Cornmeal Cake (Bolo de Fubá)
A quick and easy Brazilian cornmeal cake recipe.
This recipe is from my cousin Kathy from Food For Every Season. Her grandma’s recipe from Brazil which used coffee cups for measurements so Kat had to translate this recipe into real measurements, and I’m glad she did. Everything goes in the blender, now that’s my kind of baking!
I love this cake. Every time I’m with her I ask her to make it for me. I even asked her to make this for my birthday. It’s similar in texture to cornbread only sweeter and moister. You can have it for breakfast, or eat it for dessert.
In fact, as I am typing this right now, I wish I had a piece right now. Try it and let me know what you think. And yes, there is parmesan cheese in here, I was surprised seeing that myself but it works! I wouldn’t change a thing!
Cornmeal Cake (Bolo de Fubá)
Ingredients
- 3 cups skim milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1-1/2 cup yellow corn meal, coarse
- 1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2-1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- baking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Spray a 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan with baking spray.
- Add milk, eggs, corn meal, sugar, flour, and butter to blender.
- Mix all ingredients until blended well (about 1 minute).
- Then add baking powder and grated Parmesan cheese and blend on lowest setting or pulse for a few seconds.
- Pour mixture into baking pan and bake at 350° F for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving (I like it warm).
- Cut into 21 pieces.
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Gosh this was so good! I served it along side the https://www.skinnytaste.com/turmeric-roasted-chicken-and-sweet-potatoes/ The only thing I changed was the milk from fat free to 2% because that’s all I had in the house. Am I really on a weight loss journey? Don’t wake me if I’m dreaming, lol!
Really good. It is sweet. I like how its a bread at the bottom layer and like a custard on the top layer. Could be used as a sweet treat.
I did one cup sugar and 1/2 with stevia.
I have been making this recipe for 7 years now! When I first started losing weight, I did a ton of healthy baking so that I could continue enjoying my favorite foods (even desserts!) while maintaining my new healthy habits. Out of all of the recipes I have tried, a few have stuck as favorites – this is one of them. Love this so much!
PS- I typically replace all of the sugar with stevia/coconut sugar, or or other natural options of the sort to reduce the calories and it always comes out beautifully!
Yes I will be making this and will get back to you after I do it…..Will be sometime next week Thanks!!!
This cake is very traditional in Brazil and delicious. I suggest replace the Parmesan cheese for coconut and half the milk for coconut milk.
Is the 1 1/2 cups of sugar correct
yes
Would this work with gluten free flour? Thanks!!
I tried this tonight and was surprised at how thin the “batter” was! It cooked up ok, though I had a thin eggy layer on top. Is that typical? It tasted good, so no complaints, just curious as to whether I somehow managed to screw up the world’s simplest recipe!
Tara, mine ended up the same as yours. Gina, help us! What did we do?
My battery was also very thin….not like cake batter. Did it taste okay? Mine is in the oven now
Mine also had this thin eggy layer … Gina?? Thoughts? Did we all mess something up, or is it supposed to be like that? Agree with Tara, it was tasty, but the texture was a little ogg with that eggy layer …
Its supposed to be like that!
Yes, my batter was like this, also very thin. Cake is gooey on top and VERY dense, not a spongey and airy cake. Not sure what the texture is supposed to be.
Its not supposed to be an airy cake
Was hoping to find a cornbread recipe on the site… could the 1-1/2c of sugar be removed to adapt this for regular cornbread? Or would everything else need to be adjusted because there would then be way to much liquid.
I haven’t tried it without the sugar so I am not sure?
Hi. Is the 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour correct? It seemed like a small amount and I wanted to make sure before. Looks delicious. Thanks
Yes, it’s a small amount
Oh my! I came to the site looking for a cornbread recipe and I found BOLO DE FUBÁ! Thank you! I’m from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil! And this put a huge smile on my face.
Great! Hope you enjoy it!
Could almond milk be used or is it pointless? My husband has a slight dairy intolerance, but he definitely won’t die if switching to almond milk on this won’t work.
I peruse your recipes more than any other source when I have an idea or desire for an ingredient. I love cornmeal and polenta recipes and this looks amazing. The addition of parmesan cheese is intriguing. I’m wondering if adding a bit of lemon zest might work in this recipe? I always add lemon zest to my crepes and serve with mascarpone or ricotta cheese and fresh fruit preserves. Should I give it a try?
