A lightly spiced, fluffy Christmas cake filled with fruit and nuts. A speciality in Portugal, Bolo Rei or Portuguese Kings Cake, is super easy to bake at home, so get ready to make your Kings Cake “crown” this holiday season!
Why We Love This
Bolo Rei is about as Christmas-y as you can get in a recipe, from the smells of the port-infused fruit to the glace cherries on top. We love that it also tastes as good as it looks. It’s definitely a standout on the table on Christmas day – looking just like an edible wreath!
The great thing about Kings Cake is the lightness of the cake, it’s not heavy like a traditional English fruit or Christmas cake, it’s more on the side of a sweet bread with delicate spiced flavour.
Related: Italian Colomba Cake / Show-Stopping Christmas Ice Cream Pudding
What is Bolo Rei?
Bolo Rei or Portuguese Christmas Fruit Cake is, as the name states, a popular cake made during the holiday season. The cake is most popular between Christmas Day (December 25th) and in the new year on Kings Day (January 6th) in Portugal.
A fun fact about Bolo Rei is traditionally there were two other things included within the cake – a fava bean (or broad bean) and a small prize (usually a toy). If you got the fava bean inside your slice of cake, it meant you had to supply the Bolo Rei at Christmas the following year. The small prize was usually a toy a child could ‘find’ within their slice. This is similar to the English tradition of hiding money in Christmas pudding to find.
What You’ll Need
- Warm Milk – This helps to activate the yeast and speed up the rising process.
- Yeast – We used Active Dry Yeast for this recipe, you’ll find it at most supermarkets.
- Eggs – Straight from the fridge or room temperature is fine.
- Lemon Zest – Can substitute with lime or orange in a pinch.
- Port Wine – Any port is fine, you can also use dry sherry, frangelico or cointreau.
- Candied or Dried Fruit – This is sometimes referred to as crystallized fruit. Pick and mix your favourite fruits to add – popular ones are sultanas, orange, mango and apricot.
- Mixed Nuts – Anything from pine nuts, walnuts, cashews or peanuts will work here.
How to make Portuguese Christmas Cake:
- Place the chopped candied fruit and raisins in a bowl with the port to infuse.
- Mix the yeast with warm milk and let rest in a warm place for 5-10 minutes until slightly frothy on top.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, butter, whole eggs and salt. Then pour in the yeast mixture and knead together. Once mixed, add in the port and fruits mixture and the chopped nuts. Knead together until well combined.
- Mould the dough to be rounded or in a ball shape within the bowl, scraping down the edges and slightly sprinkle with flour before covering it over with cling wrap and a cloth.
- Allow to rise to double the size. This should take around 1.5 hours, depending on your climate.
- Line a baking tray with paper and a light sprinkling of flour. Place the dough onto the tray, forming a ring or “crown”, without handling the dough too much. Place a cup or dish in the centre to keep the ring from closing up.
- Allow to rise for another 30min – 1 hour. Pre-heat oven to 180°c. Baste with egg yolk mixture and garnish with remaining nuts, dried fruit slices and icing sugar. Pop in the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, and you’re done!
Wandercook’s Tips
- Place a bowl or cup in the middle ring to prevent the hole from closing while baking.
- Sprinkle extra icing sugar over a slice when serving to make it look extra special and add just a little extra sweetness with every bite.
- Leftovers? Break it up and make it into Gur Cake – the perfect stale bread or cake recipe.
FAQs
The biggest difference is on the topping. Kings Cake (Bolo Rei) is layered on top with dried fruit and nuts, while Queens Cake (Bolo Rainha) omits the fruit (and sometimes the nuts too!).
While Kings Cake is the more popular recipe on the table during the holiday season, the lesser known Queens Cake is starting to rise in popularity due to the fact a lot of people don’t like the fruit on top of the cake.
You can make this one or two days in advance (especially if you wanted to have it on Christmas Day). The best way to store the cake is in a sealed container to keep the cake from drying out.
If it does feel a little dry, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds a slice or 30-45 seconds for the whole cake.
Yes! Once it’s cooked and cooled, if you won’t eat it in the next 3-4 days, pop it in the freezer and store for 2-3 months. When you’re ready to thaw it out, just pop it in the oven for 10 minutes on 180°C (350°F).
Variations & Substitutes
- Leave off the fruit on top of the cake and you’ve just made Bolo Rainha or Portuguese Queens Cake.
- Customise the flavour by substituting different fruit and nuts to suit your taste.
- Substitute port with any other spiced liquor such as brandy, sherry, frangelico or cointreau.
- For an easier version try our Italian colomba cake instead. It’s quite similar but made without yeast!
