Bolos de arroz are the tall, sugar-crusted rice muffins standing at attention in every Portuguese pastry case — humble next to the pastéis de nata, but ask any Portuguese person about their childhood breakfast and watch their eyes soften.
Rice flour is the signature: it gives them that distinctive tender, slightly sandy crumb no wheat-only muffin can imitate, brightened with lemon zest and finished with crunchy sugar on top.
The tall paper molds are traditional (and findable online), but a regular muffin tin makes perfectly honorable bolos de arroz. Coffee is not optional; it is the other half of the recipe.
Bolos de Arroz Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes · Cook time: 20 minutes · Total: 30 minutes · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~266 per serving
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- ½ cup soft butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with tall paper molds (or regular liners).
- Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and lemon zest.
- Whisk the rice flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt, and add to the wet mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the dry. Do not overmix.
- Fill the molds about ⅔ full and sprinkle the tops with sugar.
- Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then finish on a rack.
Recipe Notes
- The sugar sprinkle before baking creates the classic crackly cap — be generous.
- They are best the day they are baked, and acceptable for exactly as long as they last (not long).
- An orange-zest version exists and is worth the experiment.
