Bolo de Bolacha — Print Recipe

A no-bake cake of layered coffee-soaked biscuits and rich butter cream, chilled until the biscuits soften into a cake-like texture. Every Portuguese family has their own version of this beloved dessert.

Ingredients

400g Maria biscuits (plain tea biscuits)
250g butter, softened
200g sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp strong espresso coffee
200ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cocoa powder or chocolate shavings for topping

Instructions

1 Beat softened butter with sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
2 Mix coffee with milk in a shallow dish.
3 Quickly dip each biscuit in the coffee-milk mixture — just enough to moisten, not to make soggy.
4 Line the bottom of a rectangular dish with dipped biscuits. Spread a layer of butter cream over them.
5 Repeat layers until all biscuits and cream are used, finishing with a cream layer on top.
6 Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

Did You Know?

Bolo de bolacha is the first dessert most Portuguese children learn to make, and every family insists their grandmother's recipe is the definitive version.