Bolo-Rei (King Cake)

Bolo-Rei is the quintessential Portuguese Christmas and Epiphany cake: a buttery enriched dough shaped into a crown, topped and filled with candied fruit and nuts. It demands patience for the proving, but the scent of butter, citrus and Port wine rewards every hour of waiting. By tradition, a dried fava bean and a small trinket are hidden inside.

Yields: 1 large cake (10–12 slices)
Prep: 40 min (+ 3–4 h proving)
Cook: 25–30 min

Difficulty

Read about King Cake →

Ingredients

500 g Plain (bread) flour
20 g (or 7 g instant dry yeast) Fresh baker's yeast
120 ml Lukewarm milk
120 g Sugar
100 g Softened butter
4 (3 for the dough + 1 for glazing) Eggs
1 tsp (≈6 g) Salt
each Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
50 ml Port wine
200 g Candied fruit (diced + whole to decorate)
100 g Raisins/sultanas
100 g Nuts (walnut, almond, pine nut)
to taste Pearl sugar (to decorate)
1 each Dried fava bean + trinket

Method

Dice the candied fruit and mix with the raisins; pour over the Port wine and leave to macerate while you prepare the dough (ideally 1 hour or more).
Make a sponge: dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk (not hot — max 37 °C / 99 °F) with 2 tbsp of the flour and 1 tbsp sugar. Cover and let it rise for 15 minutes, until foamy.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining flour, sugar, salt and citrus zest. Add the 3 eggs and the sponge, then start kneading until a sticky dough forms.
Work in the softened butter a little at a time, then knead well (8–10 min by hand or with a dough hook) until the dough is smooth, elastic and pulls away from your hands. It is a soft, buttery dough — resist adding too much flour.
Cover and prove in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5 to 2 hours.
Drain the macerated fruit well (reserve the liquid) and fold it into the dough together with the raisins and nuts, without over-kneading. Keep some whole fruit and nuts aside for decorating.
Shape a ball, push a hole through the centre with your fingers and widen it into a broad crown (the classic shape). Place on a lined tray. Hide the fava bean and the trinket by pushing them in from underneath.
Cover with a cloth and let it prove a second time, until nearly doubled, about 1 hour. Partway through this proving, preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
Brush the whole surface with the beaten egg. Decorate with the whole candied fruit and reserved nuts, then sprinkle with pearl sugar.
Bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden and cooked through (a skewer comes out clean). If it browns too fast, tent with foil halfway through.
While still warm, brush with the reserved Port liquid for shine and aroma. Let cool on a rack before serving.