Portuguese Bolo Rei (King Cake) Recipe

This light and delicious Portuguese bolo rei (king cake) filled with fruit and nuts, is a traditional cake made at Christmas by most Portuguese people.

Preparation time	15 min
Cooking Time	40 min
Ready In	2 h 25 min
Level of Difficulty	Easy
Servings	8

Ingredients

3 cups of all purpose flour2 tablespoons of active dry yeast (around 14g)1/2 cup of sugar75 gr of butter, softened2 eggs1 egg whisked, for bastingPinch of saltLemon zest from 1 lemon100 ml of warm milk100 ml of port wine or brandy80 gr of candied or dried fruit, chopped for filling50 gr of mixed nuts unsalted and chopped (walnuts, almonds, pine nuts)Garnish:50 gr of dried fruit slices30 gr of mixed nuts unsalted and halved (walnuts, almonds, pine nuts)Icing sugar or powdered sugar to sprinkle Get Portuguese ingredients

Instructions

Place the chopped candied fruit in a bowl with the port to infuse.
Mix the yeast with warm milk and let it rest in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly frothy on top.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, butter, whole eggs and salt, then add in the yeast milk and knead together.
Once mixed, add in the port and fruits mix and the nuts and knead together until well combined.
Mould the dough to be rounded or in a ball shape within the bowl, scraping down the edges and slightly sprinkle with flour before covering it over with cling wrap and a cloth.
Allow to rise to double the size (this should take around 1.5 hours, depending on your climate).
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and a light sprinkling of flour.
Place the dough on the tray, forming a ring or "crown", without handling the dough too much.
Place a cup or dish in the centre to keep the ring from closing up and allow to rise for another 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°c or 350°F.
Baste with the whisked egg and garnish with the remaining nuts, dried fruit slices and icing sugar.
Pop in the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Recipe & Photo Credit: wandercooks.com

Eddy

Member since Thursday, October 1, 2015, 8 years ago

Location: n/a

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Comments

Vitor Monteiro

Muito obrigado por a receita do Bolo Rei para que alguns dos portugueses aqui na Africa do Sull para comprar um bole desses tem que se andar [ guiar ] por alguns kilometros. Eu no passado Natal fui a uma Pastelaria de nome BELEM aqui em Joanesburgo e fiz 140 km ir la' e voltar para casa. Agradecia imenso [ se for possivel da vossa parte ] em me mandar as direccoes e tambem os ingredientes para o meu email acima, muito obrigado e agora depois de gvelho e' que quero fazer estas coisas. Que Deus esteja convosco. Vitor Monteiro, Midrand Joanesburgo

2 years ago, Sunday, February 6, 2022