Sobaos pasiegos are small, dense-yet-tender butter cakes made from nearly equal weights of butter, sugar, flour and eggs, flavored with lemon zest and a splash of rum. Baked in paper cases with a sugary top, they have a golden crust and a moist, close crumb. Makes 16 pieces in about 1 hr 35 min.
Prep25 min
Cook20 min
Cooling30 min
Total
1 hr 35 min
Yield
16 pieces
Ingredients
Adjust yield
pieces
Scales from a half to a double batch; give a bigger batch a little more time.
1 cup (250 g)unsalted butter, very soft
1 cup (200 g)granulated sugar, for the batter
1 ½ tbsp (30 g)honey
1 pinchfine salt
1 ½ tsp (3 g)lemon zest, finely grated, from 1 lemon
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Set the paper cases on a large baking sheet (or put muffin cups in muffin pans).
Beat the unsalted butter, 200 g granulated sugar, honey, fine salt and lemon zest with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale, fluffy and creamy, about 5 minutes; this long beating, or sobado, gives the cakes their texture.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in the dark rum.
Whisk the all-purpose flour and baking powder together and fold them into the butter mixture with a spatula just until smooth and no dry flour remains.
Divide the batter among the paper cases, filling each about halfway (about 60 g each), and smooth the tops. Sprinkle with the 25 g granulated sugar for finishing.
Bake until well risen, golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes; the flavor and texture are best once fully cool. Serve in their papers.
Tips
Very soft butter and room-temperature eggs make a smooth, emulsified batter; cold eggs can make it curdle.
Fill the cases only halfway; sobaos rise a lot and can spill over.
Good-quality butter is the main flavor here, so use the best you can find.
Good with café con leche or a glass of cold milk.
Made this?
Log it to keep your bakes, ratings and notes together in My Kitchen.
How long does it take to make sobaos pasiegos (cantabrian butter sponge cakes)?
Plan on 25 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 50 minutes to rise and rest. The recipe makes 16 pieces.
How should I store sobaos pasiegos (cantabrian butter sponge cakes)?
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days, or freeze up to 2 months.
Can I make sobaos pasiegos (cantabrian butter sponge cakes) ahead?
It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.
Sobaos come from the Valles Pasiegos of Cantabria, a dairy region, where they are made with plenty of local butter, eggs, sugar and flour, a touch of lemon and rum, and baked in small rectangular paper cases. Serve it with café con leche or a glass of cold milk.
Variations
Bite-size sobaos: fill 40 mini muffin cups with about 24 g (0.8 oz) batter each and bake 10 to 12 minutes.
Orange-zest version: replace the lemon zest with 4 g (2 tsp) finely grated orange zest; times unchanged.
Without rum: replace the rum with 15 ml (1 tbsp) milk and 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract.
Sobao loaf: bake all the batter in a parchment-lined 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan for 50 to 55 minutes.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 16 servings this recipe makes.
249Calories / serving
14.0gFat
27.7gCarbs
3.3gProtein
15.8gSugar
Whole recipe (16 servings):
~3984 cal ·
224g fat ·
443g carbs ·
53g protein ·
253g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
Recipe Rating
0 commentsNo comments yet — be the first to share how this turned out for you.
Leave a comment