Bolo de rolo
Bolo de rolo is the pride of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil, recognised by state law as part of its cultural heritage. It is six very thin, almost translucent sponge sheets, each spread with guava paste and rolled one into the next, so a slice shows more than a dozen spirals. It takes patience: each sheet bakes separately for a few minutes and must be rolled hot, because a cooled one cracks. The result is worth it — one of the most striking cakes you can make at home.
Your own work in that: 50 min.
- Batter 20 min
- Baking the sheets 30 min
- Rolling 30 min
- Cooling 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneCream butter and sugar
Cream the butter with the sugar for 5 minutes until pale. Separate the eggs.
Ingredients: 150 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Add yolks and flour
Add the yolks one at a time, then the sifted flour with the salt, mixing only until combined.
Ingredients: 150 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Whisk the whites
Whisk the whites to stiff peaks and fold them gently into the batter in three additions. It should be smooth and soft enough to spread into a thin layer with a palette knife — you will have about 650 g.
Ingredients: 150 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Warm the guava
Warm the guava paste with the water in a pan over low heat, stirring, until smooth and spreadable. Keep it warm.
Ingredients: 400 g guava paste (goiabada) · 3 tbsp water · 3 tbsp sugar for dusting
Bake the first sheet
Heat the oven to 200°C. Divide the batter into six portions of about 110 g. Spread one across a lined 30 × 40 cm tray with a palette knife — the layer should be about 1 mm, barely covering the paper. Bake 5–6 minutes, until set and barely golden at the edges; over-baked, it cracks when rolled.
Ingredients: 150 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
About 110 g of batter per tray — a 1 mm layer.Spread and roll
Turn the hot sheet onto a sugar-dusted cloth, spread thinly with warm guava (about 65 g, a sixth of it) and roll up tightly from the short side, using the cloth to help. Do it at once — a cooled sheet cracks.
Ingredients: 400 g guava paste (goiabada) · 3 tbsp water · 3 tbsp sugar for dusting
A thin layer of guava, onto a hot sheet.Add the next sheets
Bake another sheet, spread with guava, set the existing roll at one edge and continue rolling. Repeat with the rest of the batter — this quantity gives 6 sheets and a roll about 9 cm across.
Ingredients: 150 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Each new sheet wraps around the previous roll.Cool and serve
Wrap the finished roll in the cloth and cool 30 minutes. Dust with sugar and cut into 1.5 cm slices with a sharp knife — about 20 of them.
Ingredients: 400 g guava paste (goiabada) · 3 tbsp water · 3 tbsp sugar for dusting
Before you start
Goiabada
Guava paste is sold in 300–600 g blocks by Portuguese and Latin American grocers and online. As a substitute, reduce 500 g of thick red fruit jam (plum, cherry or raspberry) down to 400 g, until it sets like marmalade — a different taste, the same technique.
Two trays
With two trays you can alternate: while one sheet bakes, you spread and roll the other. It saves a lot of time and stops sheets cooling while they wait for the guava.
Storage
Tightly wrapped, the roll keeps 3 days at room temperature — the very sweet guava keeps it moist. Do not refrigerate it, as the sponge hardens; in a warm kitchen, chill it and take it out an hour before serving.
