bolo de fuba | Bewitching Kitchen

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.

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

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

I often say that I don’t care much for sweets, and visitors to the Bewitching likely realize that for me, savory stuff tops the sweets by a long, long margin. But, for many years I heard comments about my youngest niece’s cake skills (a gene that must have skipped my generation!), and now, finally, I had a chance to savor one of her specialties: a traditional Brazilian cornmeal cake, called “bolo de fuba’.” Her recipe has two interesting additions: a farmer’s type cheese and shredded coconut. Together, they produce a cake that´s moist, with just the right sweetness. If I had to describe it in a single word, that word would be irresistible.

RAQUEL’s BRAZILIAN CORNMEAL CAKE
(adapted from Na Cozinha com Carolina)

a little butter and flour to prepare the pan
4 eggs
3 cups of milk
1 + ½ cups sugar
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
1 cup cornmeal
100 g (4 oz) sweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup farmers type fresh cheese, coarsely grated
1 Tbs baking powder

Heat the oven to 350F. Prepare a round, medium size, ring cake type pan by buttering the inside and adding a small amount of flour, tapping off the excess.

Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until they form a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding. Serve it warm or cold.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Bolo de fuba´ originates in Africa, in fact the name fubá means flour in kimbundu (spoken in Angola), but in Brazil it is used exclusively for what in the US is known as cornmeal. The Portuguese, main colonizers of Brazil, expanded the use of cormeal into all kinds of sweet and savory concoctions, including breads, as their famous “broa.”

Bolo de fuba´ is the type of cake one would expect to be served with a nice cup of coffee or tea in the middle of the afternoon, or at breakfast to start the day on a good vibe. As you can see from the photo below, this cake bakes in three distinct layers, a cornmeal cakey component on top, a creamy center, and the coconut flakes in the base.

Raquel´s version is the best I´ve ever had, making me lose all my composure and restraint, going back for another tiny sliver, and another, and another, until she could not take it anymore and said “why don´t you just cut a real slice and get it over with?” Wisdom comes in many forms. Lesson learned. 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Hidden Treasure

TWO YEARS AGO: Avocado Three Ways