A Month of Portugal...An Ode to Bolas de Berlim

I was going to do a post all about the wonders of Portuguese pastries, as found in (almost) any pastelaria in the country.

Like these.

Or these.

And then I went to Portugal for a week.

And all I ate were Bolas de Berlim.

Well, that and Torradas.
Lovely toasty Torradas. But that's another story for another day.

Back to the subject at hand...

Bolas de Berlim are a Portuguese delicacy (which turns out to not be Portuguese at all) which can be found all over the country but which seem to be impossible to completely replicate abroad.

When I lived in the United States - in a Portuguese immigrant community no less - I searched long and hard for a tasty facsimile of my favorite treat and was forever thwarted in my quest. I searched hard.

This means that whenever I go back to the homeland, I tend to overindulge...and then suffer for it.

But it's worth it. Anything for the sweet little ball of tastiness.

You might be asking, "Hey Monthy, you've been going on for a couple of paragraphs about this thing and we still don't know what it is".

Apologies.

I get slightly tunnel-visioned when discussing the doughy dollops.

Bolas de Berlim (literally Balls from Berlin) are a doughnut-like concoction found in Portugal. Based off the original Berliners from, you've guessed it Berlin, Bolas are a Portuguese take on a very German dessert.

But whereas Berliners are usually on the smaller side and injected (yeah, you read right) with jam and other fancy fillings, Portuguese Bolas are filled (traditionally) with Creme de Pasteleiro (Pastry Maker's Cream) which is always visible.

Probably visible from the moon, given it's neon-like color.

YUM!
(though it should be granulated sugar, not powdered sugar. harumph)

I've loved these little guys...ok, big guys, since I was a wee girl. I've heard stories of my mother ingesting a half-dozen of them at a time while she was pregnant with me, but I'm sure that's a complete coincidence and not at all related to my obsession with them.

Nope, no relation at all.

Delicious and the sugar's just right.
But this poor little Bola didn't know what hit it as it's been cut in half - always a sin.
The horror. The horror.

As well as being found in most pastelarias in the country, they can also - oddly enough i'm sure for foreigners - be found for sale at most beaches during the summer season. A seller will wander the sands carrying a tray of fresh Bolas for sale.

Like this guy:

Except maybe not as media-tastic as this guy 😁

I probably will never ever try to make them myself - recipe involves deep frying and me and hot oil don't get along - but I've found a very nice video showing how to make them the traditional way.

Without of course forgetting the wondrous Creme de Pasteleiro.

Identity hidden to protect the gluttonous 😉

For those who don't understand Portuguese, I also found an English language website listing a recipe pretty similar to the one shown on the videos above.

So, if you ever find yourself in Portugal and spot the well-known pasteis de nata, give them a pass at least once during your trip. And instead go ahead and indulge yourself in that most wondrous food of the gods, the amazing Bola de Berlim.