RECIPE - Apple Coffee Cake (Cuca de Maçã)

This recipe for a crumble-topped, apple-flavored cake is probably not all that different from the one that readers of Flavors of Brazil have in their cooking repertoire, but it is an authentically Brazilian one - one that highlights the German contribution to the cake known in Brazil as cuca.

Cucas are customer favorites in the many Teutonic-style coffee shops in the mountainous regions of Southern Brazil. Apples are extensively cultivated in these regions, so flavoring the cake with spiced apples makes good culinary sense. It also makes for a delicious cake.
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RECIPE - Apple Coffee Cake (Cuca de Maçã)

cake mix:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 whole eggs, separated
1/2 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 ripe cooking apples

crumbled topping:
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
fresh lemon juice
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Prepare the topping:
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, then using a pastry blender or two knives, mix everything together, cutting up the cubes of butter and distributing them through the mixture. Reserve in the refrigerator.

Prepare the cake mix:
Core and peel the apples, then cut them into thin slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Reserve.

Beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Reserve.

Combine the egg yolks, sugar and butter, then beat with a hand or electric mixture until you have a homogenous, creamy mixture. Beat in the milk, then the flour in 1/2 cup batches. Mix in the baking powder, then fold in the egg whites, being careful not to overmix.

Pour the batter into a 12 inch round cake pan, greased with butter and dusted with flour. Top with the apple slices, coving the entire surface of the batter. Finally, sprinkle the pre-mixed topping mixture over the surface, covering it completely.

Bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the topping is golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, cool in the pan on a wire rack.

The Brazilianization of a German Cake - Kuchen into Cuca

The Portuguese word cuca (at least the culinary meaning of the word) is a direct derivation from the German word kuchen, meaning cake. The word is much used in the southern states of Brazil, where large numbers of German immigrants settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and where German culture flourishes to this day. Among the most transportable of cultural elements, food traditions and recipes from Germany can be easily found in Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, the three states that constitute Brazil's southern region.

Cuca in Portuguese does not refer to all cakes - there's another word, bolo, to serve that purpose. A cuca is a specific kind of cake - the cake that North Americans call a coffee cake. Often containing fresh or preserved fruits, or alternatively, spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves, cucas are not frosted. Instead they are topped by a crumbly mixture of flour, sugar and butter.

Cucas are most often flavored with apples and bananas, two fruits that grow particularly well in the climate of southern Brazil, though recipes for cuca exist that call for many other types of fruits - particularly fruits of the temperate zone, within which the south of Brazil lies.

Brazilians eat cuca as part of a breakfast buffet, or as a mid-morning or late-afternoon pick-me up with coffee. It's less likely to show up as a dessert, though that's not unheard of. For the millions of Brazilians who don't live in the south, a cuca is an entirely Brazilian conception and few of them would be able to spot its German origins. In areas where temperate zone fruits can't survive, apples or cherries are likely to be replaced by mangoes or cajus, making the treat more Brazilian and less German. But at heart, a cuca is still the same homey cake that is was in its European homeland, back it's still called a kuchen. In Germany a warm kuchen served with coffee at the kitchen table is a symbol of gemütlichkeit, in the USA or Canada a coffee cake served the same way symbolizes coziness, and in Brazil, a slice of cuca means aconchego. Whatever you call it, it still symbolizes the human warmth of the family kitchen and it still tastes just as great.

RECIPE - Orange Cake (Bolo de Laranja)

The Brazilian repertory of cake recipes is large and there's no question that Brazilians have a serious ongoing love affair with, as the dictionary defines it, "a sweet, baked, breadlike food, made with or without shortening, and usually containing flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, eggs, and liquid flavoring. " Brazilians eat cake for breakfast - some people every day; others only on special occasions or when breakfasting at a hotel or resort . They eat cake as a sweet pick-me-up at various times during the day. They also eat it as dessert, though less frequently then.

What distinguishes the majority of Brazilian cakes from those found in North America or Europe is that Brazilian cakes are generally not frosted (with the notable exception of party cakes such as birthday cake). There's something about the texture and sweetness of frosting that really doesn't suit Brazil's hot climate. Even if the frosting doesn't melt, it really doesn't appeal.

Instead of frosting a cake, Brazilian cooks often prefer to make a fruit-based syrup and then, when the cake is fresh out of the oven, pour that syrup over the cake. The syrup soaks into the cake and infuses it with the heady flavor and aroma of fresh fruit, turning what is basically sweet bread into something marvelous. Brazilians employ this technique using a variety of fruits and are especially fond of using acidic fruits, like citrus fruits and passion fruit, as the base for the syrup. The acidity in the syrup balances its sweetness and prevents the syrup from cloying.

