Baking with a friend......Donas Amélias

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Imagine  how over the moon I was, when my friend Lindsey invited me to bake something for her blog  http://newlydependent.com/recipes/  !! I said yes right away, and asked if I could bake something Portuguese. Lindsey thought it was a great idea, so I decided we would bake "Donas Amelias", a traditional tea cake, baked on the island. The Dona Amelia, is named after Queen Amelia, who in 1901 visited the island, with her husband King Carlos, when Portugal was a monarchy. Historically, these tea cakes appear in older cookbooks, way before this royal visit, under the name of "Indianos", the name was changed in honour of  Queen Amelia.

 Lindsey was over this morning, we had a wonderful time, truth be told , we talked for nearly 2 hours over a pot of coffee, before we even began baking. We finally got to the baking part, which ran smoothly. We than of course had to enjoy the fruit's of our labor, over another pot of coffee, and more talking. I cannot thank her enough for inviting me to bake something for her blog.












Donas Amelias

2 1/2 cups sugar
5 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups yellow corn flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup  melted salted butter
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Icing sugar- for coating/ dusting

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, there is no particular order. Stir all together with a fork, or wooden spoon. Remember this is a very old recipe, way before Kitchen Aid mixers existed. Just stir till everything is well combined. Next grease 2 muffin trays very well, (I like to use Baker's Joy). Divide the batter amongst the 2 trays. Next pop them into a screaming hot oven,  400º hot. They will bake for about 10-15 minutes. Once they are done, I like to flip them out, onto a table cloth that has been sprinkled with icing sugar. Next I coat them in icing sugar, and place them in muffin paper cups/liners. It is said that the older these little cakes are, the better they taste. Somehow around our house, they never seem to "age".

Enjoy, Diana

Comments

  1. her motherMarch 23, 2011 at 2:18 AM

    I am a little jealous. You got to spend an afternoon with my lovely daughter. She had a great time and I can't wait to try what you taught her to do. Her mother.

    ReplyDelete
  2. azoresgalMarch 23, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    awe how sweet, she will be home soon enough, and then you can perhaps bake them together :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LindseyMarch 24, 2011 at 9:24 PM

    Oh we will definitely be doing that! Those things are super addictive. I had to get them out of the house otherwise I would have inhaled them...mmmmm, memories.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LindseyMarch 26, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    I just posted about our baking date here: http://newlydependent.com/recipes/?p=426

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 31, 2012 at 2:29 AM

    Thanks so much for posting this recipe! We loved getting these at bakeries in the Azores and U.S. My sisters and I just finished making them together, and they are a huge hit in our family. As a twist, we tried adding some unsweetened coconut to a few of them, and they turned out really well. Just a suggestion to help clarify the recipe: a few of the measurements are missing key words. The butter and raisins amounts don't say what you should use 1/2 of (e.g. 1/2 stick or cup of butter). Thanks again for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMay 30, 2017 at 4:38 PM

    My 82 year old mother and I used your recipe this past weekend, and it was definitely a treat. My husband and I traveled to Terceira last month and had Donas Amelias. Mom and I didn't add raisins, so the consistency was a little different from what I'd had on the island (ours weren't as moist in the center), so I'll definitely add raisins the next time. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  7. TraveleidoscopeApril 14, 2018 at 9:24 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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