[2] One suggests it is derived from the Old-French word lof[3] meaning the "downwind side of a ship, where the sails are rigged" or "thin fabric, like cheesecloth".

[6] Author Maria de Lourdes Modesto suggests that its named in honor after of a confectioner's husband whose surname was "Ló", in Magaride, Felgueiras.

[8] Luís da Câmara Cascudo a Brazilian lexicographer noted that in history, this sponge cake has been spelled as "pam-de-ló", "pandeló", and "pão-de-lot".

[a] Unlike the pão de ló seen today, it was a thick pudding made solely with ground almonds instead of wheat flour.

[11][b] In 1693, Domingos Rodrigues, head chef to the Portuguese royal family, would reproduce the same eggless and flourless formula in his recipe book known as Arte de Cozinha (lit.

The pão de ló was "made of the finest flour, sugar, eggs, and orange-flower-water, well beaten together, and then baked", according to the Dictionary of the Portuguese and English Languages by Anthony Vieyra (edited by J.P. Aillaud) printed in 1813.

[23] The Thesaurus of Castilian or Spanish Language published in 1611 stated that there was also "delicious dish made with flour, eggs and sugar".

[28][d] One popular story recounts an Italian pastry chef named Giovan Battista Cabona who accompanied the ambassador of Genoa on a trip to Spain during the Renaissance period.

[23] As the name suggest, it can be derived from the French Pain de lof, a similar kind of bread already existing in Middle Ages.

[14][31] Monastic cooking was well established throughout Europe by the late Middle Ages which had expertise in viticulture, cheese making, and confectionery.

Historically, some varieties of pão de ló required beating eggs manually for more than an hour in order to obtain the desired "leavened" consistency, and typically this job was often reserved to women before the mid 1900s.

[41] As such, these cakes were expensive and reserved for festive occasions, such as Easter and birthdays, sometimes filled with custard, fruit preserve, or fios de ovos.

The tedious labor of mixing by hand for more than an hour that often coincided with making pão de ló would be achieved by the use of yeast instead.

It was first recorded in the book Irmandade dos Passos in 1781, describing it as a cake gifted to clergy who carried the statues used in procession during Semana Santa.

[44] It is made with a substantial amount of egg yolks and sugar that are beaten for an extended time, for more than an hour by hand, with a small ratio of flour added.

[45] In 2016, pão de ló traditionally made in its peculiar method within the municipality of Ovar was awarded the Protected Geographical Indication.

[46][47][48][49] In Vagos of the Central Region, pão de ló is a sponge cake generally made with whole eggs, flour, sugar, salt and orange (or lemon zest).

[50] In the North Region, Portugal between Douro and the Tâmega river, pão-de-ló is made with primarily with whole eggs, sugar, and flour.

The recipe was smuggled out of the monastery by João Matos Vieira, a priest, due to the Revolution of 1910 and brought to the freguesia of Alfeizerão.

[11] In 1888, the cake was awarded a royal warrant by the Duke of Braganza, and in 1893 by King Carlos I of Portugal which it continues to display in present times.

[58][59] Believed to have been created by the nuns of the Mosteiro de Arouca which closed in 1886, this cake recipe survives through a bakery established in 1840 by Teixeira Pinto.

In the book Vida e Morte do Bandeirante by author Antônio de Alcântara Machado, an inventory from the mid-1600s indicates two copper basins were listed to prepare it.

[2] Luís da Câmara Cascudo dedicates an entry to sponge cake in the Dictionary of Brazilian Folklore underscoring the importance in the culinary tradition in Brazil.

Before their expulsion from Japan in 1639, the Portuguese introduced bolo de Castela to the Japanese which would be known simply as castella (カステラ, kasutēra).