This is amazing, Loved it. Had course ground white corn meal and used silk vanilla unsweetened almond milk. Also tried “Swerve” sugar replacement as an experiment and it was great. Swerve has no strange after taste (to me) and no calories. I think I can cut back on sugar next time as I have gotten accustomed to things being less sweet in general. My husband and I both declared this a favorite cake. Thank you.
Could you use polenta which is courser grind cornmeal?
Do you think it would work with sugar amount cut in 1/2 or use banana or applesauce for the sugar or would that change it too much?
i love the recipes but would appreciate if you would list the sodium content for those of us who have to watch sodium intake
This is an older recipe, but I changed not adding the sodium into the nutritional information so the newer ones will have it.
Really great recipe! I made this for my husband who is Brasileiro so he can have a healthy and filling snack while working long hours. He has some food sensitivities so I made the following substitutions: soy milk instead of milk, organic earth balance spread rather than butter, and a pinch of sea salt rather than parmesan cheese. Also, I had farinha, which is yucca or mandioca flour in the cupboard and used it in place of the corn meal as it has the same consistency and is typical in brazilian baking and is also gluten free. It came out sooooo yummy, kind of gooey in the middle slightly crispy on the top and edges. This is definitely going to be a keeper! Hopefully there will be some left for my husband to take to work ; )
Making this now to go with fried chicken the kids wanted (from Shop Rite)…cant wait to try it! M
I was craving cornbread today and have this in the oven. Funny that Gleyce mentioned coconut one comment up. I was thinking of using coconut sugar for the first time, but wasn't sure about the taste (I know sugar is different than shredded). I have no idea how it will turn out, because I used almond milk, wheat flower, honey instead of sugar, egg whites, and added ground flaxseed. I'm road trippin' this coming week and wanted to leave my husband something to go with your chicken taco chili!
I'm from Brasil and this cake is very popular here.
You can leave out the cheese and add some shredded coconut insted, it turns out delicious!
Love that idea!
Can you make this with a hand mixer instead of a blender?
Do you have recommendations for how to bake it with a corn bread box mix?
This looks delightful and I wish I could use it with my TJ corn bread box mix..!!
Just made this! It was delicious and I really love the custardy layer. I'll probably cut the sugar a little bit next time. Thank you for sharing!!
Just made this cake,and instead of butter I used coconut oil. It turn out great. Next time I may cut back on the sugar. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I made this last night with your turkey three bean chili in the slow cooker and they both came out great! The cake is sweet but it went really well with the chili. My boyfriend loved it too….and he is from the south so he knows good chili and cornbread!
Just made this and ate a piece, still warm as we speak. So yummy and simple to make! anything that can be done in one bowl (blender) is a winner. My 2 year old and 5 year old are gobbling it up. I'm going to have to hide this so I don't keep eating it. I used almond milk and didn't have real butter so it lowered the pp+ to 3, but i changed the serving size to 16 and now I get a bigger piece. I already can't wait to have some for breakfast tomorrow!!!! Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Weird…my crust was at the top at first with custard on the bottom. After being in the fridge a couple of days the crust ended up on top.
Made this tonight. Accidentally blended ALL the ingredients at once. My cornmeal wasn't too thick tho, so I got away with not blending for the full minute.
I also halved the entire recipe, baked in a small pan, and baked the entire 50 minutes.
My crust was at the top and the custard was at the bottom. The top of mine was definitely browner than in the picture.
Was so good I had to stop myself from eating more and more! Thanks!
In the oven as I type ….looks runny going in but as I read in previous posts it won't be coming out! Looks amazing and smells great in the oven! Thanks for the recipe
I tried this one last night. I can't say I am a fan of the custard-like top layer. it's to egg-y. Other than that, yes, it was very moist and very sweet. I will try modifying this to get it what I want it to be for me.
OOOOh my gosh. I was scared that I'd do something wrong and the custard/crust thing wouldn't happen for me, but you kinda can't go wrong here! I love how you just throw everything in blender, and amazingness comes out of the oven.
