Bolo de rolo

Bolo de rolo is a sweet from Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, made by spreading red guava paste on thin, pale layers of cake and rolling them up in many layers. A spiral of fine lines of cake and filling appears in the cut surface. Rather than rolling a filling inside a single thick sheet of cake, it is made by successively adding thin sheets that are baked separately. The word “rolo” in its name means a roll or a rolled shape.

Successively rolling on thinly baked sheets

The batter is spread very thinly on a baking sheet and baked briefly. Guava paste is spread thinly over one baked sheet, which is rolled up, and filling is spread on the next sheet as well. Using the previously rolled piece as the core, the second sheet is rolled around its outside. As this is repeated, the end of the roll moves outward each time, and the number of yellow and red rings increases.

The difference from a roll cake, made by baking a single thick sheet and rolling it around cream, is not only the thinness of the cake. In bolo de rolo, separately baked sheets are joined one after another and assembled into a single roll.

These thin sheets cook quickly, but if they are overbaked, they dry out and crack. They are therefore removed from the baking sheet while still pliable and rolled using a cloth sprinkled with sugar or something similar. Spreading both the batter and the filling evenly over the entire surface leads to a neat cross-section with fine spirals.

Bolo de rolo served with ice cream. The thin cake and filling form a spiral. Photo: Fabiobarros, 2019-05-03, location unknown. Original image / CC BY-SA 4.0. Downscaled version from the source; no additional processing.

Batter made with butter, and batter made light with egg foam

One method that has been handed down uses flour, eggs, sugar, and butter for the batter. First, the butter and sugar are mixed well, egg yolks are added, and then whipped egg whites and sifted flour are folded in. Even in the thin layers baked this way, the richness of the fat remains and overlaps with the fruit filling.

On the other hand, there are also recipes (ingredient proportions and method) that do not put butter in the batter: the egg whites are whipped, the yolks and sugar are added, and then the flour is folded in. This version gets its lightness from egg foam and is handled using a damp cloth. Even when the proportions and the number of baking sheets differ, the versions have in common that the filling is spread thinly on pliable, briefly baked sheets and the next sheet is rolled on.

Goiabada spread thinly

The goiabada used for the filling is guava cooked down with sugar. Firm goiabada is loosened with a little water so that it spreads smoothly. Rather than heaping it thickly in one spot, spreading it thinly and evenly allows it to adhere to the cake when rolled.

Sugar is sprinkled over the outside of the rolled sweet as a finishing touch.

Today it has spread beyond the state, and versions with chocolate or dulce de leche filling are also made. Serving thin slices with queijo do reino adds the saltiness of aged cheese to the sweetness of the fruit. In addition to the traditional guava version, a variety of ideas can now be seen in fillings and accompaniments.

Bolo de rolo for sale at the Central Market in Fortaleza. Fine spirals are visible in the cut ends of the wrapped sweets. Photo: Patricialaraia, 2018-11-08, Central Market of Fortaleza, Brazil. Original image / CC BY-SA 4.0. Downscaled version from the source. The metadata of the originally published image contains a record of Windows Photo Editor, but what edits were made is unknown. No additional processing by us.

Origins linked to Portuguese sweets, and continuity in the region

Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, a state public research institution, cites the Portuguese sweet “colchão de noiva,” which encloses almonds, as its prototype. The state legislature also relays a local story that a sweet brought from Portugal replaced the almonds with local guava and came to be rolled with thinner layers of cake. Who made these changes and when is not clear.

In Pernambuco, where sugarcane plantations and sugar mills developed, a culture of sweets using sugar and fruit took root. Bolo de rolo, too, came to be cherished as a sweet for entertaining visitors at home and as a gift. This sweet of thin, stacked layers has carried the sweetness of local fruit to guests and gift recipients.

In 2008, the state of Pernambuco designated this sweet as intangible cultural heritage.

Glossary