Love cake or Bolo di Amor, is a type of semolina cake eaten in
Sri Lanka on special occasions. They are often baked for cultural celebrations such as
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
, birthdays and weddings, served wrapped in gold paper for guests to eat or take home.
History
The love cake was introduced by the Portuguese but has evolved into a confectionery unique to Sri Lanka. The original recipe of the Sri Lankan love cake dates back to the 16th century, when the Portuguese controlled the coastal areas of the country, known as "Bolo di Amor". The cake incorporates a mix of ingredients from Portuguese cakes, such as
semolina
Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well.
Ety ...
, together with local Sri Lankan spices, such as
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
,
cinnamon and
cardamon
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...
.
Local folklore is that its name comes from the fact that the grinding of spices and nuts make this cake a true labour of love.
The love cake is similar to the Singaporean
sugee cake, which uses almonds as opposed to cashew nuts.
Characteristics
Love cake is made from semolina, cashew nuts, pumpkin preserve, butter, eggs, sugar, and honey flavoured with rose water and a variety of spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon, creating a fragrant, sweet, lightly spiced cake with a moist chewy inside and a crunchy exterior.
See also
*
Basbousa
Basbousa () is a sweet, syrup-soaked semolina cake that originated in Egypt. The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan, then sweetened with orange flower water, rose water or simple syrup, and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squa ...
*
Breudher
Breudher, also known as Brueder or Bloeder (pronounced as ''broo-dhuh''), is a traditional Sri Lankan Dutch Burgher buttery yeast cake, baked in a fluted mould. A variation, Bleuda, Kueh Bleuda or Kue Bludder is also found in the Malacca ...
References
{{Sri Lankan cuisine
Cakes
Sri Lankan cuisine
Christmas cakes
Semolina dishes
Iranian desserts
Nut dishes