Bolo de mel
Bolo de mel is Madeira's Christmas cake, traditionally made in early December — often on 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception — and eaten throughout the holidays — kept well, it lasts for weeks. The name means “honey cake”, but it is sweetened with sugar cane molasses (mel de cana), not bee honey. It is dark, dense and heavily spiced: cinnamon, cloves, anise and ginger, with candied peel and nuts. By Madeiran tradition it is not cut with a knife but broken by hand. It is best a few days after baking.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Mixing 30 min
- Resting 60 min
- Baking 45 min
- Cooling 60 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneWarm the molasses
Warm the molasses with the sugar and butter in a pan over low heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Do not boil. Cool to lukewarm.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 g sugar cane molasses · 150 g dark brown sugar · 130 g butter, soft · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · 1 pcs orange, zest and juice · 80 g candied orange peel
Cane molasses, not honey — despite the name.Dissolve the soda
Dissolve the bicarbonate in the orange juice — it will foam. Stir it into the lukewarm molasses with the orange zest.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 g sugar cane molasses · 150 g dark brown sugar · 130 g butter, soft · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · 1 pcs orange, zest and juice · 80 g candied orange peel
Mix the dry ingredients
In a large bowl mix the flour with all the spices. Roughly chop half the nuts and keep the rest whole for decoration.
Ingredients: 2 tsp cinnamon · ½ tsp ground cloves · 1 tsp ground anise · 1 tsp ground ginger
Combine
Pour the molasses into the flour, add the eggs and mix with a wooden spoon or a dough hook for 5 minutes, until thick, dark and even. Stir in the candied peel and chopped nuts.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 g sugar cane molasses · 150 g dark brown sugar · 130 g butter, soft · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · 1 pcs orange, zest and juice · 80 g candied orange peel
Thick and dark — as it should look.Rest the batter
Cover and leave 60 minutes at room temperature — the flour hydrates and the spices permeate.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 g sugar cane molasses · 150 g dark brown sugar · 130 g butter, soft · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · 1 pcs orange, zest and juice · 80 g candied orange peel
Fill the tins
Heat the oven to 160°C. Butter two 22 cm springform tins, line the bases with paper and divide the batter between them (about 690 g each), smoothing it with a wet spoon — it will be about 1.5 cm deep and rise to about 2.5–3 cm in the oven. Press the walnut halves and almonds into the tops.
Ingredients: 80 g walnuts (some halves kept for decoration) · 80 g almonds · 10 g butter for the tins
Walnuts and almonds — the traditional pattern.Bake
Bake 35–45 minutes (check from 35 minutes), until springy and a skewer comes out clean or with a few crumbs. The cake is dark from the start, so do not judge by colour.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 g sugar cane molasses · 150 g dark brown sugar · 130 g butter, soft · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · 1 pcs orange, zest and juice · 80 g candied orange peel
Cool and keep
Cool in the tins 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely, about 60 minutes in all. Wrap tightly in foil only once cold. It is best after 2–3 days, once the spices meld. Serve broken into pieces, with a glass of Madeira.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 g sugar cane molasses · 150 g dark brown sugar · 130 g butter, soft · 2 pcs eggs · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · 1 pcs orange, zest and juice · 80 g candied orange peel
Before you start
The molasses
Madeiran mel de cana is mostly sold online. The easiest substitute is cane molasses from health-food shops. It is darker and more bitter than mel de cana, so if yours is blackstrap, replace 100 g of it with a dark honey such as buckwheat. The colour and moistness will be similar.
Tradition
Traditional Madeiran recipes also add a little bread-dough leaven and rest the dough for longer. This home version with bicarbonate is quicker, but it too improves after a few days wrapped in foil.
Storage
Tightly wrapped, it keeps 4 weeks somewhere cool and dry. Do not refrigerate — it hardens. It freezes for 3 months.