This recipe is for orange cake, one of the most popular of the fruit-syrup cakes in Brazil. It's perfect served with tea or coffee mid-morning or mid-afternoon, and makes a great dessert topped with a dollop of whipped cream or a ball of best-quality vanilla ice cream. The recipe is from Brazilian food website Panelinha, translated and adapted by Flavors of Brazil.
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RECIPE - Orange Cake (Bolo de Laranja)

For the cake:
2 medium oranges
1 cup neutral vegetable oil (canola preferred)
2 whole eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated white sugar
2 tsp baking powder

For the syrup:
juice of one large orange
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
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Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Generously grease a rectangular, tube or Bundt cake pan with unsalted butter, then dust with flour.

With a paring knife, peel the oranges, then cut the segments open and cut out the flesh. Discard the peel and the papery covering of the segments. Put the orange segments in a blender along with the oil and the two eggs and blend until you have a completely homogenous mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the sugar and the baking powder. Add the liquid from the blender slowly, stirring in with a wooden or plastic spoon, making sure to break up any lumps. When all the liquid is added, continue stirring until the mixture is homogenous.

Pour the batter from the mixing bowl into the prepared cake pan, and carefully place in the middle of the preheated oven. Cook for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and place it, still in the pan, for about 30 minutes to cool.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Combine the orange juice and sugar in a small pan, heat over high heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar completely. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and reserve.

When the cake is cooled, turn it out, reversing it, onto a platter with a raised edge. Using a fork, pierce the surface in many places to aid in the absorption of the syrup. Slowly pour the syrup over the cake, letting it soak in as you pour. Don't let the syrup pool on the platter.

Serve the cake immediately, or let stand, covered for up to 24 hours, prior to serving.

"Rotten Cake" - A Terrible Name for a Terrific Dish

When Flavors of Brazil was in Belém, Pará recently, one of the best things about our hotel's marvelous breakfast buffet was something with the very unappetizing name bolo podre. The name means "rotten cake" in Portuguese but fortunately the dish was far from rotten, and not all that close to what we'd call a cake. Serving cake for breakfast might itself seem a strange practice to some people, but there's nothing unusual about it in Brazil. Hotel or resort buffet breakfasts always have a selection of cakes from which to choose, and even at home there might be a some slices of unfrosted caked on offer for the family.

We tried bolo podre the first morning we were at the hotel, mostly out of curiousity's sake and just because the name was so weird. It turned out to be absolutely wonderful, and by the time we left the hotel a few days later the dining room staff would greet us each morning saying "bolo podre" with a knowing smile.

The bolo podre we ate in Belém was more of what we'd call a pudding than a cake. In fact, we'd call it tapioca pudding. Bolo podre, as it's eaten in Belém, consists of small pearls of manioc flour (what's sold in North America as tapioca) combined with grated fresh coconut, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, milk and sugar. The mixture is pressed into a tube-shaped cake pan and then refrigerated until the manioc flour has absorbed enough of the liquid that the "cake" can be unmolded and cut into slices for serving. The result is creamy, sweet and rich, much like rice pudding, with the unmistakeable flavor of coconut.

In preparing for this blog post, we did some Internet research on bolo podre, and it turns out that although the name itself is a heritage of Portuguese culinary traditions, the dish itself doesn't resemble its Portuguese namesake at all. Traditional Portuguese bolo podre is a rich spice cake, sweetened with honey and moistened with generous amounts of vegetable oil and 8 whole eggs! It is spiced and flavored with powdered cinnamon.

The connection between the Portuguese spice cake and the Amazonian tapioca cake-that's-not-a-cake is a mystery. But for us, an even greater mystery is why either one of these treats would be burdened with the utterly unappealing name "rotten cake."

RECIPE - Diamantina Rice Cake (Bolo de Arroz)

Diamantina, in the state of Minas Gerais, is rightly known as a tourist "gem" - not just because of the vast quantity of diamonds and other gems that were extracted from the hills which surround it, but because of its well-preserved historical center and its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Part of the town's charm comes as well from its gastronomic riches - Diamantina has preserved its culinary traditions as well as it has its architectural, musical and religious ones.

One of Diamantina's true gems is a woman named Zenília Rosália da Silva Rocha. Her story is told on the Brazilian gastronomic-tourism website Sabores de Minas, and although she isn't a professional cook, doesn't have a restaurant or even work in one, the one dish she is known for - a rice-flour cake - has made her famous, and beloved, in Diamantina and beyond.

