FOLLOWING ON from the tradition of previous years, a giant Bolo Rei was displayed in Rua Vasco da Gama, Quarteira at the weekend and around 3,000 members of the public enjoyed a slice of the typical Portuguese Christmas cake.
A new record was set this year, with the cake weighing a whopping 1.2 tonnes and measuring 220 metres in length.
Fifteen pastry chefs from two bakeries in Quarteira worked tirelessly from Thursday night until Saturday afternoon to get the giant cake ready on time for the grand event.
A total of 150kg of sugar, 75kg of margarine, 2,200 eggs, 400kg of flour, 400kg of dried fruit, 200kg of crystallised fruit, 60kg of yeast and 150 litres of liqueurs went into the recipe. The cake was baked in sections in an oven measuring four metres in length.
This annual event is promoted by Loulé Câmara in conjunction with the Junta de Freguesia de Quarteira and local business owners, in an attempt to provide an incentive for locals to buy their Christmas presents in the traditional downtown shopping area.
In the future, the organisers are hoping to create a cake measuring 500m in length, which would then be included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
