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 Makes one 30x20 cm tray, 12 squaresHands-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.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat coca de llanda

Coca de llanda in Valencia

Horno de San Bartolome ★ 4.3

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 sweet sponge with cinnamon), long-fermented breads and Valencian pastries.

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 ★ 4.4

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, croissants and weekday pastries.

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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