Her is her story from the site, translated by Flavors of Brazil:

The ringing of church bells announces another religious festival in Diamantina. At the same hour, Zenília Rosália da Silva Rocha's oven advises her, "the rice cake is done." In Diamantina during the Festival of the Divine and the Festival of Our Lady of the Rosary, in July and October respectively, Dona Zenília has a mission: to make a thousand pieces of rice cake for each celebration. And to accomplish that, her marathon begins early. "I spend from 7 am to 8 pm making these treats", she says. And so, when the bells announce the beginning of the festival, she is ready to distribute her delicious sweets to all the festivals' celebrants. "It's a tradition. I've been doing it for 18 years. My grandparents did the same thing, and passed on the recipe to my mother, who taught me," she explains. The cake is a type of blessing she bestows on those who participate in the religious celebrations. "If there was no rice cake, the festivals just wouldn't be the same," she says. Golden in color due to the presence of squash, the pieces of cake she distributes are fluffy, moist and with a light flavor.  This light goodness is real sustenance for the pilgrims, as during the festival they must climb the steep, narrow streets and staircases of the city. It doesn't do to lose one's breath, and Dona Zenília's cake is a guarantee of strength for the thousands who walk in procession during the festivities. Her cake is a blessing for the pilgrim as well as a treat for their palates.

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RECIPE - Diamantina Rice Cake (Bolo de Arroz)
Makes one tube-pan cake

3 cups raw long-grain white rice
3 cups cooked long-grain white rice, cooled
2 cups granulated white sugar
6 whole eggs
one medium acorn squash, or equivalent amount of any other winter squash, cooked and mashed
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup neutral vegetable oil
1/2 lb grated pizza-type mozzarella
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups (1/2 liter) milk
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Grease and dust with flour a tube-shaped cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

In a small saucepan, heat the butter in the oil. Only heat until the butter melts, then remove from heat, cool and reserve.

In a food processor, process the raw rice until it is finely ground. Reserve.

In the bowl of a KitchenAid-type mixer, beat together the ground rice, the cooked rice, the eggs, the mashed squash. Alternatively use a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl. When you have a homogenous mixture, slowly add the butter and oil mixture. Then slowly add the milk while continuing to beat the mixture until you reach a cake-batter consistency.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, place in the preheated oven and cook for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a cake rack, then unmold and cut into small single-serving pieces.

RECIPE - Mango Upside-down Cake (Bolo Invertido de Manga)

Pineapple upside-down cake is such a classic family dessert that many of us think it's been around forever. However, it really only goes back to the first decade of the twentieth century, because that's when a certain Mr. Jim Dole of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now Dole) perfected a way to can pineapple rings. And it was those rings that enabled American housewives, even in the middle of a Midwestern winter, to serve up a tropical dessert like pineapple upside down cake.

The idea of putting fruit at the bottom of a cake and then inverting it to serve is much older than pineapple upside down cake. The technique goes back as far as the Middle Ages in Europe, and the fruits most commonly used there were apples, cherries and quinces.

Perhaps it was Portuguese colonists who carried the idea of an upside down cake to Brazil, or maybe it was the unrepentant Confederates who fled to Brazil at the end of the American Civil Way - who knows? In any case, this style of cake is popular in Brazil and in this country it's most often made not with pineapples (even though pineapples grow in abundance in Brazil) but rather with mangoes.

Now that mangoes are generally available in North American grocery stores, try a switch-up when you next make an upside down cake. Make it Brazilian and make it mangoes.
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RECIPE - Mango Upside-down Cake (Bolo Invertido de Manga)


Fruit base:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 medium to large mangoes - Haden preferred


Batter:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
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Melt the 2 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan, then pour into a 8 inch (20 cm) round non-stick cake pan. Tilt the pan to cover the bottom of the pan with melted butter, then sprinkle over the brown sugar, tilting and tapping the pan to cover the bottom with sugar.

Peel the mangoes and separate the flesh from the pit. Slice the flesh, and arrange the slices on the bottom of the prepared cake pan, covering as much of the surface as possible. Reserve.

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the three eggs and beat with cake mixer or a wooden spoon. Add the flour by 1/4 cup increments, continuing to beat or mix. Finally add the baking powder.

Pour the batter gently over the prepared cake pan, taking care not to disturb the mango slices. Put in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the pan on a wire rack until the cake is merely warm, then invert over a decorative serving plate.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe translated and adapted from Mdemulher website.

