The Marie biscuit or bolacha Maria is a common sight in supermarkets and kitchen cupboards, but Portugal’s much-loved biccy is all thanks to one family-owned bakery in London.
Whether used for dunking into a good old cup of tea or crushed up to make a pudding base, the Marie biscuit has been loved by the Portuguese and the British alike for a century and a half.
The simple crispy biscuit, made from wheat flour, sugar and vanilla, was created by the London bakery Peek Freans in 1874 to celebrate the marriage of Russian Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Prince Alfred of Britain. Founded in Bermondsey in 1857 by James Peek, the bakery became one of the most famous in London, which is why Bermondsey is nicknamed Biscuit Town.
It wasn’t until after the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s that the Marie biscuit grew in popularity across the Iberian peninsula and started to be produced from a surplus supply of wheat, becoming not only a daily staple but also a symbol of economic prosperity.
These inexpensive, versatile and easy-to-store biscuits soon transformed into a variety of ways to be eaten. One of the most famous recipes that uses the Marie biscuit as a base is the bolo de bolacha, a deliciously sweet cake mixing the tasty British biscuit with cream, coffee and condensed milk. Somewhat similar to a cheesecake, this has been a favourite, whether at home or in Portuguese restaurants up and down the country, for over 60 years. The first mention of bolo de bolacha appeared in the third edition of the cookbook, O Mestre Cozinheiro by Laura Santos in 1959, although some say that the cake may have originated in France some years earlier, under the name gâteau de famille.
Despite competition in mainland Europe, Peek Freans probably turned a blind eye to the Iberian equivalent and continued to bake the ever-popular tea biscuit right up until the factory closed in 1989. Today Marie biscuits in the UK are made by the snack food brand McVitie’s. In Portugal, Cuétara, Moaçor and Vieira de Castro brands, amongst others, are preserving one of the country’s best-loved biscuits, along with its iconic decorative edging and dimpled surface design.
Peek Freans was the mastermind behind many popular snacks. Ten years before the creation of the Maria biscuit, the company created the Garibaldi biscuit and, in 1929, the British classic Twiglets. They were even the makers of Christmas puddings that were gifted to British sailors during the Boer War on behalf of the superintendent of the Royal Naval Temperance Society, Agnes Weston, and marketed as Peek, Frean & Co’s Teetotal Plum Pudding. However, none of the company’s products could compete with the ever-popular Maria biscuit, a simple, affordable biscuit that took the Iberian peninsula by storm, becoming a staple in many homes, including mine.
So, next time you head out to the supermarket to buy a multipack of bolacha Maria biscuits or order a bolo de bolacha, remember that their existence is thanks not only to a family-owned business in Blighty but also to the marriage of a prince and his princess whose name is remembered the world over, with a cup of tea and a biscuit!
