THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB: PUMPKIN BOLO DE FUBA’ CREMOSO

Posted in Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club by

The Secret Recipe Club took a break in the month of December, but now we are back!  For those who don’t know, the SRC is a fun blogging event in which you are paired (in secret) with another blogger, and on reveal day post a recipe chosen from that blog.  Everyone in the same group posts at the exact same time, even if you are blogging from Japan.  😉  This month I was paired with Shirley, from the blog Enriching your Kid.  Shirley is a clinical psychologist who, after having kids, opted for working very hard at home taking care of them and paying particular attention to a healthy nutrition.   She cooks a lot of Indian food, so at first I had my mind set on one of her many paratha recipes, but then I spotted a very familiar Portuguese name – “bolo de fuba’ cremoso” – and that was it.  I knew it would be my choice for the first SRC post of 2013.   She added a nice twist to the classic, by incorporating pumpkin in the cake.  Check out her post about it here.

served
PUMPKIN BOLO DE FUBA’ CREMOSO
(adapted from Enriching your Kid)

1 cup masa harina (corn flour)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree’
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 cup grated cheese
1/2  tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp grated nutmeg
lemon zest

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place all of the ingredients (up to the salt) in a blender or a food processor and mix for 4 minutes or until the mixture is smooth (it will be very liquid).  If your processor or blender is very large, you can add the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the cheese, baking powder, nutmeg and lemon zest, mixing well with a whisk.   Pour into a buttered and floured pan (8 x 8 inches).

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden. Cool the cake before cutting it into slices.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

closeupbake

Comments: First, a little bit on language, as Shirley was puzzled about the gender issue in Portuguese.  All nouns have a gender, and for the most part words that end with “a” are feminine.  Words that end with “o” are masculine. However, there are exceptions.  Fuba’, for instance, the term that describes a particular type of corn flour, ends with “a“, but it is masculine.  Therefore, the adjective that goes along with it, “cremoso”  (creamy) must agree with the gender, and end with “o“.  Let’s suppose we were talking about a coconut concoction called “cocada“.  Cocada ends with an “a“, and it is indeed feminine.  In this case, creamy coconut would be described as “cocada cremosa“.  Clear as mud?  Well, mud is feminine: A lama.  Earth is feminine: A Terra. Love is masculine: O amor (gotcha there! Amor ends with “r”  to confuse non-native speakers ;-)).

Now, to the recipe:  I made a few small modifications, using cooked pumpkin instead of raw. I absolutely had to put my beloved pumpkin puree to use, and that was a perfect opportunity.  I also reduced the sugar slightly.  If you are Brazilian and grew up enjoying bolo de fuba’, this version seems like a different sweet, mainly because of the nutmeg. If you are not too fond of nutmeg, or if you want something closer to the Brazilian version, reduce the amount or omit it. Pumpkin was a great addition to bolo de fuba’, I  loved what its subtle taste brought to the cake.

Shirley, I will definitely be cooking other recipes from your blog,  as Indian cuisine is fascinating and I don’t have enough experience with it.  I hope you are having a great reveal day…  😉

For my readers: if you want to see what the crowd from SRC Group D came up with in this first posting of the year, click on the happy frog and a new page will open with plenty of great posts.

ONE YEAR AGO: Citrus-crusted Tilapia Filets

TWO YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, not just for Hippies

THREE YEARS AGO: Flourless Chocolate Cake



41 thoughts on “THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB: PUMPKIN BOLO DE FUBA’ CREMOSO”

  8. Ideal that you had an opportunity to work in your pumpkin puree here Sally and what a interesting combination of ingredients in this cake (I must say, the picture of the dessert in the pan is literally making me salivate…) and there’s just something about the nutmeg here that gets me – lip-smacking good – I have to try this one! I think I would love it (well, I think the whole family would love it, but I might have to hide it – heehee ;-)).

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    • I think you would love bolo de fuba’, particularly if you reduce the sugar, some recipes around in Brazilian sites can be overly sweet. Now, hiding it from your family could be a little tricky 😉

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  9. Pumpkin creme brulee tarts from Eva and now these bars … you bloggers are in a conspiracy to get me to use up the pumpkin puree in my freezer. I like that the recipe doesn’t make a huge cake as well. 🙂

    The lack of masa harina prevents me from caving, though, until I finally make that trip to the Mexican grocery store. And then I’ll have no excuse not to try making pupusas.

    I’ll have to check Shirley’s blog … you can never have enough good Indian recipes.

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  12. What fun that Secret Recipe Club is! It must be fun to poke around someone’s recipes, just looking for the perfect one to try! I imagine you were so delighted to find one that was familiar to you as well. This is a cake I’ve never heard of before, it’s very interesting with the pumpkin and corn flour! xx

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    • Yeah, it is a lot of fun… it’s also pretty cool to see what they pick from your blog to cook. My Brazilian pao de queijo was chosen twice over the year I’ve been a participant, so I guess it’s a popular recipe! 😉

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  13. I have never heard of this particular kind of dessert before, but it sounds and looks fantastic! I love the addition of pumpkin, too. I have a giant bag of masa harina left over from making tamales a while back, and I know just what to do with it! 🙂

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  14. Hummmm apertou a saudades do Brasil e me fez lembrar também do Bolo de Milho Cremoso. Uma adaptação maravilhosa da nossa versão, gostei muito.

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  15. Well, you certainly lucked out, Sally. Not only did you find a delicious dish with which you were familiar but you used up more of your pumpkin purée, a two-fer! Keep this up and I’ll be sending you some purée when you run out. 🙂

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  20. muito divertido isso de feminino/masculino,digo,tentar explicar essa confusão em ingles.adorei…e fui fazer um delicioso bolo de fubá ao estilo da serra da Canastra,com muito queijoCanastra,lógico,e dando ponto com coalhada.A receita original do queijo Canastra é a mesma do queijo da Serra da Estrela,de Portugal.Lamentavelmente só é consumido por mineiros,pois a legislação proibe a venda do queijo artesanal feito a partir do leite cru não pasteurizado fora do estado.quando vier ao Brasil tente experimentar.Não tem igual.Queijo Minas,tipo Canastra,da região de Medeiros,Pratinha e São Roque de Minas.Ah,e na lista de seus ingredientes deve constar:Leite,Coalho,Sal e PINGO.esse tal de pingo faz toda a diferença.Gostaria de saber se vc leu isto.obrigada e parabéns.

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    • Doris, que delicia de comment! Agora fiquei super curiosa quanto a esse queijo, que eu sei que comi quando estive em Minas, mas ha’ mais de 30 anos! Outra coisa, esse Pingo, seria por acaso aquele doce chamado Pingo de Leite que vem embrulhadinho um a um em plastico transparente? Me deu agua na boca! Trouxe memorias dos meus dias de ginasio, em que eu comprava na hora do recreio… e’ isso mesmo?

      Vou ao Brasil em marco e vou tentar achar essa receita que voce se refere e quem sabe tentar fazer com a minha sobrinha, a doceira-mor da familia

      mil beijos!

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