The Bolo Rei is a traditional Christmas sweet from Portugal, which is very reminiscent of the roscón de Reyes that is consumed in Spain. Discover what it is, its differences and how to make it at home with this delicious recipe.
Every January 5 and 6 in our country it is traditional to enjoy a portion of the roscón de Reyes, that wonderful and exquisite round bun that is made with sweet dough and decorated with slices of candied fruit, sugar and laminated almonds. In addition, it is common to place a “surprise” and a bean inside, so that, as tradition has it, whoever gets the latter must pay for it.
The truth is that it is a popular sweet of which there is in fact a lot of tradition. Moreover, in the original sweet, it was usual for whoever found the bean to be named king of kings for a short period of time, while back in 1361, it was usual to designate ‘King of Faba’ to that child who found the broad bean in dessert.
Although it is a typical Christmas sweet that is usually associated with Christmas and tradition in Spain, the reality is that we are facing a delicious dessert that is also made and enjoyed in other surrounding countries.
This is the case of France, where there is a sweet in the shape of a cake or roscón known by the name of gâteau de la fève, also called Couronne des Rois, which is extremely identical to the roscón that is consumed in our country. We should also mention on this occasion the existence of the Galette des Rois, characteristic of northern France, which, unlike the traditional roscón, is made with puff pastry.
In Portugal we also find a very similar sweet. In Portuguese cuisine, however, it is popularly known by the name of Bolo Rei, and although it is not specifically the same as far as the ingredients used in its preparation are concerned, the reality is that the custom is quite similar to the roscón de Kings that is consumed in Spain.
What is Bolo Rei and what is its history?
The truth is that Bolo Rei has become a wonderful Christmas classic celebrated in Portugal, its consumption being very common during the Portuguese Christmas holidays. There is greater certainty about its origin, compared to the traditional Spanish roscón de Reyes.
And it is that, it seems, it was originally made and sold for the first time in 1869, in a confectionery called Nacional de Lisboa. A short time later, around the year 1890, it officially arrived in Porto where it began to be prepared and baked following the steps of a recipe brought from Paris.
Just in 1910, after the proclamation of the Republic, some pastry chefs decided to name it Pastei de Navidad in order to continue making it for the Christmas holidays and not to disappear, until finally it was called the same as always.
What is its difference with the Roscón de Reyes?
Although both its preparation and most of the ingredients are quite similar to the popular Spanish roscón de Reyes, the truth is that there are certain differences that make them actually two different typical sweets.
In the case of the Bolo Rei, it is a sweet in which the dough also contains raisins and dried fruit, an issue that precisely does not occur with the Roscón de Reyes. In addition, it is common for Port wine to be used to aromatize it, instead of the traditional essence of orange blossom.
Bolo Rei Recipe
It will take you around 3 hours to prepare the bolo rei, and to bake it in total approximately 45 minutes.
Ingredients for the dough:
- 500 g of strong flour
- 20 g of pressed yeast
- 175 g of sugar
- 3 eggs
- 50 g of dried fruit (pine nuts and walnuts)
- 50 g of raisins
- 50 ml of milk
- 1 tablespoon of rum
- 2 tablespoons of port wine
- sliced almonds
Garnishing Ingredients:
- 100 g of candied fruit
- Sliced almonds and pine nuts (to taste)
- Sugar
- Water
How to prepare the Bolo Rei:
- First of all we are going to prepare a kind of sponge, which will help the yeast act more quickly and in turn improve fermentation. To do this, put the milk in a saucepan and heat a little until it is lukewarm. Dilute the yeast in the warm milk first, and then do the same with 70 grams of the flour (sifted). Knead well until you form a ball. Put warm water in a bowl and lower the ball of dough into it until it floats.
- Meanwhile, in another large bowl add the sugar and eggs. Grate an orange and reserve its grated skin. Beat everything well with the help of some electric rods until a foamy and white cream is formed. Add the orange zest, port wine and rum in the amounts indicated, and continues beating until well blended.
- In another large bowl, sift the rest of the flour and add it to the previous mixture of eggs and sugar, little by little. Start kneading the dough until it absorbs all the liquid. Booking.
- We have not forgotten the sponge. Now is just the time to remove it from the water and drain it very well.
- When the dough of flour and eggs has taken on a certain consistency, it is time to add the sponge little by little while continuing to knead. This will integrate better into the dough.
- With the softened butter, add it to the dough and continue kneading until the dough comes off the walls.
- Now incorporate the raisins, pine nuts and walnuts and knead again a little, in this way you will get these wonderful ingredients to be better distributed throughout the dough.
- Grease a bowl and form a ball with the dough. Put the ball in this lightly greased bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume.
- When you notice that the dough has doubled its volume, remove the cloth and knead again to degas the dough.
- Form a ball with the dough and shape it into a roscón. You can help yourself with your fingers, inserting them into the center of the dough until you make a hole. Now is the time to introduce the dry bean and a surprise that you like.
- Place the dough on a lightly greased baking tray. Place a glass that can withstand the heat of the oven in the center so as not to lose its shape. Cover with a cloth and let it rise again until it doubles its volume. When you lightly press the dough with your finger and it recovers its shape, it will be ready.
- Paint the bolo rei with egg yolk and decorate it with the candied fruit, the sliced almonds and the pine nuts. Also put a few drops of water in the sugar to moisten it and put the moistened sugar on top of the bolus.
- Bake at 180ºC for 40-45 minutes. When ready, let cool on a rack.
