Testing a Period Portuguese Cake Recipe - Pão de ló fofo

Today we thought we'd try a period Portuguese recipe. I have noticed that recipes from Portugal tended to have more sugar than those from England. This cake is a simple one to make and hasn't changed at all in the last few hundred years.

Here is the period recipe, which is taken from the book Arte de Cozinha. The books dates to the 17th century, but this version is from the 18th century.

The recipe roughly translates to one cake of sugar, 15 eggs, and flour. You blend the sugar and eggs and add the flour, carefully mixing, then bake. Our modern version is:

1 cup sugar
8 eggs, separated
1 cup flour

Whip egg whites and set aside. Combine the egg yolks and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Pour the sugar mixture and flour into the egg whites and fold everything together until combined. Pour batter into a well-greased cake pan and bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 35-40 minutes.

We hope you enjoy making this cake and if you are interested in your own copy of Arte de Cozinha, you can purchase it here.