I first tasted this dessert – originally from the city of Vitoria – when I was living in Bilbao, Basque Country.

I was living close to two of the best bakeries in Bilbao so I was surrounded by the best Basque desserts.

One of my first creations was the Goxua. I remember that in Logroño, capital of La Rioja where I was born, there is a bakery where they used to make delicious Goxuas.

Who can resist the combination of whipped cream, juicy sponge cake and custard cream? And when you add a layer of crunchy Granola, you get a superb Goxua.

Instructions to make Goxua:

1. For the sponge cake: Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Beat the eggs with the electric mixer, add the sugar and continue beating, add the milk and the olive oil
3. In another bowl, sift the flour with the yeast, baking soda, vanilla and salt and add this mixture to the egg mixture, mixing well with a spatula or wooden spoon until it is a homogeneous dough.
4. Grease a mould and line it with baking paper, pour the mixture into the mould and bake for about half an hour or until it comes out dry when you prick it with a fine knife.
5. Once baked, remove and let cool.
6. For the custard cream: Boil the milk with half the sugar, remove it as soon as it comes to the boil and let it cool down a little. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar vigorously with the whisk until it is smooth, add the cornstarch and mix well with the spatula. First add a little milk to loosen it up, mix, then add the remainder of the milk.
7. Put it back on the stove at a low temperature stirring continuously with the hand mixer for at least 20 minutes or until it thickens well.
8. Cover the whole surface of the custard with plastic film. Let it cool down
9. Whip the cream, which should be very cold, with the sugar.
10. Once everything is cooled, proceed to assemble the Goxua. To do this, first place a thick layer of whip cream in the serving bowl.
11. Then add a layer of Granola
12. Cut the sponge cake to about 2 cm thick.
13. To make the sugar syrup, boil the water with the sugar for about 10 minutes, add the Cointreau liqueur and leave to cool a little.
14. Soak the cake in the syrup with the help of a kitchen brush.
15. Spread the custard cream. Keep the Goxua in the fridge for at least a few hours before serving.
16. When serving, sprinkle white sugar all over the surface and burn it with a blowtorch.

Ingredients for 8 servings

• For the syrup:
• 8 tablespoons of water
• 4 tablespoons of sugar
• 4 tablespoons Cointreau or orange liqueur
• For the custard:
• 1/2 litre of whole milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 100 g sugar
• 45 g cornstarch
• For the cake:
• 200 g flour
• 200 ml milk
• 160 ml extra virgin arbequina or empeltre olive oil
• 240 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 g bicarbonate
• 14 g yeast
• Emma’s Granola
• For the cream:
• 1/2 kg cream
• 3 tablespoons of sugar