Madeira is famous for bolo do caco (recipe on the site), the soft griddle-baked garlic butter bread, but the island has an entirely different bolo worth knowing about: a dense, dark, spiced honey cake traditionally made for Christmas in a batch big enough to last for weeks. Bolo de mel translates simply as honey cake, and it leans on Madeiran sugarcane molasses, called mel de cana, along with brown sugar and a generous pinch of warm spices.

There is a charming tradition attached to this cake: it is never cut with a knife. Bolo de mel is broken by hand, not sliced, a nod to its old role as a shared, communal cake. The torn edges look better anyway.

It keeps remarkably well wrapped at room temperature and actually improves after a day or two as the spices settle in, which makes it an excellent make-ahead dessert.

Bolo de Mel da Madeira Recipe

What you need

Ingredients

1 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/4 cup port wine or orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Cook along

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325F and grease a 9-inch round cake pan or bundt pan.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, molasses and honey together until well combined and glossy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the port wine or orange juice and the orange zest.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, black pepper and salt.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture in two additions, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in the walnuts if using.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. For best flavor, wrap tightly and let it rest a full day before serving.
To serve, break the cake into pieces by hand rather than slicing it, in the traditional style.