"Portuguese-Olhao Style" Folar (Folar = Easter Cake)

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 20 people, or one of me lol)

• 1Kg plain flour
  
• 1 pkt instant east
  
• 2 oranges (juice)
  
• 1.5 decilitres of water
  
• Sal
• 125gr de soft margarine
  
• 125gr soft butter
  
• 125gr soft butter to spread
  
• 1 shot of vodka
• Brown sugar & Cinnamon "to sprinkle filling" (enough)

Put the flour in a large bowl and mix in straight away the east, after that open a little well in the centre and place in there the soft margarine and soft butter and also the orange juice, shot of vodka, water (warm preferred) and a pinch of salt.

With your hands mix all very well, I then covered it with a cloth and let the dough rest around 30 minutes, it will rise a little. Then cut it into 10 fist size balls, and with a rolling pin make one by one discs, but each disc you make spread some butter on one side and put generous amounts of brown sugar and cinnamon, make another disc butter it and again put on it generous amount of sugar and cinnamon over it and place it on top of the other disc, repeat the process for all 10 disc making two piles of five discs, as it makes two cakes.

Place each pile in a container, sprinkle again generously more sugar and cinnamon on top and set in aside in a warm place with a thick cloth over it for about an hour to raise, after that it goes baking in the oven 190-200c for around 35-40 minutes until is done. The idea is the sugar in the layer will melt with the cinnamon making like a gooey honey consistency sugar and cinnamon syrup in between each layer of cake, the cake will be a bit like bread but sweetened by some of the sugar being absorbed in. This is really delicious, but remember be generous with the sugar as if you put little it will all get absorbed into the cake and no nice gooey syrup in between the layers, will still be good though.

Also remember to take it out of the baking container while hot as if you let it cool the caramelized goo will solidify making it hard to remove from these.

Updated photo

Light Orange Loaf Cake

Recipe Ingredients:

• 300grs self raising flour
  
• 200grs sugar
  
• 100grs butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 small oranges (set aside the zest of 2, and the juice of the same 2, the 3rd one thinly slice it)

In a large bowl, put the sugar and the (soft) butter, beat it until is a whitish cream, then add the juice of one orange, and continue to beat for a further 2 minutes, then add the two eggs and beat it further 2 minutes more, the remaining orange juice and the zest of the 2 oranges and beat a further 2 minutes.

Finally add bit by bit the self raising flour, while still beating the dough, until it is all incorporated, at this stage stop and you can now place half on the dough in a loaf tin (previously greased and floured) on the top of the half of dough place half of the sliced orange, put the remaining dough on top and cover it with the remaining orange slices (see picture) and on top of each orange slice cover that with a little sugar, that will caramelize once cooked giving it an extra delicious taste.

Now it will take 25-30 minutes in medium oven 180c. and is ready to eat, so lovely with some green tea, as is very fluffy and light, if you prefer heavier add 2 more eggs at the egg stage.

I was inspired by Mary blog moist orange and lemon cake.