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Authentic Bolo de Mel Recipe
Madeira, Portugal
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We strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
Bolo de mel is the oldest Madeiran cake dating from the 15th century. It is traditionally made on December 8 in large quantities and meant to be eaten for Christmas and then enjoyed throughout the coming year. The key ingredient and the one cake was named after is mel de cana, a local sugarcane molasses responsible for its long shelf life. The cake is made with yeasted dough that is rich in butter, lard, nuts, and mel de cana, bursting with flavors of spices, Madeira wine, and candied citrus peel. The preparation is simple yet time-consuming, mainly because the cake needs a lot of proving time — up to 3 days, depending on the recipe. The top of the cake is typically decorated with a flower motif made with nuts. The interesting thing about bolo de mel is that it’s not cut, but pieces of the cake are torn off by hand.
Pair with
Cooking tips
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madeira wine
Madeira wine is a fortified wine from Madeira, often used in the preparation of bolo de mel. If you don’t have Madeira wine, you can use a tawny port or ruby port instead. -
method
The butter and the lard need to be melted before they are mixed with other ingredients. However, they need to cool down to room temperature before mixing with other ingredients, namely yeast, because if they are too hot, the heat might deactivate the yeast, and the cake will not rise. -
decoration
Bolo de mel is traditionally decorated with nuts, most commonly walnuts and almonds, but macadamia nuts on occasion as well. The nuts are arranged in a pattern reminiscent of a flower. When arranging the nuts on top of the cake, there’s no need to press them into the dough. Because as the dough rises during baking, it will envelop the nuts. -
storage
Since bolo de mel is a cake that can keep for very long, it should be stored until consumption. Traditionally, bolo de mel is wrapped in parchment paper and stored away. And for gifting, tie the paper-wrapped cake with a decorative ribbon.
Bolo de Mel
PREP 1h
COOK 12h
RESTING 3d 0h
READY IN 3d 13h
This is the traditional bolo de mel recipe. Bolo de mel is always made in large quantities, and we do not advise you to scale down the amounts much. Also, if you do not have a large mixer, you can stir the mass with a large wooden spoon first and then mix with your hands.
Ingredients
2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) flour + 500g (1.1 lbs) to coat the dried fruit
1 kg (2.2 lbs) sugar
750g (1.65 lbs) lard
500g (1.1 lbs) butter
25g (1 oz) fennel powder
50g (1.75 oz) cinnamon
10g (⅓ oz) cloves, ground
1 tsp spice mixture
5 tbsp baking soda
250g (8.8 oz) bread dough, store-bought or homemade
1.5 L (3.3 lbs) mel de cana (Madeiran sugarcane honey)
120 ml (1/2 cup) Madeira wine
300g walnuts, roughly ground
300g almonds, roughly ground
300g raisins or sultanas
4 oranges, zest, and juice
Preparation
Step 1/12
Add the lard and the butter to a large pot and warm until melted. Let cool until tepid.
Step 2/12
In a large bowl, add the juice of oranges and the baking soda and stir. Then, dissolve the bread dough in the orange juice mixture — dip the bread into the juice and squeeze it, tearing it apart in the process, then repeat until the bread is nearly dissolved. Now, add the orange zest and the Madeira wine and stir.
Step 3/12
Stir the mel de cana into the melted fats.
Step 4/12
To a very large bowl, add the flour, the sugar, the mixture with the bread dough, and the spices. Then with a mixer that has a paddle attachment, stir until combined. Now, add the mel de cana and fats and mix until combined.
Step 5/12
Then, mix the nuts and the remaining flour, so the nuts are well coated, and add them to the batter and stir.
Step 6/12
Dust the top of the dough with flour, then cover the bowl with layers of cloth and store in a warm place for 2-3 days.
Step 7/12
Prepare 12 round 20cm/8” cake pans. Butter them and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom, if you so desire.
Step 8/12
Then, divide the dough into 12 portions. Put one portion of dough into each pan. Press the dough into the bottom and side of the pan with the knuckles of your hand.
Step 9/12
You can press a few almonds and walnuts into the surface of the cake to make a flower pattern.
Step 10/12
Bake for about an hour in a 180°C/350°F oven.
Step 11/12
Once baked, take out of the pan — if it’s stuck to the sides, you may need to run a knife around it to detach.
Step 12/12
Let cool completely, then wrap in parchment paper to keep for later or serve.
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