The Bola de Berlim pastry , Berlin Ball, is a favourite on beach days.
A tradition that puts pastry shop tasting at the top of the list of pleasures associated with the Portuguese summer. And when you are in Rome you have to do as the Romans did….. so, you have to try the experiment.
The Bola de Berlim is none other than the famous Berliner, a cake of German origin that is known in many countries. It is said that he arrived in Portugal in the 1930s and 35s through a Jewish family that had found refuge near Estoril before the war.
The head of the family pushed his cart with which he sold his hardware to survive. His wife, who made the famous cakes at home, encouraged him to distribute the sweet pastry.
Well, in reality we don’t know for sure how everything starts. One thing is certain, the biscuit filled with pastry cream has seduced summer visitors.
Even today, some 200 thousand are still sold in the summer.
We are eagerly waiting for the seller on the beach who carries a heavy cooler, and is preceded by his strident “Bolaaaaaaa de Berliiiiiiin” to be sure not to miss the order.
It is also not clear why pastry should be enjoyed on the beach.
For some it is the sweet salty mixture, due to the salt on the mouth after swimming, that makes the pastry so delicious. Others think that the sugar that sprinkles it sticks to your fingers, but that you can immediately get rid of it in the ocean.
So many good pretexts to taste the famous Bola de Berlim, the pastry shop associated with summer, the beach, idleness!
It is a biscuit, fried like a doughnut and sprinkled with sugar before opening it in half and filling it with pastry cream. Note that the German original is mainly filled with red fruit jam.
The best beaches near Lisbon to enjoy this delicious pastry shop? Caparicain the south of Lisbon but especially Carcavelos, near cascais-Estoril.
The “Bola de Berlim” can be found all along the Portuguese coast.
Price: between 1.5 and 2 euros.