The History of Sugar in Brazil - Part 2

(This is the second of two parts of an article on the history of sugar and pastry cooking in Brazil. The article was originally published in Brazilian food and wine magazine Prazeres da Mesa, and the first part of my (somewhat free) translation was posted two days ago on Flavors of Brazil. You can find the beginning of the article by clicking here.)


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Sugar From The Beginning - continued

by Bruno Albertim

Another triumph of  regional pastry cooking, the Souza Leão Cake (Bolo Souza Leão) is considered a milestone in the independence of Brazilian regional cooking. Created on the sugar-cane plantation belonging to the eponymous family, it was almost a culinary independence manifesto. For the first time native manioc substituted for white flour in a typically aristocratic European recipe. A deliberate gesture of brazilianization.

The other ingredients in a Souza Leão Cake demonstrate the colonial excesses in a region rich in sugar. "Between one recipe (for Souza Leão Cake) and another the quantity of the ingredients required varies drastically," says Pernambucan gastronomic critic Flávia de Gusmão .  In her opinion, every branch of the Souza Leão family recreated and reinvented the cake that was created by family matriarch Rita de Souza Leão. Whereas one recipe tells you to add a kilogram of butter another will say only 450 grams (one pound). If this one mentions 12 egg yolks, that one talks of 15. When the first one calls for the the milk of seven coconuts, the second calls for only four. These numbers become so confusing that you'd have to say that Souza Leão Cake is not a recipe, it is a family of recipes. "One thing, however, is unanimous. This hybrid sweet, a mixture of cake and pudding is one of the most treasured chapters in the history of Pernambucan cooking," says Flávia de Gusmão.

Even more recent traditions bear the weight of the past. Pernambuco is the only state in all of Brazil where a properly-celebrated wedding requires the presence of a dark cake. "Normally it's made with a dark batter laced with wine and including prunes, raisins and crystalized fruits, a British tradition that was carried to only a very few places in Brazil. It's covered with an almond paste and re-covered with white frosting, a rembrance of Victoria British cooking," points out culinary historian Maria Lectícia Monteiro Cavalcanti, author of História dos Sabores Pernambucanos. In the rest of Brazil, wedding cakes are very different. In the south, wedding cakes and white with a variety of fillings, a tradition that comes from Portugal.

The Pernambucan dark wedding fruit-cake became traditional only about the turn of the 20th century, when British engineers arrived in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, to install streetlights, tramways and other engineering wonders. In proper Pernambucan weddings today, there must also be marzipan-stuffed prunes, although these are not restricted to ceremonial occasions and can be found in delicatessen display cases and on restaurant menus.

Closely linked the the historic elite class, sugar became the "sponsor" of an entire spectrum of sweetmeats. Various desserts are named in honor of aristocratic families - the Souza Leãos are merely one of many. "As a result of so much wealth from sugar cultivation, an aristocratic class developed in Pernambuco, one that Tobias Barreto called a 'sugarocracy'", comments Maria Lectícia Monteiro Cavalcanti. Consequently, prestige recipes were developed, culinary symbols of a family's wealth and social standing. "In some cases, recipes were created to commemorate social movements - the 13th of May, Cabano,  or Guararapes - or to famous persons, such as Dr. Constâncio, Dona Dondon, Dr. Gerônimo, Luiz Felipe, Tia Sinhá. Or, even, families would create their own recipes to honor themselves - Assis Brasil, Cavalcanti," says Lectícia.

RECIPE - Hellmann's Savory Blender Cake (Bolo Salgado do Liquidificator)

Don't try this at home!

Sorry, but we couldn't resist posting this recipe which we came across when searching the Internet for Brazilian recipes that call for mayonnaise. Yesterday's post about the Brazilian expression "travelling in mayonnaise" got us thinking about mayonnaise in Brazil and how it's used, which in turn led us to this truly awful-sounding recipe.

The recipe come from Hellmann's Brazilian website. Brazil does have Hellmann's mayonnaise just like most of the rest of the world, and it is one of the better brands, so Flavors of Brazil really isn't slagging Hellmann's product so much as their ideas for how to use it. Even the name they've chosen is really unappetizing either in English or in Portuguese, where it literally means "salty cake of the blender". The recipe doesn't have much Brazilian about it except for the fact that it includes ground Brazil nuts (castanha-do-pará). Do you imagine some Betty Crocker-type in Hellmann's research kitchen said "Let's thrown in some Brazil nuts. That'll make it Brazilian!"? Nor does the recipe include mayonnaise - but I guess when you search Google for mayonnaise recipes, they'll toss anything with the word Hellmann's your way. For Google, just like for us, Hellmann's is just a synonym for mayonnaise.

