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Bola de Oro (Golden Ball Cake)
A classic Peruvian layered sponge cake shaped into a sphere, filled with apricot jam, dulce de leche, and pecan butterscotch, covered with Maná (egg-yolk marzipan) and royal icing in punto perdido pattern.
Ingredients
- 3 units whole eggs
- 3 units egg yolks (for genoise)
- 150 g sugar (for genoise)
- 150 g all-purpose flour (sifted)
- 500 ml whole milk (for Maná)
- 300 g sugar (for Maná)
- 6 units egg yolks (for Maná)
- 400 ml evaporated milk (for manjar)
- 400 ml condensed milk (for manjar)
- 100 g pecans (roughly chopped)
- 200 g dried apricots (soaked in hot water 1 hour)
- 2 units egg whites (for royal icing)
- 200 g powdered sugar (for royal icing)
Steps
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1Make the Maná: combine milk, sugar, cinnamon stick. Add egg yolks. Cook on low 45-60 min until scrambled-egg texture. Beat in stand mixer until pliable dough.
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2Make manjar blanco: cook evaporated + condensed milk with cinnamon until deep caramel. Temper in egg yolks, add salt.
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3Make pecan manjar: caramelize sugar, deglaze with evaporated milk, fold in chopped pecans.
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4Make apricot jam: blend soaked apricots with sugar and water, cook to setting point.
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5Make genoise: warm eggs + sugar over bain-marie, beat to ribbon stage, fold in sifted flour. Bake in sphere moulds.
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6Assemble: layer sponge discs with alternating apricot jam, manjar blanco, and pecan manjar, building sphere shape small to large.
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7Press sphere under weights 2+ hours. Coat with manjar blanco. Roll Maná thin, drape over sphere.
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8Make royal icing: foam egg whites, add powdered sugar + lemon juice. Drizzle over sphere in punto perdido pattern.
Nutrition (per serving)
520
Calories
8g
Protein
72g
Carbs
22g
Fat
2g
Fiber
Cultural Context
Bola de Oro is an iconic Peruvian celebration cake with roots in colonial convent cooking. Its Maná coating is a distinctly Peruvian sweet tradition.