King Cake - Bolo Rei | Portuguese Traditional Christmas Cake

Christmas would not be the same for me if there wasn't a "Bolo Rei" in the house, which literally translated it means King Cake. My mom makes them every year and gives them to our friends and family. So this past weekend she asked if I could help. Well, my life kind of got in the way and by the time I made it over to her place she was pretty much done! She is so amazing, I really do look up to her... in a few hours she had whipped up 8 cakes all on her own! I'm so happy that her energy rubbed off on me a little, LOL!

For those of you that don't know I was born in Portugal and moved to Canada with my parents when I was two. So for many years of my sheltered life, all that I knew was very heavily influenced by my parent's culture and their upbringing.  And so, the King Cake at Christmas was always a must! I have to be honest though, the cake was never appealing to me mostly because of all the dried crystallized fruits. So, after many years of hearing everyone praise my mom and her cakes, a few years ago I tried it... Maybe it's an age thing! I actually didn't mind it too much, initially, I was picking out all the fruit and just leaving the nuts. Now I eat it all... great I must be getting old... my taste buds are changing, oh no!

Taken from Wikipedia Bolo rei is a traditional Portuguese cake that is usually eaten around Christmas, from December 25 until the Dia de Reis (literally Day of Kings, a reference to the three kings) on January 6. The cake itself is round with a large hole in the center, resembling a crown covered with crystallized and dried fruit. The bolo rei is baked from a soft, white dough, with raisins, various nuts, and crystallized fruit. Also included is the characteristic "fava", and tradition dictates that whoever finds the fava has to pay for the bolo rei next year. Initially, a small prize was also included within the cake, but now that can be hazardous!

For those of you that are interested in the recipe, click here. My mom said this link shows you pretty much how she made hers, even includes a video... The only thing it is in Portuguese, so you might have to use your translate options on your computer. 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you've enjoyed learning a little more about our holiday traditions!