or refers to several Brazilian cake varieties that have traditionally been made with corn and sugar cane molasses. The corn that is used can either be grinded fresh sweet corn, (corn ), or grinded rehydrated dried corn kernels. Aside from these two primary ingredients, coconut milk, shredded coconut, butter and other cooking fats, cassava, sugar, and wheat flour are sometimes added for special occasions.
is eaten during breakfast and in the afternoon either by itself or accompanied by a cup of coffee. It can also be found at regional fairs, festivals, and .
History The cake is believed to have been developed by Portuguese housewives or enslaved Afro-Brazilians in colonial Brazil who adapted European recipes by using local ingredients. The dish was possibly influenced by beiju, an Indigenous Brazilian cassava or corn flour flatbread cooked on a hot stone.
In the 1983 version of the book (History of Food in Brazil), Luís da Câmara Cascudo wrote that is a popular dessert that is eaten across Brazil and has several variations but that those made with corn are the most popular. Cascudo wrote that the cake was eaten during and not dessert, is sometimes leavened with yeast or baking soda, and is referred to by various different names. , , , and are some other names for variations of this dessert that have been recorded in historic cookbooks.
Modern-day variations
(Bowl ) is a wheat flour and sugar cane molasses cake that is traditional to Paraty, a historic municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, and is believed to be an adaption of corn-based . Traditional was present in Paraty since its founding, where it was sold by wandering salespeople and featured in cookbooks. The modern-day cake is said to have been adapted by Afro-Brazilians who substituted corn flour for imported wheat flour and added spices like ginger and nutmeg. It would have then gained its name from being baked in rectangular cake trays, which were called (bowls) until the late 1800s.
(Fresh sweet corn ) is made with coconut milk, shredded coconut, and freshly grinded sweet corn, and is served at certain in Northeastern Brazil.
is a shredded yuca and coconut cake that is traditional to the Center-West and Goiás. In 2023, researchers with (History of Eating), a project run by the at São Paulo State University, claimed that developed from .
Other variations in communities in the Brazilian state of Bahia is made with traditional techniques. Dried , a Brazilian corn landrace, kernels are soaked overnight in warm water, blended, and then mixed with either , sugar cane molasses, or sugar so that it can be placed in a tray and baked in a wood oven. These are sometimes sold door to door or in fairs and festivals in the Bahian sertão.
Traditional cakes in Northeastern Brazil are sometimes called .
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