This is Great .. Thanks for sharing it.. I was born in Brazil and I just love all the goods they make but translating it to english ingredients is not easy specially because some of the products from there doesn't exist here LOL.. I always tought of this cake being very fatning( thank God Nothing is impossible ) PS.. If you can find a better way to make the Brazilian Carrot cake with the chocolate topping please share .. God Bless
I halved it and was able to fit it in a large ceramic pie plate. It was done in at least 35 minutes. I forgot to take my stone out if the oven and that caused it to brown really fast, so I ended up turning down the heat in the end. Very good though! Went great with a multi bean chili.
I just made this, and had a small piece (I am saving it for breakfast over the week!). It was delicious – so glad that left in the cheese as well. I'm going to make one of your muffin recipes next week. Thanks again for a great one!
I'm so glad you liked it!
Gina, I thought this morning was the perfect morning to try this. It is just awesome. I didn't change a thing. It was so easy, too. I can't wait until my girls and their families are here, again. This will be part of our breakfast for sure! Thank you so much for all the good recipes.
I made this tonight, dairy free! It was SO yummy! Reminded me of the sweet corn at Chevy's Fresh Mex restaurant. I just substituted unsweetened plain almond milk for the nonfat milk and nondairy margarine for the unsalted butter.
my husband loves anything with cornmeal will give this a try . and keep up the awesome work .
I just made this Gina! It Was sooooo delish!!! Thank You !
Im baking this as i speak right now, i cant wait to try it!!
Wow this is so good! Made it today absolutely delish. I cut the recipe in half since I made it for just me and my hubby 🙂
this recipe is sooo good and incredibly easy. i am making it today for a big family gathering because it keeps well even when not refrigerated. Thanks for such an easy, awesome recipe.
My boyfriend didn't let them rest at all — out of the oven, straight into his mouth. They are DELICIOUS when very warm. The only problem is that they are 4 Points Plus and are pretty small for that "price." My bf and I made this after the "Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Ají Verde"…it was Latin American night, I guess! Both were great. Thank you!
Hi Gina – I made this last night. I halved the recipe and cooked it in the mini loaf pan. Delicious treat. Thanks for the recipe.
Yes I do – and the sugar, baking powder and cornmeal quantities are the same. If I had cornmeal today I would do it and post a pic!
Can't wait to try yours! Do you put it all in the blender?
Hi Gina! I just found your site and I love it!! Thank you for so many recipes. I just started WW and this will help me greatly: it is way more appealing than the ww recipes and I am sure will help my hubby to cook on the points system too!
I am Brazilian and I absolutely LOVE this cake! However, mine gets creamier and the bottom is more of a crust. I checked my recipe and the differences are: 3 eggs, 3 1/2 cups of milk, 1 Tbsp of butter, 2 Tbsp of flour and 3 tbsp of parmesan (I usually use kirkland pecorino). I got my recipe from a dear friend 15 years ago, after devouring many of her mom's cakes. It sums up to 3 pts+ per serving, if you use no fat milk.
I can't wait to try your fluffier recipe, although I love eating all that cream when it comes hot out of the oven!
Cheers,
Ana
What a great mistake! I'll have to try it and see if it's different. Thanks for the comment!
Gina I made this today and it came out great, but I wanted to tell you that I accidentally forgot the butter in the microwave after melting it, so it never went in! It still turned out great with no butter I am amazed. Thanks!
Kristin, I don't see why not!
Selena, I know!! I'm with you!!
I guess the food processor would work, haven't tried it but same principal!
Gina, can I mix it in the food processor or have to use a blender? Thanks!
Oh wow! There are few things that intrigue me enough to take a fork to it just after it comes out of the oven. This one did! It smelled so amazing while it was baking I just couldn't wait. The crispy top with the custardy layer underneath and the cornmeal cake underneath, I just can't say enough about this recipe! I will keep this in my recipe book and take this to potlucks! YUMMY!!!!
Can I cut this recipe in half and bake it in an 8×8 glass pan. How would the baking temp and time change?
Excellent. This was the first one I tried and I am impressed!
I was worried when the mixture was runny, but it turned out great! My custard-y layer seemed to end up at the bottom and the cake was delicious. I'm bringing it to work this morning because I'll eat it all if it's here!
Isn't it!
I made this today. Seemed my custard layer ended up at the bottom. It is YUMMY though! Thanks!
I'm sure that would be fine.
Love your recipes Gina; everything I have made is wonderful. Do you think using pecorino romano will make much difference? I can't wait to make this.
