Bolo de Fubá

Snack Ambassador: Bolo de Fubá

Hi friends. Welcome to my new series, Snack Ambassador. In this series, I’ll be making food with friends from backgrounds different from my own. Each post, I’ll ask a friend for a dish they love from their childhood or culture, and we’ll make it together! We’ll learn about the history and cultural significance of these foods, as well as their personal connection to the guest. Sometimes we’ll keep it traditional, others we’ll get a bit more creative. As someone who loves to travel and try new things while doing so, I thought this would be a cool way to put meaning behind recipes. In this inaugural post, we’ll be making Bolo de Fubá with one of my very best friends in the world, Caroline Hagerty.

I’ll let Caroline intro herself here:

Hi there!  I am a Brazilian American originally from Florida and have been living in Los Angeles for 4 years now.  I’ve known Kirby since we were teens in high school and our friendship is one of the greatest things in my life.  We even went to Brazil together one Summer (Kirby would never tell you this but she’s better at Portuguese than you might expect!)  

Professionally, I am a Retail Designer- I design displays you see in stores like Nordstrom and Sephora.  I am also an illustrator and painter and enjoy all creative things!  I have a fur baby named Coco (she’s a very fluffy cat) and am expecting my first human baby due in September.  

Here’s a couple of pictures so you can see just how far back Caroline and I go. The first is of Caroline, her sister Vivian and me in Brazil with some puppies. I truly don’t remember where the puppies came from. The second is Caroline and me at her gender reveal earlier this year!

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Passing the mic back to Caroline, now.

Today we are making a bolo de fubá, which is a cornmeal cake.  This is a super simple cake that is typically served with coffee in the afternoon. I love this cake because there are endless delicious variations!  Fennel, Parmesan cheese, shredded coconut, and guava are commonly added to create different recipes. Bolo de fubá is one of those foods that can be made quickly from ingredients found in most households.  The ease of preparation and nostalgic flavors make it a popular option all over Brazil for casual entertaining.

My family is from the interior of Brazil where corn based foods are incredibly common, stemming back historically to a time where wheat flour was not available yet in Brazil.  Traditionally, the cornmeal was ground by hand and while some still use this method, cornmeal is easily found in all grocery stores today!  I grew up eating a no-frills version of this cake but today we decided to experiment with some extra elements like a guava glaze.  The recipe was inspired by my cousin’s variation which is my grandfather’s favorite.

If you want to see more from Caroline, check out her Instagram or portfolio!

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Bolo de Fubá:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 barely full cup of oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan

For the frosting:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup guava paste

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease a bundt pan.
  2. Add the eggs, milk, oil and sugar to a blender. Now blend until incorporated.
  3. Add the cornmeal, flour and baking powder to the blender and blend until mixed.
  4. Add the shredder parmesan to the blender and glently mix it in with a spatula or whisk.
  5. Pour the contents of the blender into the bundt pan and put it in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when you can stick a toothpick into the center of the cake and remove it without residue.
  6. Remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes. While it’s cooling, get started on the glaze!
  7. Put some water in the bottom portion of a double boiler and heat it on the stove. While it’s heating, roughly chop your guava paste so that it’ll melt faster. Then add the guava paste and heavy cream to the top of the double boiler. Cook this for about 10 minutes, stirring often. You’ll want the guava paste and heavy cream to meld, creating a sticky sort of frosting. Once they’ve combined, let the frosting cool for a few minutes. You can use this time to flip your bundt pan.
  8. Use a spatula to gently frost the top of your cake. How much you use here is completely up to you, but I say the more the better!

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