Bolo-rei escangalhado, literally ‘wrecked king cake’, is the Portuguese way of turning leftover bolo-rei into a new dessert. Instead of discarding the dry, day-old slices that remain after the Christmas and Epiphany season, the cake is torn into pieces and layered with custard and cream into a chilled, spoonable dessert.
The candied fruit, nuts and soft brioche-style crumb of the original cake hold up well to the moisture of custard, which is why the dessert works best with a cake that is a few days old. A splash of Port or a little orange juice is a common way to moisten the layers. The original cake is covered in our Bolo Rei (recipe on the site); the same approach also works with panettone.
Bolo-Rei Escangalhado Recipe
Ingredients
- For the custard:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 strip lemon zest
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For assembling:
- About 12 ounces day-old bolo-rei (or panettone), torn into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup Port wine or orange juice
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Ground cinnamon and chopped toasted walnuts, for topping
Instructions
- Warm the milk with the lemon zest and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming. Remove from the heat and let infuse for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks, granulated sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth and pale. Remove the zest and cinnamon from the milk, then pour the warm milk slowly into the yolk mixture while whisking.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and just begins to bubble, 4 to 6 minutes. Cook one more minute, then stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface and cool completely.
- Whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks.
- Spread half of the torn cake in a 2-quart serving dish or in individual glasses and sprinkle with half of the Port. Cover with half of the custard, then half of the whipped cream.
- Repeat with the remaining cake, Port, custard and cream. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, so the cake softens.
- Dust with cinnamon and scatter with toasted walnuts just before serving.
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