Create your own Christmas Day feast with these dishes:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and star rating below!
Ingredients
- 3 cups plain flour / all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp dried yeast (around 14g dried yeast)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 75 g butter softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg whisked – for basting
- Pinch salt
- lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 100 ml warm milk
- 100 ml port wine or brandy or sweet sherry
- 80 g candied or dried fruit chopped for filling, sultanas okay
- 50 g mixed nuts unsalted and chopped (walnuts, almonds, pine nuts)
Garnish
- 50 g dried fruit slices
- 30 g mixed nuts unsalted and halved (walnuts, almonds, pine nuts)
- Sprinkle icing sugar / powdered sugar
- 1 tsp strawberry jam (jelly)
- 2 tsp hot water
Instructions
- Place the chopped candied fruit and raisins in a bowl with the port to infuse.100 ml port wine, 80 g candied or dried fruit
- Mix the yeast with warm milk and let rest in a warm place for 5-10 minutes until slightly frothy on top.2 tbsp dried yeast, 100 ml warm milk
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, butter, whole eggs and salt. Then pour in the yeast milk and knead together.3 cups plain flour / all purpose flour, 75 g butter, 2 eggs, Pinch salt, lemon zest, 1/2 cup sugar
- Once mixed, add in the port and fruits mixture and the chopped nuts. Knead together until well combined.50 g mixed nuts
- Mould the dough to be rounded or in a ball shape within the bowl, scraping down the edges and slightly sprinkle with flour before covering it over with cling wrap and a cloth. Allow to rise to double the size. This should take around 1.5 hours, depending on your climate.
- Line a baking tray with paper and a light sprinkling of flour. Place the dough onto the tray, forming a ring or "crown", without handling the dough too much. Place a cup or dish in the centre to keep the ring from closing up. Allow to rise for another 30min – 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 180°c.
- Baste with whisked egg and garnish with remaining nuts, dried fruit slices and icing sugar.1 egg, 50 g dried fruit slices, Sprinkle icing sugar / powdered sugar, 30 g mixed nuts
- Pop in the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.
- Optional: Brush the top with the jam and hot water mix to add a finishing shine before serving.1 tsp strawberry jam, 2 tsp hot water
Recipe Notes
- The Wreath Shape: Place a bowl or cup in the middle ring to prevent the hole from closing while baking.
- Presentation: Sprinkle extra icing sugar over a slice when serving to make it look extra special and add just a little extra sweetness with every bite.
- Making in Advance: You can make this one or two days in advance (especially if you wanted to have it on Christmas Day). The best way to store the cake is in a sealed container to keep the cake from drying out. If it does feel a little dry, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds a slice or 30-45 seconds for the whole cake.
- Freezing: Once it’s cooked and cooled, if you won’t eat it in the next 3-4 days, pop it in the freezer and store for 2-3 months. When you’re ready to thaw it out, just pop it in the oven for 10 minutes on 180°C (350°F).
- Variation 1: Leave off the fruit on top of the cake and you’ve just made Bolo Rainha or Portuguese Queens Cake.
- Variation 2: Customise the flavour by using different fruit and nuts to suit your taste.
- Substitute Port: Any other spiced liquor such as brandy, sherry, frangelico or cointreau.
Nutrition
28 Comments
Steffie
29/01/2024 at 3:38 pmThanks for sharing!
Wandercooks
30/01/2024 at 1:48 pmYou’re welcome!
Graeme
30/12/2023 at 8:30 pmThanks. As a Lusitanophile I enjoyed making this again. Minus the port (which is a bad way to spoil good Douro reds!) Orange juice is typical also to steep the dried fruits.
Small cultural thing about timing. Bolo ‘Rei’ connects to the ‘Reyes’ festivals of Spain n Portugal. So not eaten at Christmas but Epiphany. January 6 when the 3 Kings supposedly made it to Mary’s creche.
Wandercooks
31/12/2023 at 12:59 pmGlad you enjoyed it Graeme. You’re right that it’s popular on January 6th for Epiphany, but it’s just as popular on Christmas day all the way through to January 6th! Most of our readers actually make this on December 24th if our stats are anything to go by! 🙂
Lucy Pereira
22/12/2023 at 10:37 amHi I’m about to make this weekend, is the cake big should i make two smaller ones?
regards Lucy
Wandercooks
22/12/2023 at 1:14 pmHey Lucy! It’s an average sized cake. You can make two smaller rings if you prefer, just adjust the cooking time accordingly as it may bake a little faster. 🙂
Marian Greely
02/01/2023 at 10:41 amMy ingredients were fresh & I was excited to bake this cake. The end result was a big disappointment..
