Bolo de Mel | 600 Year Old Dessert from Madeira Island, Portugal

KITCHEN ITEMS:

RELATED RECIPES:

(Molasses is an acquired taste for many. If your not a fan you can change the ratio of granulated sugar to molasses from 50/50 to 75% granulated about 6.25 cups and 25% Molasses 15 oz)
BAKERS PERCENTAGE
5 lbs flour 2270 g 100 %
26 oz lard 737 g 32 %
26 oz butter 737 g 32 %
5 cups sugar 1021 g 45 %
36 oz molasses 1021 g 45 %
1 yeast packet 7 g 1/2 %
4 TBSP baking soda 60 g 2.5 %
2 TBSP Anise (Aniseed) 25 g
6 TBSP cinnamon 50 g
2 TBSP ground cloves. 25 g
1.5 cups walnut halves 180 g
2 cups slivered almonds 250 g
8 oz diced candied orange 227 g
8 oz dried cherries 227 g
1 TBSP black pepper
1.5 cup madeira wine 
4 oranges for juice and zest
2 lemons for the zest but not the juice of the lemon
1/2 cup. water for making yeast starter sponge + pinch of sugar

1. Warm the water to 100-115°F add a pinch of sugar and allow the yeast to hydrate for 10 minutes. After the yeast has hydrated for 10 minutes mix in a 1/2 cup of flour. Allow this mixture to ferment for about 30-60 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
2. In about a 8 -12 quart pot add the lard, butter and molasses. Cook over low heat until the lard and butter have melted.
3. Toast the Anise seeds
4. Zest and juice the oranges.
5. Zest the lemon but don’t use the juice.
6. Chop the almonds, walnuts and candied fruit. (Save some whole almonds and walnuts for decorating the top of the cake.)
7. Mix the baking soda into 1.5 cup of Madeira wine
8. In a large bowl mix the flour and sugar. Once they are well mixed make a hole in the middle of the mixture and add the fermented sponge/yeast starter. Add the chopped nuts, candied fruit, spices, zest, and orange juice.
9. The butter, lard and molasses mixture can be warm but not hot. (You don't want to pour the molasses/butter/lard mixture onto the flour/yeast mixture until the temperature is below 120 F (a temperature above 130 F can kill the yeast)
10. Slowly stir in the molasses mixture a little at a time with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until well incorporated.
11. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes by hand.
12. Once done cover the mixture with a cloth and let stand for 12 to 24 hours; in a warm place somewhere between 70-80 F
13. Butter the cake pans. Fill the pans about 1" from the top. Decorate the top of the cake with nuts. Bake in the oven at 350 F for 40-60 minutes or until the internal temperature is 190 F. The baking time will depend on the size of the cake you are making.
14. Let the finished cake cool for 30-60 minutes before taking them out of the cake pan; then wrap the cake in plastic wrap.

Traditionally this cake is eaten with friends and family by tearing apart with your fingers not using a knife.

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[kriskafowlski]

Thanks for sharing - we just returned from Madeira (stayed in Cahleta) today & after falling in love with Bolo de Mel we ordered 4 cakes from private baker before leaving - after seeing this video & process I wish I’d ordered 40!

[rachelsantosortiz]

Thank you for sharing! My grandparents were from Madeira and I’ve been trying to learn more traditional recipes form the region.

[amandadacosta]

Still making this today from the recipe, my mom and grandmother taught me ❤

[MariaRibeiro-yums]

Well done looks really nice, thanks for sharing our traditional food.Good lucky for you channel.Lots of love from Madeira xx

[davidc]

A favourite in Azores as well. Love all the spices in this cake. Can't find this flavour anywhere else. Great job.

[cookinglikeramos]

Bolo de mel ! Tantas saudades 😍 good work

[christineofthecoast]

Ì love this recipe:) do you know how to adapt it to use sourdough starter in place of yeast?

[stewarttodd]

Noticed on your site that you can adjust the servings, but it looks like the calculation just does the math. If I wanted to, for example, make 7 cakes instead of 15 (basically halving the recipe) the first time I try to make these, I get measurements like 0.23 cup water, 0.47 pinch sugar, 0.47 packet yeast 7g, 2.33 lbs flour. Just wondering if things like the packet of yeast should really be halved or if I should still use the whole thing. Are there other ingredients that are not a simple "half the number". If so, it might be nice to offer a "non-calculated" version of this recipe for those who might want to try a half recipe instead of the full 15-cake recipe on the first try. Thanks for the video and recipe (especially the video). Look forward to trying this out.

[annmarielee]

My cousin makes it every year which she has done already

[georgehains]

Is there a way you could substitute the lard with something for those that don't eat pork?

[patmonteiro]

Help! My cakes are dry, what can I do to get some softness and moisture into them? Thankbyou in advance

[annmarielee]

We were thought to leave it to soak for 9 days but I notice you are leaving it for 24 hrs

[nelson_berenguer]

Nice. Don't forget to say traditional way to eat it is by hand not slicing with a knife