Bola de Berlim, the Pastry that Tastes Like Portuguese Summer

In short: The bola de Berlim is a Portuguese doughnut, split and filled with egg cream, sold on the beaches in summer, from Costa da Caparica to Ericeira. It is inspired by the German Berliner, brought to Portugal during the Second World War by Jewish refugees; the Portuguese replaced the jam with an egg-yolk cream.

1. "Bolas, bolas de Berlim!" On the beaches of Costa da Caparica or Ericeira, that call has marked the start of summer for generations. It comes from a vendor threading between beach towels with a wicker basket on his hip, selling golden dough balls split in two and generously filled with still-cool custard cream. You take a bite, the cream spills a little onto your fingers, sand sticks to your hands, and that's exactly how it's meant to be eaten.

The name bola de berlim is a nod to history: the pastry is inspired by the German Berliner, a filled doughnut whose recipe reached Portugal during the Second World War with Jewish refugees. The Portuguese made it their own, swapping out the jam for a silky egg custard closer to the national taste for yolk-based sweets, the same family as pastel de nata or toucinho do céu. The result is a pastry with nothing German left but the name, one that has become as much a symbol of summer as grilled sardines or a thick slice of watermelon.

What stands out about this ritual is its sheer simplicity. No shop, no counter: just a basket, a beach, and a line of holidaymakers in swimsuits waiting their turn. July in Portugal is also the month when market stalls overflow with sun-ripened figs and plump plums, fruits that later get turned into jams and fillings for late-summer pastries. That generosity built into the Portuguese calendar, where every season brings its own thing worth waiting for, is exactly what we try to carry into what we do at Wooly.

We don't have a beach in Brussels, or a basket-carrying vendor on the cobblestones of Stockel or Uccle. But the spirit of the bola de berlim (that generous egg custard, that still-warm dough giving way with a light crackle) is exactly what we try to hold onto in our pastries. Every day, our pastry chefs work with the same family of custards found in baskets on Portuguese beaches, using the same artisanal approach: slow baking, just the right amount of colour, a generous but never cloying filling. It's our way of bringing a little bit of the Portuguese coast into our four shops in Brussels and Waterloo, no sand between your fingers required.

If summer has you craving a taste of holiday without booking a flight, now's a good time to stop by Stockel, Etterbeek (Rue des Tongres), Uccle or Waterloo. Our counters don't overlook the Atlantic, but that first bite comes pretty close.

Sources: Observador, “Bolas com ou sem creme e caras. Muito caras”; Wikipédia (pt), “Bola de Berlim”.

Photo: mapa mundi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons