{"id":8357,"date":"2026-10-19T23:31:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8357"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:49:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:49:55","slug":"pao-de-lo","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/pao-de-lo\/","title":{"rendered":"P\u00e3o de L\u00f3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

P\u00e3o de l\u00f3, written in Japanese both as \u201cpaon de r\u014d\u201d and as \u201cpander\u014d,\u201d is a Portuguese cake made mainly with eggs, sugar and wheat flour. No fermented leavening is used; it rises with the air held in beaten eggs. The yellow crumb, colored by the eggs, may be light enough to tear easily by hand, or may keep a runny center that sinks, and its appearance differs by region. The ratio of whole eggs to yolks, the amount of flour, how molds and paper are used, and how it is baked all change its texture and shape.<\/p>\n

\n\"P\u00e3o\n
P\u00e3o de l\u00f3 from Ovar lined up for sale (December 20, 2009). The paper-wrapped cakes are placed in boxes and clear packaging. Photo: Adriao \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 3.0<\/a>. Uses a reduced-size image distributed by Wikimedia Commons. No alterations to content or cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Ovar’s Cake with a Runny Center<\/h2>\n

Ovar’s version is characterized by its generous use of egg yolks and a moist center. In the Ovar-style recipe (ingredient proportions and method) by the food writer Clara de Sousa, there are 60 grams of flour to 4 whole eggs, 14 egg yolks and 250 grams of sugar. No milk or butter is added; the cake relies on the moisture, fat and foam of the eggs. The eggs and sugar are beaten for 20 minutes, and even after the flour is added, mixing continues for 10 minutes at the mixer’s lowest speed. The specification of Ovar’s producers’ association allows mixing after the flour is added to be done either by hand or by machine. This step makes the beaten batter uniform without leaving lumps of flour or unevenly mixed patches.<\/p>\n

Beneath the thinly browned surface form a light sponge and a moist part called pito. The batter is poured into a deep earthenware mold with no hole in the center and baked. The inside of the mold is lined closely with white paper that rises above the rim. This keeps large gaps from forming between the mold and the paper, so the paper supports the batter both during baking and while it cools. The cake is taken out of the oven when the edges have set and the center still wobbles slightly, and it is cooled in the mold. The baking time changes how much pito remains.<\/p>\n

In Clara’s method, the cake rests in the mold until the next day before the paper is opened. As it rests in the earthenware mold, which still holds heat, the center sinks, and the paper keeps a mark showing the height the cake reached as it rose in baking. The paper that served as the lining becomes the wrapping just as it is. \u201cP\u00e3o de L\u00f3 de Ovar,\u201d from the municipality of Ovar, was registered as an EU IGP in 2016, but this registration covers the Ovar cake, and other regions have their own methods.<\/p>\n

Margaride’s Cake, Baked in a Mold with a Hole<\/h2>\n

Using a mold with a hole in the center makes the same egg cake ring-shaped. The cake made in Margaride, in Felgueiras in the north, has this ring shape. The golden crumb is light; the cake is taken out with its paper and torn by hand. Techniques using earthenware and domed ovens are part of its making, and it is enjoyed on tables set to welcome visitors at Easter and at Christmas, and with port wine throughout the year.<\/p>\n

The production history of Margaride preserves the name of Clara Maria, who died in 1831. Her family then carried on the confectionery, and by the end of the 19th century they were recognized as suppliers to the royal household. It is a cake cherished at local celebrations, with its method passed down through the family.<\/p>\n

Alfeizer\u00e3o’s Cake, Baked Covered with Paper<\/h2>\n

Alfeizer\u00e3o’s cake also keeps a moist center. Some methods use many egg yolks and add sugar, wheat flour, salt and grape brandy. The batter is beaten for a long time, poured into a greased mold, covered with paper on top and baked. It bakes so that the center sinks, but unlike Ovar’s, the paper is not laid inside the mold; instead it covers the top during baking.<\/p>\n

