Gülüt Kek: fluffy corn cake in 25 minutes

Far too little is said about Turkish afternoon tea. Yet cay saati (tea time) is an integral part of Turkish food culture. Yes, you probably know that Turks drink tea like water - there's no other way to put it. After all, a Turkish household empties several teapots a day. So it's only natural that Turkey is the country with the highest per capita consumption of tea in the world. However, tea is not just served on the side throughout the day, but is just as popular at set tea times - and that's when food is needed!

If you are invited to tea in Turkey, the cay saati is rounded off with lots of treats, like

• Cakes and cookies
• Grape leaf rolls and salads
• Börek and pogaca

Today we have a cake for you that is perfect for tea time and is guaranteed to leave you and your guests delighted. We have Gülüt Kek, a corn cake!

What is Gülüt Kek (cake with corn flour)?

Gülüt Kek, or Gülüt cake, is a classic sponge cake made with corn flour. It originally comes from Sivas, a province in central Anatolia. In terms of ingredients, this corn cake is no different from any other sponge cake except for the corn flour. However, we were incredibly delighted. Why?

Actually, we weren't expecting much from this corn cake recipe. We were much more interested in using the cornflour we had started and in including a recipe for the blog at the same time. That's how we came across this Turkish cake recipe, which is not so well known in Turkey. Instead, it is one of the typical yöresel tarifler, or regional recipes. However, the comments and recipe writers always raved about the fluffiness of the cake. The Gülüt cake was said to be "incredibly soft" and "like a piece of cotton" - so let's see.

And indeed: this corn cake recipe is hard to beat in terms of fluffiness! The cake melts in your mouth like a piece of cotton. It is light and fluffy and can be squeezed like a sponge. Our cake with corn flour even makes a sponge sound when you squeeze it! That's why this corn cake recipe has undoubtedly made it into our recipe repertoire. The next time we need to make a cake on the spur of the moment, we'll certainly be making Gülüt Keki again.

Not just delicious: corn cake recipe in 25 minutes 

That's right: this cake with corn flour is not only delicious, but also incredibly quick to make. In theory, you don't even have to get the mixer out. We haven't had a hand mixer for years and usually use a whisk for cakes.

For the corn cake recipe, however, we only used the stirring function and did not separate any eggs etc. Gülüt cake is mixed together in no time at all with the usual ingredients, tipped into a baking tin, sprinkled with walnuts, sesame or poppy seeds and baked until golden brown. It takes a maximum of 25 minutes from the first stir to the finished cake. For this reason, the Turkish cake with corn flour is also great for spontaneous visits at teatime and beyond. 

Another advantage: the recipe is super easy to remember! Because the ingredients are almost always "1 cup". With this in mind, this fluffy corn cake is definitely worth a try.

I promise: You'll be amazed at how such a fluffy result comes out of the simple preparation using common ingredients. 

Some more information about the corn cake recipe and corn flour in Turkish cuisine

All we have to say about the corn cake recipe itself is that it is customary in Turkey to bake with sunflower oil. Butter is rarely used in cakes (see: Turkish chocolate cake (Islak Kek)). For a Turkish cake, the Gülüt Kek is also comparatively less sweet (we repeat: for a Turkish cake!). According to Turkish Wikipedia, the corn cake is therefore eaten regionally like bread. 

When it comes to corn flour, we wanted to give you a little more information that you may not know. Corn flour is a popular ingredient in Turkey. Especially in the Black Sea region, recipes with corn flour are without question part of everyday life. Cornbread is very popular and is often served with fish and meat or simply eaten with yogurt or ayran. Corn flour is also often used for breading anchovies (hamsi) or for frying. Kuymak, a super cheesy pan-fried breakfast from the Black Sea region, or kacamak, a dish made from corn flour, butter and water, are particularly worth mentioning here. 

When we were still living in Austria, we didn't find corn flour in the usual supermarket. Instead, you can always find corn flour (misir unu) in Turkish supermarkets, while you can also buy corn flour online* (it's even Turkish corn flour). However, we recommend that you only buy a small packet, as you are very unlikely to need it very often. 

Now it's time to make the tea and get out the whisk. As they say in Turkish, this recipe is ready by the time the tea has steeped. Afiyet olsun!

Fun fact to smile about: We never "fake" anything in photos... except tea. We don't drink it that often, which is why you can see Coke Zero with water in the photo. That stays between us.

Gülüt Kek recipe: fluffy corn cake in 25 minutes