Portuguese Bolo de Bolacha with Peak-Harvest Peaches and Coffee Cream

Beat the butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on high for 5 full minutes, until pale and visibly aerated.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tbsp instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
• 2 cups strong brewed coffee, cooled
• 2 packages Maria biscuits (about 14 oz total)
• 3 ripe farmers-market peaches, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream, cold
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup crushed Maria biscuits, for topping
• Pinch of flaky salt

Instructions

1. Beat the butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on high for 5 full minutes, until pale and visibly aerated.
2. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in the dissolved espresso until the cream is smooth and coffee-colored.
3. Pour the cooled brewed coffee into a shallow bowl. Dip each Maria biscuit for no more than 2 seconds per side — any longer and it collapses.
4. Line the base of an 8-inch springform pan or deep dish with a single layer of dipped biscuits, breaking pieces to fill the gaps.
5. Spread a thin layer of the coffee butter cream over the biscuits, then lay down a single layer of sliced peaches.
6. Repeat the layers — biscuits, cream, peaches — until you run out, finishing with a generous layer of cream on top. You should get four or five layers.
7. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, so the biscuits soften into cake.
8. Whip the cold heavy cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks and spread it over the chilled cake.
9. Top with the crushed biscuits and a pinch of flaky salt, then release the springform and slice with a hot knife.
10. Bolo de bolacha is Portugal's great no-bake dessert, built on a supermarket biscuit and a stand mixer rather than an oven — a real advantage in August. The peaches are a liberty, but a defensible one: their acidity cuts the richness of the butter cream, and at peak ripeness they release just enough juice to soften the layers from within.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 520 kcal
• Protein: 5g
• Fat: 34g
• Carbohydrates: 50g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 32g
• Sodium: 180mg