Cakes from Vizela and Arouca with White Icing<\/h2>\n

Vizela’s bolinhol uses many egg yolks and is baked mainly in rectangles. A thick, whitish sugar syrup is spread by hand over the slightly moist yellow cake baked in paper molds. Its name also appears in records of the 1884 Guimar\u00e3es Industrial Exhibition.<\/p>\n

Arouca has both a moist cake glazed with syrup, cut and individually wrapped, and a drier round cake. Even among the sweets bearing the Arouca name, there are differences in moistness and shape.<\/p>\n

\n\"Bolinhol:\n
Bolinhol from Confeitaria Quibom (date unknown). The rectangular yellow cake is covered in white icing. Photo: Fatimasalgado \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC0<\/a>. Uses a reduced-size image distributed by Wikimedia Commons. Provided under CC0 by the photographer. No alterations to content or cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\"Individually\n
P\u00e3o de l\u00f3 from Arouca individually wrapped in bags (August 27, 2009). The flat cake is sold in a form that is easy to carry. Photo: Adriao \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 3.0<\/a>. Uses a reduced-size image distributed by Wikimedia Commons. No alterations to content or cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A Moist Cake Created by a Cook in Rio Maior<\/h2>\n

In the late 1960s, Alice Sequeira of the restaurant \u201cAvis\u201d experimented with a cake that was moister and different in appearance. Some say she reworked the cake previously sold there, which resembled Margaride’s, while others say she based it on a home recipe for the Alfeizer\u00e3o cake. Although accounts differ as to which cake it was based on, the moist texture Alice sought and her work were carried on by her family. Among moist p\u00e3o de l\u00f3, besides those said to be connected with convents, there are also ones that, like this, came from a modern cook’s ingenuity.<\/p>\n

Theories About the Meaning of \u201cL\u00f3\u201d<\/h2>\n

P\u00e3o means bread, but there is no settled explanation for l\u00f3. The Portuguese word l\u00f3 has one entry referring to the windward side of a ship and another meaning a thin, gauze-like fabric. The former is linked to the French lof, while the distant origin of the latter is unknown. One interpretation likens the cake to a soft, thin fabric, and another theory traces the name to a German confectioner named Lot. Who named it, and when, is not known.<\/p>\n

From a 16th-Century Almond Sweet to an 18th-Century Cake of Beaten Eggs<\/h2>\n

The p\u00e3o de l\u00f3 in the 16th-century cookbook associated with the Infanta Maria is a sweet made by adding crushed almonds and flower-scented water to sugar syrup, heating and mixing it, then spreading it out and cutting it. It has the same name, but its ingredients differ from those of today’s cake made with wheat flour and eggs.<\/p>\n

The 1785 edition of Lucas Rigaud’s cookbook includes \u201cp\u00e3o de l\u00f3, or Savoy cake.\u201d In this method, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and candied orange blossom are mixed for about 30 minutes, separately beaten egg whites are combined with them, and then flour equal to half the weight of the eggs is added little by little. The cake is baked in a copper mold and served as it is or finished with an icing of sugar, egg white and lemon juice. Whereas in the 16th century it was a sweet of sugar and almonds worked together, this cookbook records a method of beating eggs.<\/p>\n

Portuguese Gift-Giving Customs and an Egg Sweet That Crossed the Sea<\/h2>\n

In Ovar, Father Manuel L\u00edrio has studied a record from 1781 of the cake being given to clergy who carried statues of saints in a Holy Week procession. In the 19th century, home production spread, and by the end of the century people who worked on boats were carrying it to Lisbon to give to boat owners and customers on holidays.<\/p>\n

Connections with convents also vary by region. Alfeizer\u00e3o’s cake has a history tied to the Monastery of C\u00f3s, but it is not known whether all of Ovar’s methods came from convents. Households and confectioners have also developed their own methods.<\/p>\n

