In 1875, the owner of Confeitaria Nacional, a pastry store in downtown Lisbon, brought from France the recipe for “gateaux des rois,” the king’s cake. Decorated with crystallized fruit, the cake quickly became a staple of Portugal’s holiday season.
In recent years, an alternative to the king’s cake has gained prominence. Aptly called the queen’s cake (“bolo rainha”), it replaces the garish crystalized fruits with walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. The dough is the same as that of the king’s cake, its lightness born from the alchemy produced by yeast combined with flour, eggs, sugar, and port wine.
We don’t want to press you to take sides. But still, we’re curious: which royal sweet is more likely to seduce your taste buds, the king or the queen’s ’s cake?
Salt of Portugal 
I’d go for the Queen’s cake.
I love both, but the Bolo da Rainha has a especial place in my palate. Toasted …. it is heavenly!
So far we have 2-0 for the queen
I’m equal opportunity and will eat both. 🙂 although I’d probably lean towards the nut version because of the hazelnuts.
I think I had the queen’s cake at a bakery in Porto. It was wonderful.
Reblogged this on R and B International Travel Blog.
I prefer Bolo Rei, but I have to say that all Bolos Rei are made equal. I have had some that were a bit on the dry, dense side. You need to buy it from a good ‘pastelaria’. Usually the good ones are well known because word gets around…