Who knows, this cake might actually be delicious. We don't know, and we're not going to spend time and money to find out. On the off chance that any of Flavors of Brazil's readers actually make the recipe, please do let us know how it turned out. We'd like to be proven wrong.
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RECIPE - Hellmann's Savory Blender Cake (Bolo Salgado do Liquidificator)

Filling:
1 Tbsp neutral vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb (500 gr) smoked turkey breat, deli-style, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

Batter:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup neutral vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup ketchup (Hellmann's, of course)
1 tsp salt
1cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup ground Brazil nuts
1 Tbsp baking powder
Additional vegetable oil for greasing the cake pan
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Prepare the filling:  In a medium pan, heat the vegetable oil, then fry the chopped onion until it just begins to brown. Add the cubed smoked turkey and let cook for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add the chopped cilantro, and let cool completely. Reserve.

Prepare the batter: Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease a rectangular cake pan (8x12 inches, 19x31 cm) and reserve.

In a blender, combine the milk, the oil, the eggs, the ketchup and the salt. Blend at high speed for one minute. Add the whole-wheat flour and the ground Brazil nuts, then blend at medium speed for three minutes. Add the baking powder and blend at low speed for one minute.

Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the pre-greased cake pan. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface, then carefully pour the rest of the batter over the filling. Place on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

When only warm, cut into squares, remove from the pan and serve.

Note: This cake can also be made into muffins, using a muffin tin and adjusting cooking time.

RECIPE - Kosher Clove and Cinnamon Cake (Bolo Cravo e Canela)

This recipe for a marvelously-delicious orange cake, spiced with clove and cinnamon, comes to Flavors of Brazil from Koshermap Brasil, a São Paulo blog-guide to all things kosher (kasher in Portuguese). São Paulo is home to the largest Jewish community in Brazil and the second largest such community in South America, yielding in size only to Buenos Aires. Brazil has been the destination of choice for many Jewish immigrants throughout the centuries. The oldest synagogue in the Americas, Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel, is located in Recife, Brazil, and was founded during the Dutch occupation of that city between 1630-1657.

The recipe clearly derives from northern European spice cakes, and it probably came to Brazil in the memory of immigrants. Although the earlist Jewish settlers in Brazil were Sephardic, principally from Portugal, the present-day Jewish community in Brazil is mostly Ashkenazi of Polish and German descent. This cake would taste familiar to Jewish families of similar descent almost anywhere in the world.

The blog specifies that this cake is traditionally made to celebrate the Jewish holiday Shavuot. However, it's a perfect coffee-break, afternoon-tea-party cake anytime of the year.

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RECIPE - Kosher Clove and Cinnamon Cake (Bolo Cravo e Canela)

5 large free-range eggs, separated
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp ground cloves
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 oranges, squeezed
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup neutral vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose or cake flour
grated orange peel (optional)
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Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Generously grease a cake pan (tube or bundt pan preferred) and dust with flour.

Using a manual or electric cake mixer, beat the eggs whites and sugar together in a glass or copper bowl until the whites form soft peaks. With the mixer at lowest speed, add first the egg yolks, one at a time, then the cloves and cinnamon, the orange juice, the baking powder, the oil and finally the flour, a bit at a time.

When completely mixed, pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpic inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack. When completely cool, unmold the cake. If desired, sprinkle a bit of the grated orange peel on top to decorate before serving.

RECIPE - Carrot Cake with Coconut Oil and Gianduia (Bolo de cenoura com óleo de coco e gianduia)

When we were doing research for the previous post on Flavors of Brazil, about virgin coconut oil, we came across a recipe on a Brazilian food blog called Sabor Saudade for an amazing sounding carrot cake made with coconut oil and marbled with the Italian hazelnut-enriched chocolate known as gianduia. If you're familiar with the Italian chocolate spread called Nutella, you'll know what the taste of  is all about, though industrially-produced Nutella is far inferior to good quality  gianduia. The recipe on the blog was accompanied with mouth-watering photographs, a couple of which we've included on this post.

As discussed in the last post, if you're contemplating purchasing coconut oil, be sure to buy only virgin oil. We've even seen coconut oil labeled extra virgin, though we're not sure what differentiates garden-variety virgin from extra-virgin. In any case, do not buy processed or hydrogenated coconut oil - it is very high in saturated fats and trans fats.
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RECIPE - Carrot Cake with Coconut Oil and Gianduia (Bolo de cenoura com óleo de coco e gianduia)

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
3 medium whole eggs
2/3 cup (200 ml) unrefined white sugar
1/2 cup (250 ml) all-purpose white flour
1/3 cup (100 ml) virgin coconut oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp gianduia paste
pinch of salt
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Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Grease a tube cake pan (or Bundt pan, reserve.

