Photos by Maria Labriola
Chef Carolina Figueiredo’s bakery will have you indulging your sweet tooth. (And your salty one won’t suffer from FOMO either.)
When Chef Carolina Figueiredo opened Boleria Brazilian Bakery earlier this month, she introduced Mamaroneck — and Westchester, really — to a whole new array of desserts, handcrafted daily with fresh ingredients.
At the top of the sweets menu, traditional Brazilian brigadeiros: Condensed milk, cocoa, and butter fashioned into quarter-sized, fudge-like balls and topped with sprinkles. They’re shaping up to be a bestseller and come in a variety of flavors like chocolate, coconut, pistachio, churro, salted caramel, and lemon to name a few. Figueiredo grew up making brigadeiros in Brazil and incorporates some family trade secrets into her own creations.
In addition, she acquired a bounty of pro-tips at Le Cordon Bleu in London after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. “That’s when I said, ‘Let’s look for something different.’ Baking was the first thing that came to mind.” Figueiredo’s recipes are composed from her time at culinary school, childhood kitchen adventures, and her own inventiveness, with the help of righthand man, Jesus Cruz.
Aside from her signature and oh-so-scrumptious brigadeiros, Figueiredo creates cake rolls, or bolo de rolo, in traditional guava and dulce de leche flavors, along with pound cake and so-called “naked cakes” — three-layer round cakes that can be customized with fondant for any occasion — thanks to a partnership with Maria Ramierz’s Wildly Cakes. “Brazilians love decorated cakes with fondant, and that is exactly what Maria does,” Figueiredo says.
On the savory side, Brazilian cheese bread, or pao de queijo, is made fresh daily and served warm or frozen for bake-at-home fun. Off-menu ordering is also a thing at Boleria, so inquire about croissants, lemon tarts, brownies, meringues, carrot cake bites, and churro cakes. Vegan and gluten-free eaters will feel at home at Boleria too, (Vegan banana bread anyone?), as Figueiredo can make her traditional Brazilian treats to suit just about any diet or eating habit.
Although toasts, soups, and salads are also there for the asking, you just can’t leave without something sweet. Dine in or takeout, but even if you just stay for a cup of coffee (imported from southeast Brazil), you’ll be gifted a brigadeiro to help wash it down.
Boleria Brazilian Bakery
362 Mamaroneck Ave, Mamaroneck
914.630.0100
