AI-generated image
Bolo de mel da Madeira
Bolo de mel: Madeira's dark, spiced sugarcane-molasses Christmas cake with nuts and peel
Madeiran families bake bolo de mel on 8 December so it can mellow in time for Christmas, and a well-wrapped one is said to keep until the following year. It is dense, almost black and fragrant with cinnamon, clove and aniseed, sweetened with mel de cana, the island's sugarcane molasses, and studded with walnuts, almonds and candied peel. Tradition says it should be broken by hand, never cut with a knife. Many old recipes use some lard; this one uses butter only. Chef's tip: wrap it in foil and wait at least a week before eating; the spices and molasses soften and blend as it rests.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 325°F (275°F fan). Grease two 20 cm round cake tins and line them with baking paper.
Step 2: Warm 4 ½ oz butter, 5 ½ oz dark brown soft sugar and 12 ½ oz sugarcane molasses (mel de cana) in a pan over a low heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Don't let it boil. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the zest and juice of 1 orange.
15 minStep 3: In a large bowl, mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground aniseed and ½ tsp salt.
Step 4: Pour in the molasses mixture and stir until you have a thick, glossy, dark dough. Fold in 3 ½ oz walnuts, 2 ⅛ oz whole almonds and 3 ½ oz candied orange and lemon peel.
Step 5: Divide between the tins, press flat with a wet spoon and press a few whole almonds on top.
Step 6: Bake for 55–65 minutes, until the cakes are firm to the touch, have shrunk slightly from the sides and a skewer comes out clean. A common mistake is baking it until hard: it firms up a lot as it cools, so take it out as soon as the skewer is clean.
60 minStep 7: Cool completely in the tins, then wrap tightly in baking paper and foil. Keep in a cool place for at least a week, and up to 2 months, before breaking it into pieces to serve.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bolo de mel da Madeira take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of dark brown soft sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Sopa da pedra
Almeirim, a market town in the Ribatejo, is the capital of this soup; its restaurants serve it every day, and each bowl arrives with a clean stone at the bottom, after the folk tale of a friar who 'made soup from a stone' by talking villagers into giving him everything else. This is a pork soup: red kidney beans simmer with chouriço, morcela blood sausage and a piece of pork belly, then potatoes, carrots and coriander finish it into a thick, hearty bowl. Chef's tip: cook the sausages whole and slice them at the end, so they stay juicy and don't turn the broth greasy.
Moist banana bread
The blacker the bananas, the better the loaf. This one is mixed in a single bowl with melted butter and a little brown sugar, so it's soft, deeply banana-y and keeps well for days.
American
Tarte au sucre lilloise
In Lille and across the Nord, a sugar tart is not pastry at all but a flat round of soft brioche dough, dimpled and covered with brown cassonade sugar, butter and a little egg and cream, which bakes into a sticky, caramelised top over a fluffy base. Families buy it from the boulangerie for Sunday breakfast and goûter, or bake one when guests come for coffee. The Nord's own beet sugar, vergeoise, gives it a deep, almost molasses flavour; soft dark brown sugar is the closest swap. Chef's tip: press deep dimples into the risen dough with your fingertips before adding the topping; the sugar and cream collect in them and bake into little pools of caramel.
French