In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients with the exception of the gianduia. Blend or process until you have a homogenous batter, thoroughly mixed. Pour the batter into the greased cake pan.

Spoon the gianduia paste onto the top of the cake batter, in spoonsful of about one Tbsp each. With a rubber spatula, fold the gianduia into the batter, but do not over-mix. You want pockets of melted gianduia in the cake when you serve it.

Place the cake pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan, then reverse the cake onto a cake platter. Let cool completely before serving.

RECIPE - Passion Fruit Cake (Bolo de Maracujá)

One of our habits here at Flavors of Brazil is to search out a thematically suitable recipe for publishing the day after we have an article about a particular Brazilian food, be it fish, fowl or fruit. If we run a piece about a fish called robalo (snook in English), we're likely to follow that with a robalo recipe the next day. Or if we track down an exotic fruit from the Amazon or the Pantanal and feature it in a posting, the next post often will have a recipe based on that fruit.

The most recent posting on this blog was about three very exotic Brazilian foods - endangered heritage foods that have been catalogued for preservation in the Slow Food Ark of Taste. These three food, which include a flour made from sun-dried river fish, a smelly but delicious fruit from a hardwood tree, and a wild variety of the commonly cultivated passion fruit (maracujá). Recipes for the first two of these heritage foods are thin on the ground and a bit of internet searching came up with almost nothing in the way of recipes. Besides which, even if we did publish a recipe almost none of the readers of this blog would have the slightest chance of sourcing the main ingredient.

The wild passion fruit known as maracujá da Caatinga, though, is not entirely unlike cultivated and commercialized passion fruits, even if it is more highly perfumed and densely flavored. So we've decided to feature a common Brazilian recipe for a simple cake soaked in a passion fruit syrup. In the extremely unlikely circumstance that you have an available supply of maracujá da Caatinga please use it (and let us know the results.) Otherwise use whatever fresh passion fruit is available to you, or in a pinch, even canned or frozen passion fruit pulp.
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RECIPE - Passion Fruit Cake (Bolo de Maracujá)

cake:
4 whole eggs, separated
2 cups granulated white sugar
2 cups cake flour
1 cup passion fruit juice
2 heaping Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp baking powder

syrup:
2 fresh passion fruits (3 if small)
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup water
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Make the cake:
 Preheat oven to 350F (180C).

In a medium mixing bowl combine the egg yolks, the sugar and butter and beat with hand mixer or cake mixer until light and fluffy. Reserve. In another bowl, preferably copper, beat the egg whites to soft peak stage. Reserve.

Alternatively add small quantities of  passion fruit juice and flour to the creamed sugar/butter mixture, mixing each in thoroughly before proceeding. When completely added in, fold the egg whites in gently - do not overmix.

Pour the batter into greased and floured tube pan, bundt pan or springform cake pan. Place in preheated oven and cook for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Make the syrup:
While the cake in baking, combine the passion fruit pulp (seeds included), the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring rapidly to a boil, reduce heat slightly and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the liquid has cooked down and you have a this syrup. Remove from heat and reserve.

Completing the cake:
As soon as the cake is done, remove it from the oven. Using a metal or bamboo skewer poke holes in the surface of the cake. Pour the syrup over while the cake is still hot so that is will penetrate the holes and soak into the cake. Let the cake cool completely before removing from the cake pan.

RECIPE - Orange Cake (Bolo de Laranja)

Surprisingly, one way in which many Brazilians enjoy the sharp and invigorating taste of orange in the morning is in the form of a cake. Cakes are rarely thought of as breakfast food in most cultures, but they have established a place at the breakfast table in Brazil. Even a simple eat-at-home, everyday breakfast (café da manhã in Portuguese) often includes a piece or two of cake along with the usual fruit, bread and butter. In restaurants and hotels, where a large breakfast buffet is the norm, there are always a number of cakes on offer, and my own anecdotal research indicates that Brazilians readily avail themselves of this bounty.


Most of the cakes eaten at breakfast are unfrosted (but not all of them) and fall into the category of what we might call pound cakes. At times, this simple loaf cake is made from only flour, sugar, butter or oil and eggs, but at other times, additional flavoring ingredients are added, like orange, lime, pineapple or passion fruit. 


