Bolo de Mel is a traditional Portuguese recipe (from Madeira) for the island's traditional molasses and nut Christmas cake. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Portuguese version of: Bolo de Mel.
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Bolo de Mel is a unique molasses fruit cake made in Madeira Island, Portugal. This cake is typically made around Christmas. Follow the recipe to learn how to continue this beautiful, tasty family tradition. Bolo de Mel (literally, “honey cake”) is widely recognized as Madeira’s oldest dessert, with roots stretching back to the 15th century. Its creation is credited to the nuns of the Convent of Santa Clara in Funchal, who first baked it using exotic spices brought from Europe and India, alongside the island’s most precious commodity: sugarcane molasses. At the time, Madeira was a hub of sugar production, and this “black gold” not only shaped the island’s economy but also its culinary traditions.
Interestingly, despite its name, Bolo de Mel traditionally contains no bee honey. Instead, it’s made with mel de cana—sugarcane molasses—which gives the cake its signature dark color, moist texture, and robust flavor. This ingredient also allowed the cake to be preserved for months, even years, making it a practical treat for families to enjoy long after the Christmas festivities had ended.
Ingredients:
120ml water
pinch of sugar
1 packet (7g) active, dried, yeast
2.25kg flour
740g lard
740g butter
1kg molasses
1kg sugar
4 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp Aniseed
6 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ground cloves
180g walnuts, chopped
250g slivered almonds
225g candied orange peel, diced
225g dried cherries
finely-grated zest of 2 lemons
4 oranges (juice and finely-grated zest)
375ml Madeira wine (or Tawny or Ruby Port, or Cream of Sherry)
Method:
Warm the water to 40°C add a pinch of sugar and allow the yeast to hydrate for 10 minutes. After the yeast has hydrated for 10 minutes mix in 60g of flour. Allow this mixture to ferment for about 30-60 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
In about an 8-12l pot, add the lard, butter, and molasses. Cook over low heat until the lard and butter have melted.
In a large frying pan toast the walnuts and almonds for about 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and baking soda. Add the black pepper, aniseed, cloves, cinnamon, toasted almonds, toasted walnuts, candied orange peel, dried cherries and zest of the lemons and oranges. Once they are well mixed make a hole in the middle of the mixture and add the orange juice, fermented sponge/yeast starter and Madeira wine.
Once the butter/lard mixture is cooled to 40°C or cooler, incorporate it into the rest of the ingredients. Stir until all the dry flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Cover with a lid or clingfilm (plastic wrap) and let sit for about 24 hours in a warm space.
Butter the cake tins. Fill the pans about 3cm from the top. Decorate the top of the cake with nuts. Transfer to the centre of an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of the cake, or until the tops are nicely caramelized and a skewer inserted into the centre emerges cleanly.
Let the finished cakes cool for 30-60 minutes in the tins before turning then out. Set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.
Once cooled, wrap the cake in clingfilm (plastic wrap).
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