The Brazilian scholar Lu\u00eds da C\u00e2mara Cascudo, along with the interpretation of the cake as a soft sweet resembling thin fabric, cites Alc\u00e2ntara Machado’s research showing that a 1651 property inventory lists two copper bowls for making it. He also records, from his own childhood memories, the custom of covering a tray of these cakes with black silk cloth and giving it as a condolence gift. Having crossed the sea, the sweet was brought to grieving households as well as to celebrations.<\/p>\n

Japan’s castella, likewise made mainly with eggs, sugar and wheat flour, also arrived from Portugal and then developed its own moist form through refinements in sweeteners, proportions and a baking method that regulates heat from above and below. Sweets that rely on egg foam are finished with distinct textures in each place, according to local ingredients and tools.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Lucas Rigaud<\/strong>: A cook who published a cookbook in 18th-century Portugal.<\/p>

Lu\u00eds da C\u00e2mara Cascudo<\/strong>: A scholar who studied Brazilian folklore and food culture.<\/p>

Alc\u00e2ntara Machado<\/strong>: An author who studied the history of daily life using sources such as Brazilian property inventories.<\/p>

Pito<\/strong>: The moist, creamy part that remains inside Ovar’s p\u00e3o de l\u00f3.<\/p>

IGP<\/strong>: The European Union’s protected geographical indication. It also applies to individual names containing a place name, such as \u201cP\u00e3o de L\u00f3 de Ovar.\u201d<\/p>

Margaride<\/strong>: A district of Felgueiras in northern Portugal, known for its light p\u00e3o de l\u00f3 with a hole.<\/p>

Clara de Sousa<\/strong>: A Portuguese food writer who has published an Ovar-style method using many egg yolks.<\/p>

Clara Maria<\/strong>: A woman who made sweets in Margaride in the early 19th century. Her name remains in the history of local p\u00e3o de l\u00f3 production.<\/p>

Maria<\/strong>: A 16th-century Portuguese infanta (princess). The cookbook associated with her contains recipes (ingredient proportions and methods) for sweets in the Portuguese of the time.<\/p>

Manuel L\u00edrio<\/strong>: A priest who studied Ovar’s church records and wrote the town’s history.<\/p>

Holy Week<\/strong>: In Christianity, the week leading up to Easter. It is linked to services, processions and food customs in many places.<\/p>

Bolinhol<\/strong>: The name of Vizela’s p\u00e3o de l\u00f3 with white icing.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. Receita de P\u00e3o-de-L\u00f3 de Ovar – Clara de Sousa<\/a> \u2014 4 whole eggs \/ 14 yolks \/ 250 g sugar \/ 60 g flour; beating 20 min \/ low speed 10 min; close-fitting paper; deep earthenware mold without a hole; residual heat \/ wobble \/ resting until the next day.<\/li>
  2. Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses \u2014 P\u00e3o de L\u00f3 de Ovar IGP<\/a> \u2014 Ovar’s yolk-based recipe and l\u00f3\/pito; paper \/ judging doneness \/ cooling in the mold; region.<\/li>
  3. P\u00e3o de L\u00f3 de Ovar: geographical indication specification, Caderno de Especifica\u00e7\u00f5es<\/a> \u2014 Father L\u00edrio’s archival research on 1781; convent origin unproven; home production \/ late-19th-century boats and gifts; mixing by hand or machine \/ earthenware \/ cooling \/ paper \/ shrinkage.<\/li>
  4. Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses \u2014 UE reconhece P\u00e3o de L\u00f3 de Ovar como IGP<\/a> \u2014 Registration 2016\/1407, decided August 12 and published August 24; definition of the Ovar type.<\/li>
  5. Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses \u2014 P\u00e3o de L\u00f3 de Margaride \/ P\u00e3o Leve de Margaride \/ Rosca de Margaride IG<\/a> \u2014 With a hole \/ light type \/ earthenware molds and oven \/ paper \/ torn by hand \/ Easter visits, Christmas, port; Clara Maria’s death in 1831 and family succession \/ late-19th-century supply to the royal household.<\/li>
  6. Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses \u2014 P\u00e3o-de-L\u00f3 de Alfeizer\u00e3o<\/a> \u2014 Alfeizer\u00e3o’s yolk-based recipe and grape brandy; long beating; greased mold \/ paper on top \/ baking and moistness; history tied to C\u00f3s.<\/li>
  7. Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses \u2014 Bolinhol de Vizela<\/a> \u2014 Bolinhol shape \/ yolks \/ white syrup spread by hand; 1884 exhibition; Christmas, Easter.<\/li>
  8. Rota do P\u00e3o-de-L\u00f3 | www.visitportugal.com<\/a> \u2014 Differences in shape and aroma among the main regions; Arouca’s syrup and individual wrapping; Brazilian type with fewer eggs; Japanese relative.<\/li>
  9. O melhor da Gastronomia de Arouca – Visit Arouca<\/a> \u2014 Arouca has both dry round cakes and moist slices.<\/li>
  10. P\u00e3o-de-l\u00f3 \u2014 MCH \u2014 Menus com Hist\u00f3ria<\/a> \u2014 Transcription of the original text of the 16th-century Infanta Maria’s almond-and-syrup sweet of the same name, with commentary by Virg\u00edlio Gomes.<\/li>
  11. From Western Confectionery to Wagashi | Fukusaya Official Site<\/a> \u2014 Refinements in Japan after its introduction in the mid-16th century: proportions \/ mizuame (starch syrup) \/ hikigama oven.<\/li>

