Whole Wheat Little Black Cakes Recipe (cara sucias pastries)

I propose you to prepare this Argentine famous pastries, whole wheat little black cakes. A great recipe to make something sweet, easy, delicious and whole grain! Ideal for breakfast, snacks or simply, for those craving days, for something sweet, without complications! Surprise your family with this whole wheat and filling version!

These pastries (facturas), called little black cakes or carasucias, are a classic of confectionery of Argentina. They are characterized by being round, with a flat surface, and are covered by a generous topper of black sanding sugar. This black sugar topper hints at its “cara sucia” (dirty face) name. In addition, it is a type of pastry consumed in other countries such as Spain and Colombia.

Let’s talk a bit about the recipe:

These whole wheat little black cakes are very simple and easy to prepare. It is a recipe that does not have great complications in terms of its preparation. The ingredients to be used are just a few, frequently used and easy to find in any market.

About the ingredients:

At Integralisimo, the whole wheat flour used is 100% organic whole wheat, finely ground (unless it is mentioned). In general, depending on the brand, it can absorb more or less liquid. For this reason I recommend incorporating the liquids gradually. As a result, keep in mind that the lower the volume, the lower the final product.

The type of fat used in this opportunity is sunflower oil. But you can substitute for margarine, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. Even so, depending on what fat is used, it can change its texture and final flavor. Therefore, always keep in mind the type and class of ingredients when preparing a specific recipe.

For the sugar topper that covers these whole wheat little black cakes, there are two options: The first, the classic way, which is to use black sanding sugar, or also called fantasy sugar; The second is to use gold sanding sugar. And so they acquire, consequently, the name of Little Russian Cakes instead of Little Black Cakes.

As it is a sugar topper and to prevent it from caramelizing during baking, it is mixed with a little whole wheat flour. To fix this topper to the little cakes, the dough is previously moistened with water. In this way, it not only helps to fix the sugar to the dough, but also results in a more solid and crispy topper, thus preventing the sugar from coming off the little cakes.

About the dough:

It is a simple dough to prepare, just combine all the ingredients. Should be obtained a dough that achieves flexibility, and the gluten develops with the kneading. Because kneading tightens the dough and this makes it difficult to stretch (retract). Therefore, once its preparation is finished, a correct rest is necessary and thus the dough relaxes.

Once the dough is ready, with a rolling pin, extend it to a thickness of 1 cm. Optionally, once the dough has been stretched, remove the dough from the table by lifting it with the rolling pin, cover with a kitchen cloth and wait a few minutes before cutting the discs. Because when stretching the dough it retracts a little, consequently, it affects the final size of the black cakes.

Therefore, to form the whole wheat little black cakes, you can use a cookie cutter, glass or lid. Then, with a sprinkler or brush, the dough is wetted with water and passed through the mixture of brown sugar and flour. Sugar is only placed on one side of the dough, not completely, as if it were a milanesa.

About cooking:

Finally, baking these whole wheat little black cakes requires very little time. And like any whole grain recipe, if you are punctual, much better. Therefore, it is important to adapt the baking according to the type of oven that is available, because each home has a different oven and with a particular cooking. The baking time ranges between 10-15 minutes approx.