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Traditional golden broas castelares of sweet potato, almond and coconut.
Sweets

Broas Castelares (Lisbon Christmas Sweet Potato and Almond Cakes)

Leonor Perreira · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Prep
35 min
Total
53 min
pieces
28
Calories
125 kcal
Difficulty
Easy
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Broas castelares are, with bolo-rei, Lisbon’s most emblematic Christmas sweet. They were created in the second half of the 19th century by the brothers Baltazar and Manuel Castanheira, of the historic Confeitaria Nacional on Praça da Figueira, in honor of the Spanish politician and writer Emilio Castelar. Their soft, moist inside of sweet potato, almond and coconut won over the whole country.

Unlike the rustic olive oil and aniseed broas of the Beiras, broas castelares have almost the texture of a convent sweet, under a thin film of golden yolk.

Recipe

Broas Castelares de Natal

Created in Lisbon in the 19th century by the Castanheira brothers, founders of the Confeitaria Nacional, broas castelares are the Lisbon Christmas sweet par excellence: moist inside, scented with orange and made with sweet potato, almond, coconut, sugar and egg yolks.

Ingredients

28 pieces

For the broas

Method

Roasting the sweet potato and cooking the dough

  1. 1
    Wash the sweet potatoes and roast them whole in their skins at 190 °C (375 °F) for 45 to 50 minutes until very soft (roasting rather than boiling keeps the dough from turning soft). Peel them while warm, weigh out 500 g of flesh and purée it finely in a food mill.
  2. 2
    In a wide, heavy pan, combine the sweet potato purée, sugar, ground almonds, coconut, cornmeal and the zest of the 2 oranges.
  3. 3
    Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sugar melts and the dough comes away from the sides of the pan in a dry ball.
  4. 4
    Take off the heat, let it cool for 5 minutes and work in the 4 egg yolks, stirring hard. Return to low heat for 2 minutes to cook the yolks. Move to a bowl, cover and let it cool completely (ideally 2 hours in the fridge to firm up).

Shaping and browning in the oven

  1. 5
    Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F) (with the top grill or fan on) and line a tray with parchment paper or a wafer sheet.
  2. 6
    With slightly wet hands, shape small oblong broas (like little boats, flattened at the ends, about 5 cm long) and arrange them on the tray.
  3. 7
    Brush the top of each broa with the 2 beaten yolks and bake on the top shelf for 15 to 18 minutes, just until they have a golden, glossy crust while the inside stays moist.
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Keeping their shape

Roast the sweet potato in its skin: boiled and peeled, it soaks up water and the broas spread on the tray. Cook the dough in the pan for 8 to 10 minutes to drive off the excess moisture. Then a hot oven and a short time are enough, because everything is already cooked: the oven only browns the yolk on top. Left too long, they dry out and crack.

They have no wheat flour. Kept in a closed box somewhere cool and dry, they stay soft for 7 to 10 days, perfect for making the weekend before Christmas.

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