This is the recipe for Bolo-rei. Portuguese King cake is a festive cake part of the Portuguese Christmas and Epiphany tradition. It refers to the three wise men and translates as King’s Cake. If you’d like to know more about it and the traditions surrounding it, please click here.
For an audio demonstration of the method and the ingredients in Portuguese, please watch the videos below. These videos are some of the very first ones I ever made!
The written recipe in Portuguese is after the English one. I hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know how you get on if you try it and/or get a ready-made one, and what you think of it.
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Ingredients
- 750 g de farinha de trigo sem fermento (750 g of unleavened wheat flour)
- 30 g de fermento de padeiro (30 g of baker’s yeast)
- 150 g de margarina vegetal ou manteiga (150 g of vegetable margarine or butter)
- 150 g de açúcar (150 g of sugar)
- 175 g de frutas cristalizadas (175 g of crystallized fruit)
- 250 g de frutos secos pinhões, nozes, passas, avelãs e amêndoas (250 g of nuts, pine nuts, walnuts, raisins, hazelnuts and almonds)
- 4 ovos (4 eggs)
- 1 limão (1 lemon)
- 1 laranja (1 orange)
- 1dl de vinho do Porto (100 ml of Port wine)
- 1dl de elite (100 ml of milk)
- 1 de colher de sopa sal (rasa) (1 tbsp of salt (level))
- 50 g de acúcar em pó (50 g of powdered sugar)
Method
1- Pique as frutas cristalizadas e os frutos secos (reserve algumas inteiras para enfeitar o bolo mais tarde) e ponha o resto a macerar no vinho do Porto. (First, chop the crystallised and dried fruits (reserve some whole to decorate the cake later) and place the rest to macerate in the port wine.)
2- Dissolva o fermento em 1 dl de leite morno e junte uma chávena da farinha. Misture bem e deixe levedar num ambiente morno durante cerca de 15 minutos. (Then, dissolve the yeast in 1 dl (100 ml) of warm milk and add a cup of flour. Mix in well and let it rise in a warm environment for about 15 minutes.)
3- Entretanto, bata a gordura escolhida, o açúcar e junte a raspa das cascas do limão e da laranja. Junte os ovos, um a um, batendo entre cada adição, e depois adicione a massa de fermento. (Meanwhile, cream the chosen fat and sugar and add the lemon and orange peel zest. Add the eggs, one by one, beating between each addition, then add the yeast dough.)
Getting ready to knead
4- Quando tudo estiver bem incorporado, adicione a restante farinha peneirada com o sal. Amassa-se ou bate-se a massa muito bem. Esta massa deve ficar macia e elástica. Se a massa estiver muito rija, junte um pouco de leite tépido. Misture as frutas maceradas, volte a amassar e molde numa bola. (When everything is well incorporated, add the remaining flour, sifted with the salt. Knead or beat the dough very well. This dough should become soft and elastic. If the dough is too stiff, add a little warm milk. Mix in the macerated fruits, knead again and mould into a ball.)
5- Polvilhe a massa com um pouco de farinha, tape com um pano e envolva a tigela com uma toalha. Deixe levedar em ambiente morno durante pelo menos 5 horas ou até duplicar de tamanho. (Then, sprinkle the dough with a little flour, cover with a cloth and wrap the bowl with a towel. Let it rise in a warm environment for at least 5 hours or until it doubles in size.)
After proving
6- Quando a massa estiver bem levedada, molde-a novamente numa bola e coloque numa forma de bolo de anjo untada. Se não tiver uma destas formas, use uma baneja de forno untada e introduza uma tigela (que possa ir ao forno) no buraco para impedir que feche. (When the dough is well leavened, mould it again into a ball and place it in a greased angel cake mould. If you do not have one of these moulds, use a greased oven tray and place an oven-safe bowl into the hole to prevent it from closing.)
7- Nesta altura, tradicionalmente, introduzir-se-iam o brinde enrolado em papel vegetal e a fava. Aconselho a não fazê-lo devido ao risco de asfixia. (At this point, traditionally, you would hide the charm wrapped in baking paper and the fava bean. I advise you not to because it’s a choking hazard. (If you would like to learn more about the tradition, please click here.)
8- Deixe levedar durante mais 1 a 2 horas. (Let it rise for another 1 to 2 hours.)
9- Seguidamente, pincele o bolo com uma gema de ovo batida e enfeite toda a superfície com as restantes frutas cristalizadas e frutos secos. Espalhe o açúcar em pó em 4 montinhos por cima do bolo. (Following this, brush a whisked egg yolk over the cake and decorate the entire surface with the remaining fruits and nuts. Spread the powdered sugar in 4 mounds on the cake.)
10- Pré-aqueça o forno a 180ºC e coza o bolo por cerca de 35 a 45 minutos até dourar. Retire e deixe arrefecer até à temperatura ambiente. Polvilhe mais um pouco de açúcar em pó e sirva. (Preheat the oven to 180ºC and bake the cake for about 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown. Remove and let cool to room temperature. Sprinkle some more powdered sugar and serve.)
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