  12. \u30fbTurismo Rio Maior, \u201cP\u00e3o-de-L\u00f3 de Rio Maior\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Alice Sequeira in the late 1960s and the aim of her experiments. Describes the earlier cake as resembling Margaride’s.<\/p><\/li>

  13. \u30fbDGADR, \u201cP\u00e3o-de-L\u00f3 de Rio Maior\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The registry’s historical account that she reworked the Alfeizer\u00e3o type. Its account of the starting point differs from that of the local tourism material.<\/p><\/li>

  14. \n

    Dicion\u00e1rio Priberam, \u201cl\u00f3\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Treats the windward side of a ship \/ French lof and thin fabric \/ unknown etymology as separate entries.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  15. \n

    Carlos Marinheiro, \u201cA origem de l\u00f3 do p\u00e3o-de-l\u00f3,\u201d Ciberd\u00favidas<\/a> \u2014 The theory of a German named Lot from Silveira Bueno’s 1966 etymological dictionary.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  16. \n

    Lucas Rigaud, \u201cCozinheiro moderno,\u201d 1785 edition<\/a> \u2014 Printed p. 317: yolks \/ sugar 30 min \/ beaten whites \/ flour \/ copper mold \/ icing, and the alternative name Savoy.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  17. \n

    Lu\u00eds da C\u00e2mara Cascudo, \u201cHist\u00f3ria da Alimenta\u00e7\u00e3o no Brasil,\u201d vol. 1, pp. 355\u2013356<\/a> \u2014 Citation of Machado on the 1651 Brazilian inventory listing copper bowls, interpretation of the thin-fabric sense, and the author’s own memory of condolence gifts covered with black silk cloth.<\/p>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    P\u00e3o de l\u00f3 is a Portuguese cake built around eggs, sugar and wheat flour. Its yellow crumb, which relies on egg foam, forms a light brown surface. Depending on the region, some types are baked light right through to the center while others keep a runny part inside, and different textures have been handed down under one name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7296,"menu_order":128,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"P\u00e3o de l\u00f3","subtitle":"Beating eggs at length to bake a yellow crumb that differs from place to place","topics":"Plenty of yolks, little flour \/ Earthenware molds and paper rising above the rim \/ The lightness of Margaride, the moistness of Ovar \/ Surviving as a Holy Week gift","country":"Portugal","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["cream","butter","egg"],"texture":["moist","fluffy","smooth"],"occasion":["christmas","easter"],"method":["baked"],"season":["year-round"]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[154],"class_list":["post-8357","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t