La Dolce Vita and Antónia wish you a Happy Easter !

On 02/04/2021
By johanna
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This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch) Português (Portuguese (Portugal))

Folar

Folar is a traditional Portuguese bread served at Easter. The recipe varies from region to region and it may be sweet or savoury. Folar is sometimes served with a boiled egg, that symbolically represents rebirth. Folar de Chaves, popular in the north-eastern Portuguese regions, is stuffed with pork, ham and linguiça (sausage). There are also sweet folars like the folar from Olhão, that consists of seven layers with melted sugar and cinnamon, and the more common folar with anise and cinnamon.

But today Antónia from Restaurant “A Vela” is sharing her own, special recipe with us. It is a folar with Nutella ! I was lucky enough to taste it and it is delicious. There is a link to a short instruction video to make it easier for you.

The legend

Yes I know, it is hard to believe but there is also a legend about the Folar ! This legend of the Easter “Folar” is so very old that its original date is unknown…
Once upon a time, in a remote Portuguese village, lived a young woman named Mariana, who wanted to get married at an early age. She prayed many times to her devout Saint Catherine, and soon two admirers showed up: A rich nobleman and a poor farmer, both young and handsome. Since she was debating between those two, she decided to ask, once again, for Saint Catherine’s guidance. While in prayer, Amaro the poor farmer, knocked on Mariana’s door and asked her for her decision, by Palm Sunday. Minutes later, the nobleman also showed up, with the same request. Mariana, who was already confused, became completely lost, without knowing what to do. On Palm Sunday, a neighbour warned Mariana that she had seen both the nobleman and the farmer, fighting. Mariana ran to the place where the two were contending and after seeking Saint Catherine’s intervention, pronounced Amaro’s name and chose the poor farmer as her spouse.

When finally Holy Saturday arrived, Mariana was extremely worried, fearing that the nobleman would show up on the wedding day, to kill Amaro. One more time, Mariana prayed to Saint Catherine and, this time, the Saint’s image smiled back.
The day after, Mariana was putting flowers on the Saint’s altar, and as soon as she got home, she found a large cake with whole eggs on the table, surrounded by flowers, the same she had put on the altar. She ran to Amaro’s house, realising that he had also received a similar cake. Thinking that it was the nobleman’s idea, she went to his house to thank him. Curiously, the nobleman had also received the same kind of cake. Mariana was then convinced that it had been Saint Catherine’s doing!
Originally called “folore”, the cake became known, in time, as “folar”, and turned into a symbol that celebrates friendship and reconciliation. During Palm Sunday, it is customary that godchildren give their godmothers a bouquet of flowers, and on Easter Sunday they offer them the “Folar”.

Recipe – Chocolate Folar

Ingredients :

1 egg
1 small yoghurt natural or stracciatella flavoured
50g melted butter
cinnamon to taste
fennel powder to taste
75g sugar
rasp from 1 orange and 1 lemon
1 teaspoon baker’s yeast powder
300g unleavened flour
Nutella

Preparation :
I recommend that you watch this short instruction video before you start preparing the Folar. You can stop the video at any time if it is to fast. To go to the short instruction video please click here https://www.facebook.com/messenger_media/?thread_id=100004280321629&attachment_id=2816801041892582&message_id=mid.%24cAABa9E-th_1-wOyJRl4j6cwBVU8V

Mix 1 egg with the yoghurt, the melted butter, cinnamon and fennel powder.
Add the sugar, orange and lime rasp, yeast powder and 300g of flour. Leave the dough to rise.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and put a layer of Nutella on top ( be generous with the Nutella 😀)

Roll up the dough so that the Nutella is inside and divide into 3 equal parts. Make a braid from the parts a shown in the video.

Bake in the oven at 180ºC for 20-25min. When the folar is ready, you can brush some honey or agave syrup on top for the finishing touch!