Thanks for all you do Gina; its wonderful.
Donna B.
Excited to try this! My mom is from El Salvador and used to make something similar for us growing up. Yummy!
I am slowly cooking my way through your site….this is wonderful, and everything thus far has ben great. I made the cornmeal cake, and thought I did something wrong, because of the layers…your picture looks more cohesive…but I love it, and was relived after I read your comments. Thanks, and keep the recipe's coming!!
Tiffani
I made this for Christmas morning brunch with soy milk, soy butter and no parm cheese (dairy allergy). I think I cooked it too long because I didn't understand the top should be custard-y, but it was still the biggest hit of the morning.
Long time reader; first time poster.
Wow! Served this last night on New Year's Eve with chili. There was none left by midnight. Everyone kept commenting on how moist it was. I'm not sure if it was suppose to happen but I got a thin custard like layer near the top that was to die for (the batter sat in the pan for about 10 minutes before it went in the oven while waiting for the preheat to finish). In full disclosure, I used whole instead of skim milk. We were out of skim.
I love the recipe and the blog.
My cousin uses disposable tins so I'm sure Pyrex would work fine!
Hi Gina. This looks amazing. I don't have a baking pan but do you think it would work ok in a pyrex dish? Thanks!
@fatgirlexorcism- so happy you agree!! I heart this too!!!! Want some now! 🙂
My GOD this was fabulous.
It took me right to my happy place. 🙂
I tried it both warm and cold and prefer it cold – it's dense and sweet and chewy and just delicious. Comfort food through and through.
AND SO EASY TO MAKE! (Although, it did push the capacity of my blender – the liquid was touching the lid!)
Thank you for this recipe. I heart you!
I'm not sure, never froze this.
Gina, do you think this one would freeze/thaw well if I made a batch and froze the individual portions?
Each piece is about 2×3 inches.
Hello,
Not to be taken the wrong way but if this recipe has 21 servings, wont the pieces be tiny and at 3 points each?
Hi Gina, I put the baking powder and cheese in at the beginning by mistake and blended it and then I realizide what I did so I add another tbs.of baking powder at the end and my cake didn't come high like your pic , mine rose like an inch high was it supposed to be that low,what did I do wrong?
Yes Josie!! You should!
Dianna- I'm glad you agree with me!! 🙂
Just made this tonight…DELICIOUS!!!
This looks amazing!! I really want to make this, only one problem my blender broke and I only have a magic bullet : ( I don't think all the ingredients would fit in the tall cup!! well i know what I'm asking for Christmas : )
Wow, sweet and savory! Love the parm/ sugar combination!
Splenda (or any sucrolose product) is just like stevia in that the "baker" version measures one for one and it is not an artificial sweetneer – it is a derivative of sugar and I do not find it has any aftertaste. That being said, a complete subsitution does not always work (some reciped just need the sugar!) but I often substitute at least half. The brown sugar blend is half reg brown sugar and half sucralose – another good option for cutting calories.
LJ
Super cool cake, I am loving the layers and of course how different this would be.
Just a tip if interested – I put this in the WW Recipe Builder and my points stayed the same at 3pts. When I went back to look for the difference I found that 1-1/2 cups of regular yellow cornmeal is 20pts, but if you use the Hodgson Mills Yellow Cornmeal it's 15pts and drops the points back down to 3pts. I'm a point junkie and every one counts 🙂
Thanks for this tasty recipe. I've always loved corn meal in anything from polenta, to corn sticks and johnny cake…I live near the RI border and get great stone ground corn meal!
Just a mention: I think Stevia iss good in some desserts but not others/ for example I made a pumpkin pie with it and it was terrific w/o any aftertaste…probably becaus eof all the spices used.
OH my this looks so good and you know what I am thinking my MIL gave me this little mini cupcake maker baker thing (Ha) for my Birthday.. HMM wonder if it will bake in it and then I'll have little mouthfuls of yum yums! THANK YOU so much for this one! 🙂
Kristy, that's what I don't like about stevia, the aftertaste, but a great option for diabetics. And only 2 points. Maybe a sugar/stevia blend. I think stevia is a lot sweeter than sugar.
But I'm glad it was good otherwise!
