Please join me in welcoming a Brazilian food expert to our newsletter!
+ her favorite Bolo de Fubá Bundt Cake recipe
My main goal in this newsletter is to share cooking knowledge (and other fun things!) with whoever dines at my table. I'm so happy you're here, and I'm constantly thinking of ways I can improve the taste you go back home with after our weekly dinners together. With that in mind, I've invited Euzana Forkan, my dear friend and Brazilian food writer, to be a contributor and bring some of her Brazilian flair to this party.
Together, we want to build a source of Brazilian cuisine, ingredients understanding, and recipes for you here. Sometimes I'm just touching the surface of what Brazilian gastronomy really is, but I'm now invested in the idea that I should share more about my food. If you have any suggestions, they're more than welcome!
I hope you enjoy reading Euzana as much as I do, and I hope you're excited about what is about to be served. She's been cooking up so delicious topics for us to talk about. I'd happily introduce Euzana in all her brazilianess to you, but I'll let her do it in her beautiful words:
I've had quite a journey so far.
I’m Brazilian (soon to be Irish), living in Ireland for the past decade. I was born in Bahia, a state in Northeast Brazil, but my family moved to São Paulo — the biggest city in Latin America — when I was just one year old. This is where I lived until 2013 when I was made redundant from my job. I then decided to take a sabbatical year to finally study English. Somehow I ended up in Dublin.
Eight months later, I met the love of my life, who is now my husband. Now I made Ireland my home.
Despite holding a bachelor's degree in Public Relations, I had never worked in this field. I started working with the internet circa 1998 (am I old? Jurassic, I know!) and have accumulated more than ten years of experience in digital marketing in Brazil.
Over the last 15 years, I’ve developed my passion for food, which led me to complete a master's degree in Gastronomy and Food Studies at TU Dublin. Although it was challenging to write a thesis in my second language, the course was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The master’s gave me a profound understanding of the food system and how to think critically about it.
In addition, I am an enthusiastic home baker. I’m constantly trying out new recipes from my humble cookbook collection (I’m crazy about cookbooks), and I regularly bake cakes for my loved ones. Both my Irish and American nephews love my Brazilian Carrot Cake with brigadeiro frosting and keep saying that I bake the best cakes in the world. Kids always tell the truth, right?
Cake is my religion. And I brought to my Irish home the Brazilian tradition of serving cake to my guests. My favorite cake is Bolo de Fubá com Goiabada, a Brazilian cornmeal cake with guava jam topping.
I have a cat named Ziggy (I never call him by this name anyway), and for his next birthday, I’m planning to bake him a cat cake (with ingredients he can eat, obviously). He deserves a cake. Every creature deserves cake 🙃
I think that’s pretty much it… I don’t like milk or beer (I know, I’m less happy because of this), I drink my coffee with sugar, I’m trying to drink better wines, and I only eat real bread. Italians have the best food in the world (pardon me, Brazil). I like fashion. I still buy paper magazines and newspapers, and waste way too much time on Instagram, as most of its 2.35 billion users do.
I believe that my passion for baking, academic background in Gastronomy and Food Studies, and day-to-day experiences in Ireland makes for a profusion of interesting ideas to explore. I’m more than thrilled at the prospect of writing more about food and am excited to share my insights with the world.
Euzana
You can read more from Euzana here:
Brazirish - an essay in the first issue of Scoop Magazine
While I was in Paris, Euzana mailed me a copy of Scoop, and I thought this was one of the nicest things! I was receiving mail in Paris? Like if it was really my home? What a world!
A Moqueca Baiana recipe in the Soup cookbook by the Spice Bags Podcast
Soup cookbook takes you on a journey around the globe from the comfort of the communities within Ireland. The soups they have collected reflect individual cultures, memories, and tastes, but they also reflect Irish food today and the people behind it.
Euzana will be back next week for her debut article, and I can't wait for you to read it. In the meantime, she was kind enough to gift us one of her favorite cake recipes (Now you have to deal with two cake addicts here, I'm sorry!). It's a super traditional Brazilian cornmeal called Bolo de Fubá. Unfortunately, Fubá doesn't totally translate to the cornmeal you can find on American supermarket shelves, but I've tested some recipes with two options that could give you amazing results. Suggestions are in the recipe description below.
We talk soon, my dear.
Merci,
J
Recipe
Euzana's Bolo de Fubá - Brazilian Cornmeal Bundt Cake
Bolo de Fubá is synonymous with comfort food in Brazil. With its crumb delicate yet moist, whispering promises of corn-scented sweetness, this cake originated in the 18th Century during colonization, when the use of wheat flour was restricted. Back then, flour made from dried corn (fubá) became one of the main alternative ingredients for baking. There are many variations of the classic recipe, and almost every family has their own, which tends to be a composition of the cake itself + some sort of flavoring: fubá cake with goiabada (guava paste), creamy fubá cake with cheese, fubá cake with fennel seeds or with coconut. The possibilities are endless!
If you have access to a Brazilian store nearby, it's easy to find fubá. The packaging should read Fubá Mimoso — here's some for reference.
When there's no Brazilian market in sight, both Goya Fine Yellow Cornmeal and Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Grain Corn Flour should work wonders.
Ingredients
Yield: 10-12 servings
1 cup fubá* or super-fine cornmeal (140g), plus extra for dusting
1 cup all-purpose flour (140g)
1 tbsp baking powder (14g)
1 cup of caster sugar (225 gr)
200g unsalted butter (at room temperature), plus extra for greasing
4 eggs
1 cup whole milk (240ml)
½ tsp salt (3g)
300g goiabada (optional for the glaze)
How you can make it:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Generously grease a 10-cup (2.4l) Bundt pan with butter and dust with about 2 tbsp of cornmeal, tapping out the excess to ensure easy release.
In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, fubá (cornmeal), salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a small bowl, gently whisk the eggs and set aside.
Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 8 minutes until pale and fluffy.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then add half of the whisked eggs. Beat the mixture well for 1 minute before adding the remaining half of the eggs.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternate, adding the dry ingredients and the milk. Begin by adding 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/2 of the milk. Mix until well incorporated. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk. Mix again until well incorporated. Finally, add the remaining flour and mix just until combined. Avoid overmixing the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Your home will be filled with a heavenly aroma.
Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting it onto a cake plate.
Once the cake is completely cool (although it is also incredibly tasty when served warm), lightly dust it with icing sugar using a sieve.
Optional Goiabada Glaze:
The cake itself is a delicious treat, perfectly enjoyable on its own with a delicate dusting of icing sugar. However, if you want to elevate its presentation and add an extra layer of flavor, consider adorning it with a luscious goiabada glaze — a classic combination that is frequently served in Brazil. Goiabada, a delightful paste crafted from guava and sugar, holds immense popularity in South and Central America.
To make a goiabada glaze for this cake, begin by melting 300g of goiabada with 3 tbsp of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Allow the mixture to simmer for approximately 5 minutes, until it reaches a glossy and pourable consistency.
Pour the glaze evenly over the cake and serve.
Bon appétit!
Amei a novidade! Já louco pra ler mais a Euzana! ♥️
Such a great taste of Brazil- loved this post. Thanks for sharing!