Broas Castelares (Portuguese Sweet Potato Cookies)
Broas Castelares are Portuguese sweet potato cakes made especially for Christmas. Their creation is often attributed to the Castelar brothers who owned the Confeitaria Francesa in downtown Lisbon in 1860.
They are popular sweet treats throughout the holiday season and beyond because of their lovely texture and starchy flavor. They’re also quite sweet so the Portuguese love to have them on cold winter mornings with a cup of strong coffee or tea!
Enjoy!
Broas Castelares (Portuguese Sweet Potato Cookies)
Elevate your Christmas table with this perfect sweet treat!
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet potatoes
- 3 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 orange zested
- 1 cup coconut shredded, dried
- 1 ½ cups ground almonds
- 3/4 cups cornmeal finely ground
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 large egg yolks for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F/ 200 °C.
- Wash the sweet potatoes and leave them unpeeled. Poke some holes in them with a fork and place them on a baking tray and place in the oven for about 45 minutes until they've softened. Turn the potatoes halfway through.
- Once cooked, take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and leave to cool off until they're safe to handle.
- The, scoop out the flesh from the potato skins and pass it through a potato ricer. You'll have around 0.88 lb (500 g) of cooked sweet potato remaining.
- Put the cooked sweet potato flesh in a saucepan, and mash it. Do this manually – if you use a blender it may affect the texture. Add half the sugar and mix .
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for about 5 minutes, while stirring continuously to prevent the mixture burning.
- Once the mix has become fragrant, take off the heat to cool for a bit. Then crack the 3 eggs and mix in with the potato mixture.
- Stir in the remaining sugar, ground almonds, coconut, orange zest, flour and cornmeal.
- Mix to a smooth batter – it will be thick but sticky.
- Let it cool down completely, then wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge for a couple of hours at least or overnight to rest and become firm.
- When ready to bake the broas, bring the dough back to room temperature and preheat the oven to 400 °F/ 200° C.
- Grease a large baking tray and start forming the broas.
- Get your hands covered with vegetable oil, and keep some extra within easy reach to re-coat your hands as needed., Take about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape it into an elongated oval and place it on the tray.
- Lightly beat an egg yolk and use a silicone brush to brush the egg yolk over the broas.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes or so, or until lightly browned. The top might look mottled and very dark in some places, but this is normal.
- Take out and place on a rack to cool.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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