Montécaos

Years ago ... YEEEEAAARS ago, I called my mother : 
"Mum, I want to make a cake, right now... But I don't have eggs and butter anymore. What can I do ?".
A normal mother would have say :
"Eat your hand and keep the other for tomorrow ! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT TO BAKE WITHOUT EGGS AND BUTTER ??".
But my mother answered :
"Des montecao, ma fille." ("Montecao, girl").

At the beginning, Montecao are little spanish cakes. But a lot a spanish people were living in Algeria, years ago, when Algeria was French. 

The Pieds-noirs (Black feet) learned to bake them and, coming back to France, they took them in their suitcases... 
Just kidding, of course, because, when you'll see how much oil you need, you'll understand it was impossible to take them in a suitcase. 
Or in your neighbor's suitcase, the one you hated for years ! 

Today, in France, a lot of people think it's Arabian cakes because we find them in Arabian cake shop. 

I must warn you ... THIS-IS-NOT-A-LIGHT-CAKE ! 
If you're counting calories, just don't EVEN LOOK at them, you'll gain pound. 
But this is SO easy ! 
The only difficult point is the temperature of the oven and the time cooking. I left them 19 minutes, it was too much. Cooling, they became a little bit hard. But very good the same. 

On sunday, my mother cooked a couscous. I took an oranges salad and some montecao.

Here what you'll need, for 40 montecaos, or so : 

• 1 kg of flour
• 1/2 of sugar
• 1/2 liter of neutral oil (... Yeah baby, no mistake, 1/2 liter ...)
• Some vanilla in pod, better.
• Some cinnamon

Your oven must be preheated 150°C (300°F / Th 5)

Step 1 :
Mix together flour and sugar and the seeds of vanilla pod. Do you remember how to grate them (Step 5) ?

Do you notice the pan's size ?...

Step 2 : 
Pour the oil and with your cute little fingers, stir the mixture. It will become a little bit like a crumble mixture. Not as much, but a little bit. 

Step 3 : 
With a ice spoon, to have regular cakes, make some littles balls. Just don't pack down too much !!

Step 4 : Dredge some cinnamon on the top and in the oven for 16 minutes.

After 16 minutes, let them cold totally. They can seem too soft, but as I said, they will harden. 
In fact, you have to try the good time for those cakes. This is the hardest point. 

Bon appétit ! 

Recapitulative for 40 montecaos, or so : 

• 1 kg of flour
• 1/2 of sugar
• 1/2 liter of neutral oil
• Some vanilla in pod, better
• Some cinnamon.

Your oven must be preheated 150°C (300°F / Th 5).

Mix together flour and sugar and the seeds of vanilla pod. 

Pour the oil and with your cute little fingers, stir the mixture. It will become a little bit like a crumble mixture. Not as much, but a little bit. 

With an ice spoon, to have regular cakes, make some littles balls. 

Dredge some cinnamon on the top and in the oven for 16 minutes.

After 16 minutes, let them cold totally. They can seem too soft, they will harden.