Pão de Ló

Author Notes

Maybe the best known cake in Portugal, this cake dates back to the 15th century. It was made in Nunneries and, as with all Portuguese cakes, was very rich in eggs.

The recipe of Pão de Ló was taken to Japan in the XVI th Century by the first Portuguese sailors. Because at the time it was also called Pão de Castela, the Japanese adopted the recipe and call it Kasutera, one of the most typical cakes in Japan.

It is similar to the sponge cake but from the fact that it was traditionally baked in a wood oven in clay pots. The oven bread would be closed and the door sealed with fresh horse manure that would then dry and act as a sealer. More recently, it’s been sealed with flour and water. Yes, we have evolved… phew!

If you are curious, take a look at this video and watch how it is still done today in some villages and how they keep the tradition in large scale.

The original recipe called for 24 egg yolks, 6 egg whites, 2 ½ cups of sugar, and almost a cup of flour. Everything would be whisked by hand until tripled in size. The recipe I post is a modern approach to Pão de Ló, but with less eggs and quicker to make. It’s an easy cake, moist enough for tea, delicious with rhubarb or raspberry jam… the kind of recipe you make in 5 minutes when you have friends coming over. Basically it’s the same weight of whole eggs to the same amount of sugar. Hope you all enjoy my historical recipe. —Maria Teresa Jorge