Bolo Formigueiro - Chocolate, Orange and Coconut Cake

Bolo Formigueiro.  If I were to give you an exact translation to English it would be something like Ant Hill Cake.  I know, it sounds so weird, but it's because of the way it looks.

Now this version you won't really be able to see it because it's chocolate, but if you were to make the traditional cake, you would be left with a gorgeous yellow cake with tons of little brown spots, which in fact do look like little ants.

It is believe that this cake originated in the Colonial Times.

My kids said the cake tastes just like those chocolate oranges, you know the ones, you have to smack them on a hard surface to separate into slices?

I have to agree, it tastes amazing but then you also have the coconut thrown in and it's just one of the yummiest cakes I've ever had.

Are you ready to try?  I promise that soon I will make the traditional cake so that you can see how cool the little brown spots really look, but for now, let's grab out chocolate and start baking.


Bolo Formigueiro
Chocolate, Orange and Coconut Cake

4 egg
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coconut flakes


For the sauce:
5 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar



Separate the eggs, and beat the egg whites until stiff.  Add in the egg yolks, the sugar, flour, orange juice and mix well.  Make sure you don't overmix as not to remove the air from the egg whites.

Next, add in the baking powder, cocoa and coconut flakes.  Mix well with a spoon.

Grease a bundt cake pan and pour in the mixture.  Bake at 350 until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven, and invert onto a cake platter.


For the sauce, dissolve the cocoa in 1 cup of hot water.  Add in the milk and the sugar, mix well.  Use a fork to poke holes all over the cake, and pour on the sauce.  I didn't use all of mine because it was just way too much, but pour in as much as you would like.

When cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!!!