Coca de llanda recipe: Valencian sponge cake

Coca de llanda is a sponge cake, not a dough coca like the savoury ones. Fluffy inside, with a crunchy layer of sugar on top, it is baked in a tray and cut into squares. It is a classic of Valencian breakfast and afternoon snacks, and one of the easiest to make: beat, mix and bake.

One recipe, not two mixed together

There are many coca de llanda recipes and they don’t agree. For this recipe we follow just one: the one published by Gastronosfera, from the bakery La Tahona del Abuelo. According to that source, it has six eggs, half a kilo of sugar, 250 ml of milk, 250 ml of olive oil, half a kilo of plain flour and a 25 g sachet of gaseosa. All the quantities in the recipe are theirs.

The second open recipe we looked at, El Español Valencia’s, has other proportions: less egg and less sugar, and raising agent in sachets with no weight given. It can’t be used to complete the first, and mixing them would give a batter that neither of the two supports. That is why we take no figures from it.

Mind the proportion: this recipe has half a kilo of sugar for half a kilo of flour, so it comes out a very sweet sponge. If you prefer it lighter, follow El Español’s recipe in full, not a mix of the two.

The tin and the trick of not filling it

The llanda is the rectangular tin in which it is baked. Gastronosfera gives a usual size of about 20 × 30 cm and about 5 cm deep. The base is lined with baking paper, and the rule most worth respecting is not to fill it to the top: the batter rises quite a lot in the oven and spills over.

If you don’t have a llanda, a tray or a rectangular tin of similar size will do, although the thickness changes and you would have to watch the baking.

Beat, mix and the oil at the end

The order matters. First, eggs and sugar until the mixture turns pale. Then go the milk, the flour and the gaseosa. The oil goes in last, little by little, when the batter already has body, until it is smooth.

The source’s tips are few and useful: whole milk, for better flavour; grated lemon zest, to lift it; a high beating speed, for a fluffier mixture. The milk can be swapped for orange juice or water.

The sugar on top and the rest

Before baking, sugar is sprinkled generously over the top. In the oven it forms a layer that cracks and turns crunchy, and that is the first thing you see and the thing you most remember about this coca. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 °C, with the oven preheated for about 10, and check with a cocktail stick: it should come out clean. Leave it to rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting, so the crumb settles.

A sponge with several names

In Valencia it is called coca de llanda; in Alicante, coca boba or coca secreta; in Castellón, coca mal feta or coca de mida. El Español presents it as one of the staples of Valencian breakfast and afternoon snacks, and as an ideal sponge for any time of day, without tying it to a particular fiesta. That is why we don’t tie it to one here either.

If you like fiesta baking, in the recipe book you have the mona de Pascua, the pumpkin fritters and the fartons, which are more of a summer thing. And if you are after a savoury coca, see the coca de mollitas.

For many guests

One llanda is enough for an afternoon snack; for a group you have to bake several. If there are lots of you, we cook for groups with set-up and bar: see cooking and bar for fiestas.