Here's a typical recipe for Brazilian orange cake, courtesy of Brazil's Globo TV network, and its daily morning show Mais Você. It's very easy to make as the ingredients are mixed in a blender (including an entire orange). The cake is delectable, and has an assertive orange flavor. It is suitable for the breakfast table, or for coffee break, mid-afternoon snack or evening dessert.
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RECIPE - Orange Cake (Bolo de Laranja)

2 cups granulated white sugar
3 whole eggs, preferably free-range
1 medium orange
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, canola or sunflower preferred
2 cups cake flour (all-purpose flour can be substituted)
1 Tbsp baking powder
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Preheat oven to 450F (230C). Grease a loaf or tube cake pan generously with butter, then dust with flour. Reserve the pan.

Carefully wash the orange, scrubbing the skin well. Cut it into quarters, then remove the white mass that runs down the center of the orange. De-seed the orange. 

Combine in a food processor or sturdy blender the orange quarters, the sugar, eggs and oil. Blend at high speed until you have a homogenous mixture. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl.

In another large mixing bowl combine the flour and baking powder and stir with a wooden spoon to mix well. Add the sieved liquid and mix into the flour with the wooden spoon until the batter is homogenous. You do not need to use a cake beater, just combine thoroughly.


Pour the batter into the greased cake pan and place in the preheated oven. Reduce oven heat to 400F (200C) and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing from the cake pan.


If desired, powdered sugar can be sprinkled on the top of the cake once it's completely cooled.

RECIPE - Souza Leão Cake (Bolo Souza Leão)

One of Pernambuco's most well-loved gifts to the cooking traditions of Brazil is this decadently rich custard-cake, Souza Leão Cake (Bolo Souza Leão). Invented in the 19th Century by someone in the Souza Leão family, on one of their eleven sugar plantations, this cake is now served at wedding receptions, birthday and anniversary parties, and even funeral receptions around Brazil.

Their are innumerable variations of this cake, and many, many recipes for it, but this one, from Viagem Gastronómica Atraves do Brasil, was given to the author of that book by dona Rita de Souza Leão Barreto Coutinho, of the Moreno Plantation branch of the family, who is seen in the center of the photo at right seated between Izabel de Souza Leão Veiga and Eudes de Souza Leão Pinto, from the same branch of the family.

Unlike Luis Felipe cake, a similar custard-cake which requires only ingredients easily obtained in North America and Europe, Souza Leão cake uses a manioc dough called puba which means it is difficult to make outside Brazil. Puba is made from manioc that is allowed to ferment, covered with water, for seven days. After fermentation, the manioc is drained, washed thoroughly, and then grated. Finally the grated manioc is squeezed to remove all liquid from the pulp, wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to one week. At this point, the puba is ready to use.

So, notwithstanding the possibilities of problems in finding puba, you might enjoy reading this recipe which has a long history, and I'm sure a longer future ahead of it.
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RECIPE - Souza Leão Cake
Makes 22 portions

2.2 lbs. (1 kg.) granulated sugar
2 cups cold water
2 cups unsalted butter
1 tsp. salt
2.2 lbs. (1 kg.) manioc dough (puba)
16 egg yolks
3 cups coconut milk
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground anise seed
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Preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Grease a large round cake pan, with high sides, with softened butter.

In a saucepan, dissolve the sugar in cold water, heat over high heat and, stirring constantly,bring to a boil. Stop stirring at this point, and cook the syrup to soft-string stage. Do not let color or caramelize. Remove from heat, and stir in the unsalted butter and salt. Let cool completely.

Place the manioc dough in a large bowl, then add the egg yolks one at a time, alternating with small aounts of coconut milk, making sure that each is incorporated before adding more. Finally, add the cold sugar syrup and mix everything completely. Pour the batter through a fine sieve, then add the spices.

Pour the batter into the greased cake pan, place the pan in a roasting dish and pour hot water into it to the height of the top of the batter and place in pre-heated oven for 50 minutes, or until it is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from heat, and let cool in the cake pan. When only warm, unmould the cake onto a serving platter and let cool completely, serving from the same platter.

The Story of a Cake - Bolo Souza Leão

Back in March, Flavors of Brazil featured a traditional cake from the state of Ceará called Luis Felipe Cake (Bolo Luis Felipe). It is a dense, moist cake, with a texture halfway between cake and custard. (Click here to read about Luis Felipe cake.) In that article I mentioned that I had no idea who Luis Felipe was, or why the cake was named after him.

