Thin cakes and folares are part of the Easter delicacies in the Alentejo and, in the municipality of Elvas (Portalegre), as well as being produced in the usual round format, they ‘come to life’ as chicks, lizards or dolls.
Gumersindo Rosado, 74, is one of the owners of a bakery in the rural parish of Terrugem and told Lusa that his company has been producing this type of cake, a kind of sweet bread, for “at least 56 years”.
In the bakery, which was already owned by his father, Gumersindo Rosado produces the bolo finto every Thursday, increasing production at Easter time, when orders also come in for these cakes in the shape of dolls, chicks or lizards.
“We only make these different formats to order, especially for children. And at Easter time, as well as the bolo finto, we make the folar, which is the egg inside the cookie,” she said.
Claiming not to know the origin of this tradition, which is now several decades old, Gumersindo made a point of saying that the cakes or folares with the normal, round shape are still the best sellers with customers.
The same opinion was shared with Lusa by Ermelinda Demétrio, who has owned a bakery in the rural parish of Barbacena, also in the municipality of Elvas, for nine years, after having owned butchers and supermarkets.
Like her colleague from Terrugem, she reiterated that she only produces thin cakes or folares in the shape of dolls, lizards or chicks to order.
“It’s a tradition. When we arrived here at the bakery it was already done, it was already a deep-rooted tradition,” he added.
However, he admitted, “it’s not very common” to produce this type of cake in these other formats, “because it’s a lot of work” and purchasing power “doesn’t help” at this time.
“The normal format sells more, these different formats sell less, because they are more aimed at children,” he said.
Ermelinda Demétrio, who produces “around 100 cakes” in these ‘out of the box’ formats this season, also sells to some stores in the region, such as Maria do Céu Cordeiro, who owns a store in Vila Boim, also in the municipality of Elvas.
Speaking to Lusa, the shopkeeper said that she buys this type of cake to sell because, since she was a child, she has watched lizards being made in the community ovens in that rural parish.
“At Easter time, I sell between 40 and 50 cakes in this kind of format,” she said.
The cakes, shaped like chicks, dolls or lizards, are then decorated with various elements, such as carnival ribbons or gift ribbons and cowpeas to form the eyes. Almonds are used to create the mouth and egg is used to form the dolls’ faces.
Although the characterization of each of the figures may be different in the various bakeries, Maria do Céu Cordeiro also explained that the egg is also used to form the bellies of lizards and chicks.
These traditionally-inspired cakes, which come from the imagination of the respective pastry chefs, are aimed “mainly at children”, confirmed Maria do Céu, adding, however, that “adults like them too”.