Sara- I can't see why not! The batter will be very liquidy but it expands and thickens when cooking. Kind of like how rice expands when it cooks.
Ok, I think I'm running out to buy cornmeal later!! I might try this in muffins to see how it turns out.
Only 2 points per 24 servings using Stevia according to the ww online recipe builder.
How does one figure the new points plus for a recipe? I am curious what the difference would be for this recipe using 0 calorie stevia vs. sugar?
Hey Gina.
Do you think this would work in muffin pans? I like to make little individual servings. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes. And thanks for converting to Points+
I used only 1 cup stevia and it was still a bit too sweet for me. I also thought there was a very slight aftertatse…almost like licorice? But the cake was very tasty and w/o the sugar calories i am willing to sacrifice…also for diabetics it is a great boon!
Kristy- I really need to learn to like Stevia. It has a weird after taste to me.
Yes, it will be runny, but it works. Again, it has a bit of a custard-y texture when done. Let me know how it comes out!
is it really running I just popped it in the oven I'm worried
I used Stevia (Truvia) which measures the same as sugar, is all natural like sugar, and bakes like sugar! I will let you know how this comes out…it should have a lot less points because there is 0 calories in stevia, which is an herb.
I did notice the batter was a bit thin…and I had to do 2 batches in the blender as it all would not fit!
Sorry, the points were the same for 21 vs 24 so I went with 21. Nutritional info is for 21 pieces.
Thanks Gloria, visit her and say hello!
You always have the most creative recipes. This cormeal cake sound fantastic and I think I even have all the ingredients on hand.
Yum, Gina! The photos you take make me want to go and make it this second! This is another of your recipes that I will want to try. Thanks for sharing. Thanks to your cousin Kathy!
Best,
Gloria
I'm also curious about the number of servings and points. Recipe says points are for one of 21 servings but instructions say to cut into 24 pieces. Is the NI bases on 21 or 24? Looks great, thanks!
I'll try that. Sounds easy, quick and delicious.
It says that it's 21 servings, but you say to cut it into 24 pieces. Are the points for 21 or 24 servings?
Great bolo de fuba!
Renee- this is more of a cake rather than a bread. Would be better to eat after your soup.
And yes, most fat free products are terrible, I usually go with low fat. It really depends what it is.
RS- Let me know how it comes out!
Oh yum, can't wait to try this!!
YEAH! I am so excited. I am from Brazil and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bolo de Fubá!! 😉 Can't wait to make it! 😉
– RS
Oh and for the record, I am right there with you Gina on your philosophy on artificial sweeteners…and I don't like to use fat free products either( like mayo and salad dressing, because I KNOW they bump up the sugar to replace the fat in most processed fat free items, except for dairy stuff) , but sadly, as I looked though one of the new cookbooks from the new ww plan, it seems they have gone back to using them. Sad day for me.
Not bad for 4 points+…think I will give it a try later, it should go good with the bean soup from the left over ham bone from Thanksgiving I was planning on making today!
Weight Watchers changed their points to Points Plus, the old Points no longer is being used.
Hi LJ- 4 eggs divided by 21 servings is minimal and the fact that this uses very little butter, I would not change it.
I also should have mentioned, once it bakes, it forms layers, heavier on the bottom, and the top layer is creamier, custard-y.
As far as sucralose, I worry about the long term dangers of artificial sweeteners, so I always prefer to use real sugar, honey or agave. But if you prefer to use Splenda, I'm sure it won't effect this cake.
I was with Kathy this weekend and when I saw she only used 2 tbsp of butter I knew I had to post this. Most cakes call for a lot more butter, and my challenge is always baking with less. Doesn't always work! So I was very excited about this!!
Morning, I am wondering what I have missed. What is the Old Points compared to Points +, I have noticed this in the last few recipes posted.
Cornbread is one of my favorite foods–and they sweeter and moister, the better!
Yum! Yum! Love the fact that the calorie count is there, too.
Morning Gina! I love your recipes and ideas…I was wondering though – are you against subsituting sucralose for sugar? You always use real sugar and although I know doing a complete substitution sometimes won't work, but I've had fairly good success with subbing half. Also in a recipe like this with 4 while eggs, do you think it would affect it too much to use 2 or 3 and sub with extra whites? I know I sometimes take trying to make a recipe more healthy too far, but my intentions are good!
LJ