In a state that borders Ceará, Pernambuco, a similar cake is made and it also bears the name of someone, or in this case the name of a family - Souza Leão. Unlike poor Luis Felipe whom no one remembers, the Souza Leão family is well known. According to family legend, someone in the family invented this cake, but no one is sure exactly who. In his book Viagem Gastronómica Atraves do Brasil, author Caloca Fernandes tells the story of this family, which has a long history in Pernambuco and which will forever be associated with the cake that bears its name.

The Souza Leão family, according to Fernandes, was a large colonial family during the era of the sugar cane boom in Brazil and the various branches of the family owned eleven sugar plantations, among them such interestingly-named plantations as Moreno, Tapera, Bom Dia ("Good Morning" in English), Xixiam and Alagodeiras. The family is still prominent in Pernambuco, though of course the sugar plantations as they were in colonial days are long gone.

In the next post on Flavors of Brazil, there will be a recipe for this delicious (and extravagant) cake. Like it's cousin from Ceará, Luis Felipe cake, Souza Leão cake is an orgy of sugar and eggs and is generally served only on special occasions. When you read the recipe, you'll see why.

RECIPE - Granny Maria's Cornmeal Cake (Bolo de Fubá da Vó Maria)

This super-easy recipe from the Brazilian website Tudo Gostoso (Everything tasty) makes a light and fluffy cake that is perfect as a coffee-cake in the morning, as a tea-cake in the afternoon, or as a little something to tide you over just before bedtime.

Brazilian cakes are not generally frosted (with the exception of birthday and wedding cakes), and this one is no exception.

Who Granny Maria was exactly is unknown. But she's forever immortalized in this eponymous cake.

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RECIPE - Granny Maria's Cornmeal Cake
12 portions

4 large eggs, preferably free-range
2 cups granulated sugar**
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal (fubá)
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
4 tsp. baking powder (fermento)
** Brazilians like things very sweet, this quantity can be reduced if desired
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Separate the eggs. With hand or electric beater, beat the egg whites to soft peak stage. Add the sugar and continue to beat. While beating add the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the butter and milk, then the flour and cornmeal, a bit at a time. Finally add the baking powder, then beat for one more minute.

Grease a cake pan with softened butter, then dust with flour. Pour the cake batter into the pan, place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Turn out the cake onto a wire grid, and let cool completely. Once cooled, you can sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar, if desired.

RECIPE - Luis Felipe Cake (Bolo Luis Felipe)

First, I have to say that after much internet research I have no idea who "Luis Felipe" was, or why he inspired this recipe for a cake that is one of the most-loved desserts of the state of Ceará, where I live. Although the cake can now be found throughout Brazil, it's always associated with Ceará, so I'm going to guess that the mysterious Luis Felipe must have lived here. Whether he was a cook, a thief (a wife or a lover?) is probably lost in time, but his name lives on in this very unusual and delectable cake.

To my mind what makes this cake so different is its texture. It's a mixture of eggs, milk, sugar and flour - the basis of so many desserts from around the world. If you cook eggs, milk and sugar mixed together the result is some form of custard. Add a bit of flour and you get a clafouti, which is a slightly thicker custard. Add a lot of flour and the result is a simple pound cake. Luis Felipe cake has more flour than a clafouti, and less than a pound cake. The result is a dessert that's halfway between custard and cake. It has the uniform consistency of custard, but can be sliced and served without falling apart. It does not have the "crumbly" texture of cake, but has a very similar flavor. It's a strange beast indeed, and I've never seen any other cake with it's texture - anywhere or anytime.

It's not difficult to make, and if you (or your guests) are fans of custard or pound cake, serve Luis Felipe Cake. I can almost guarantee the seconds will be served!

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RECIPE - Luis Felipe Cake (Bolo Luis Felipe)
Serves 10

4 egg whites
10 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup canned cononut milk, unsweetened
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups granulated white sugar
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp. salt

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In a medium, heavy saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water, then heat over medium-high heat until the syrup reaches the "thread stage" (temperature 225F-235F on candy thermometer, or until the syrup drips from spoon, forming soft threads in cold water). Remove from heat, add the butter and salt, and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat the egg whites to the "soft peak" stage, then gently beat in the yolks, one at a time, until you have a consistent mass. Fold in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the coconut milk and the grated cheese. Finally, fold in the cooled syrup.

Generously butter a ring-shaped cake pan, and dust with flour. Pour the batter into the pan, place in a preheated oven, and cook for approximately 50 minutes to one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Let cool completely, then unmold and serve.