[2] The exact origin of the cake is unknown, but there are several urban legends as to how it was created.

[7] Researchers with Comer História (History of Eating), a project run by the College of Philosophy and Sciences [pt] at São Paulo State University, made the claim in 2023 that Mané pelado is a derivation of Manauê  [pt], a Brazilian cake from the colonial period that was adapted from a traditional indigenous Brazilian meal.

It was created by the Portuguese after adding eggs, milk, sugar, and fat to an indigenous meal consisting of yuca dough baked in a banana leaf and baking it in a tray instead of in leafs.

Mané pelado would have then been developed when coconut and cheese were added to Manauê.

It would get its name from a gradual shift from Manauê to Manué to Mané, with pelado (naked) being added to the end as a reference to how the dessert would be baked in a pan rather than a banana leaf.