Pao de Lo de Ovar (Portuguese Sponge Cake)

Every Portuguese grandmother has an opinion about pao de lo, and every region thinks its version is the only correct one. My Trans-os-Montes grandmother made a fully baked, dry-ish version good for dunking in coffee.

The Ovar and Alfeizerao style, which is what I am giving you today, is the other camp entirely: a cake so underbaked in the center on purpose that when you slice it, the middle spills out almost like a custard. The first time I served this to American friends, someone asked if I had made a mistake. I had not. That gooey center is the entire point.

The trick is egg yolks, a shocking number of them, barely any flour, and a short, hot bake so the outside sets into a cake while the inside stays molten. It is closely related in spirit to my Toucinho do Ceu and my Encharcada (both recipes on the site), which is not a coincidence,

Portuguese convent baking loved nothing more than finding new ways to use up egg yolks after convents sold the whites to wineries for clarifying wine. This is what monastic thriftiness looks like when it is also delicious.

It shows up on our table for birthdays and at Christmas alongside my Rabanadas (recipe on the site), because it keeps well and travels beautifully to potlucks, arriving intact even after a car ride, which is more than I can say for most of my desserts.

Sofia has appointed herself official yolk-separator for this one, a job she takes with tremendous ceremony, and my husband, who claims not to have a sweet tooth, has been caught eating it cold straight from the fridge at midnight more than once.

Pao de Lo de Ovar (Portuguese Sponge Cake) Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: 35 minutes · Total: 55 minutes · Servings: 10 · Calories: ~240 per serving

Ingredients

• 14 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 4 large whole eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• Butter and flour, for the pan
• Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (with at least 2-inch sides) and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks, whole eggs, and sugar together on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until pale, thick, and roughly tripled in volume. This step cannot be rushed, it is what gives the cake its structure.
3. Sprinkle the sifted flour and lemon zest over the egg mixture in two additions, folding in gently by hand each time so you do not deflate the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and just set but a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the center still comes out with wet batter clinging to it. The very center should remain deliberately underdone.
6. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 1 hour before attempting to unmold; it firms up as it sits. Run a knife around the edge, invert onto a plate, and dust with powdered sugar if desired before serving.

Recipe Notes

• This cake is meant to look slightly underbaked and even sink a little in the center as it cools. If you want a fully set, sliceable cake instead, bake 10 minutes longer, but know that changes the texture from the traditional version.
• Room temperature eggs whip up to much greater volume than cold eggs, so pull them out at least an hour before baking.
• Freeze leftover egg whites in an ice cube tray for a future batch of my Farofias or Suspiros, or use them for an omelet the next morning.
• This cake is traditionally served slightly chilled or at room temperature, never warm from the oven, since the center needs time to set into its signature custardy texture.