The recipe was confusing in that Cups & Grams were used. No consistency in measurement or volume. Why not weigh the flour & sugar?
I bake a lot so I know what I’m doing. My yeast was fresh, my milk was 125 degrees, and I know how to knead. It was absolutely NOT light & airy even with 2 Tablespoons of fresh yeast. I’d send you a picture but don’t see a place to attach it.
Wandercooks
12/01/2023 at 1:15 pmHey Marian, sorry to hear you weren’t happy with the results. A lot of the success is based on the rising of the bread. It may have overproofed or underproofed, which can result in a heavier bread-like consistency. You really want to make sure you bake it once the dough has doubled. Hopefully that’s it! The differences in measurements are to try and keep it easy for everyone around the world to make it, but we can add in the extra weights to make it easier for you next time.
Fernanda
17/12/2022 at 3:42 amIs the dough supposed to look a bit red because of the port wine, that’s what mine looks like, seems to be a lot of port for the recipe.
Wandercooks
17/12/2022 at 8:12 amIt heavily depends on what port you use. The port we used was light brown so tinged the dough that colour. If your port was a deep red, then it will be that colour. It doesn’t matter at all, it will turn out the same, so don’t stress. That’s definitely the right amount. Happy baking and happy holidays!
Connie
02/11/2022 at 4:12 pmPlease tell me how to make a ring shape
Wandercooks
02/11/2022 at 4:27 pmHi Connie, when placing the dough on the tray, use your fingers to pull a hole in the centre, then place a small dish in the centre to hold the round shape and stop it from closing up.
Helena
05/03/2021 at 12:25 pmThis is called “Roscon de Reyes” in Spanish. It simulates a crown with jewels. It is a tradition of all hispanic countries to eat it in Pentecost to celebrate the three Kings visit to baby Jesus, so each country has its own variation. In Spain, we put only candy fruit and sugar on the top. Once baked it can be cut by the middle (leaving a top and a bottom circle) and filled with whipped cream or pastry cream. It is not filled with nuts or fruits, as you say it is done in Portugal, but inside we hide a small gift (a bean in origin) before baking it. The “bean” brings good fortune during the year to that who finds it and that person should buy the cake the next time 😀
Wandercooks
05/03/2021 at 1:44 pmOh how fascinating. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about the Spanish version! I think adding the cream would be a delicious addition to the bread. The tradition of adding the gift (or bean) for good luck is a cute little touch too, it reminds us of growing up at Christmas time and our parents putting money in our Christmas pudding. It was always so exciting when we were little!
Jeanne M Killian
29/12/2020 at 4:16 amDoes this recipe really call for 2 Tbs yeast for 3 Cups of Flour? It seems to be too much yeast, especially if you are adding 2 eggs. Please confirm if you can if the amount is really 2 Tbs. of yeast. Thank you
Wandercooks
29/12/2020 at 2:52 pmHey Jeanne, yep 2 tbsp for this one. The yeast gives it the light bread texture and the amount helps to rise it nice and quickly. If you prefer you can measure out the 14 grams or 0.5 oz instead, but you should be fine either way. Have fun baking, I’m sure it will look amazing! 🙂
Emmeline
11/12/2019 at 6:28 pmI’ve never heard of this cake before but it looks very interesting! Love learning about different Christmas foods around the world like this.
Wandercooks
12/12/2019 at 9:03 amAwesome Emmeline!
Farah
11/12/2019 at 4:42 pmHow beautiful! Looks so much better than the traditional fruit cake loaf. I’ll try this out!
Wandercooks
12/12/2019 at 9:03 amSo different, it’s a lot lighter than fruit cake which I like.
Beth
11/12/2019 at 4:32 pmWhat a fun, beautiful cake! I enjoyed learning a little about the tradition behind this recipe too!
Wandercooks
12/12/2019 at 9:02 amThat’s great Beth, we enjoyed learning about the tradition too! 🙂
Haley D. Williams
11/12/2019 at 4:16 pmLove holiday desserts from around the world!
Wandercooks
12/12/2019 at 9:02 amSame, there’s always something new to cook. 🙂
Cyndy
11/12/2019 at 4:12 pmWonderful idea and I love all of the detailed instructions that you have given. I can’t wait to make this cake!
Wandercooks
12/12/2019 at 9:05 amHappy to help Cyndy. Let us know how you go!
Si
30/12/2020 at 1:56 amI lived on Portugal 15 years and miss bolo rei , so this year I decided to try this recipe out , now making it for the second time , really good traditional recipe easy to do and delicious
Wandercooks
30/12/2020 at 3:31 pmOh amazing, we’re so happy to hear you were able to recreate this and bring back those delicious memories. Thanks for the feedback and happy baking! 😀