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Bolo de rolo is a Pernambuco cake: many paper-thin layers of sponge rolled around melted guava paste (goiabada). Guava paste is a dense fruit block from a Mexican or Brazilian market; it is not grape jelly. It is state heritage food. It belongs after lunch with a small cup of Brazilian coffee (cafezinho) — supermarket Brazilian coffee sold in the US (Pilão, 3 Corações) — or in the afternoon.
Ingredients — batter (250 g each)
- 250 g (8.8 oz/ 1 cup + 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 250 g (8.8 oz/ 1 1/4 cups) sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 250 g (8.8 oz/ 2 cups) all-purpose flour, sifted
- A pinch of salt
This is the even-weight Pernambuco batter. Some home recipes add baking powder and milk. The tighter version does not. Stay with butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.
Filling
- 400 to 500 g (14 to 18 oz) creamy guava paste (goiabada), the soft block, not a hard bar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) hot water
Melt the goiabada with the water over low heat or a water bath until it is a spreadable paste. Cool to warm. Hot goiabada tears the cake.
Method
- Heat the oven to 425°F/ 220°C.
- Beat butter and sugar until pale. Add the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour and salt. Stop mixing once the flour just disappears, so the batter stays tender.
- Line a shallow rectangular pan with parchment. Spread a very thin layer of batter, almost see-through.
- Bake 4 to 6 minutes, until the shine is gone and the cake is just set. Turn it out.
- Spread a thin film of goiabada. Roll it while it is still warm.
- Bake the next thin sheet, spread, and roll it around the first roll. Repeat until the batter is gone.
- Cool completely. Slice thin so you see the spiral.
The work is the thin sheets. A thick layer is a jelly roll, not bolo de rolo.
How you know it’s done
Bake 4 to 6 minutes, until the shine is gone and the cake is just set. Cool completely.
After a churrasco
Serve small slices with cafezinho, not with ice cream unless you say you are departing.
What to buy
Creamy goiabada is at a Mexican or Brazilian market. Goya is the Mexican-aisle bar. Predilecta is the usual mid Brazilian bar.
- Low: Goya Guava Paste at a Mexican or Latin market — a named block that rolls if that is what the store has.
- Usual mid: Predilecta goiabada at a Brazilian market — the usual mid Brazilian brand for bolo de rolo.
- High: Predilecta goiabada cremosa — the creamy tin; it spreads thin without tearing the sheet.
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