until 14:30.

Worth the queue: Pan de pueblo sourdough loaf

Carrer de la Pau, 1, 46003 Valencia

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