Quesadilla Salvadoreña

Ingredients

• 200g rice flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 170g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 150g finely grated hard salty cheese such as cotija, queso duro or Parmesan
• 120ml double cream
• 80ml whole milk
• 120g crema or sour cream
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Before you cook

• Take the butter and eggs out of the fridge an hour ahead so they come to room temperature.
• Grate the cheese finely on the small holes of a box grater.
• Separate the eggs into two clean bowls.
• Line a 23cm square tin or a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.
• Sift the rice flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 175C fan.
2. Beat the softened butter and sugar together with an electric whisk for four minutes, until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each so the mixture stays smooth.
4. Beat in the grated cheese until it is evenly distributed through the batter.
5. Whisk in the double cream, milk and crema until the mixture is loose and silky.
6. Fold in the sifted rice flour mixture in three additions, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains.
7. Wash and dry the whisk, then beat the egg whites in the clean bowl to soft peaks.
8. Fold a third of the whites into the batter to slacken it, working with a light hand.
9. Fold in the remaining whites in two more additions, keeping as much air in as you can.
10. Pour the batter into the lined tin and level the top with a spatula.
11. Scatter the sesame seeds evenly across the surface.
12. Bake for forty minutes, until the top is deeply golden and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
13. Leave the cake in its tin on a rack for fifteen minutes.
14. Lift the cake out using the paper and cool for another twenty minutes before cutting into squares.
15. Serve warm or at room temperature with strong black coffee.