Portuguese pastry, Lisbon, artisan craftsmanship
Brisas do Lis: the Leiria cake that had to change its name
They were called the little kisses of the Lis, until the jokes at the counter forced Leiria to find another name. The story of the brisas do Lis: almond, egg…
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Ceylon cinnamon: the bark the Portuguese found by accident
On a pastel de nata that is still warm, it comes last, in a gesture lasting one second. Yet this brown powder has crossed an ocean, a storm and a century and a…
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Alfarroba: the Algarve's black gold, harvested with a long pole
In late August, in the hills behind the Algarve coast, you hear it long before you see anything: a dry, repeated clatter, steady as hail on a stretched…
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Papos de anjo: the egg-yolk cake that is cooked twice
It leaves the oven baked, golden and domed — and yet the work is not finished. The papo de anjo goes straight into a pan of warm syrup, where it swells a…
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Jesuíta: the crackling triangle Santo Tirso guards so fiercely
Some pastries announce themselves by sound. The jesuíta of Santo Tirso starts with a thin crust of sugar that gives way in one clean snap, before the puff…
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Pastel de Chaves: the recipe bought from a stranger in 1862
A half-moon of puff pastry, a veal filling, and a recipe bought for one pound from a street seller whose name nobody ever learned. The most mysterious savoury…
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Leite-creme: the red-hot iron that cracks Portuguese custard
You hear it before you taste it: the spoon presses, the sugar crust gives way with a dry crack, and underneath there is nothing hard left. Leite-creme lives…
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Pudim Abade de Priscos: the Portuguese pudding with no milk
A dark, dense Portuguese pudding born in a presbytery near Braga, whose original recipe contains not a drop of milk. This is the pudim Abade de Priscos, and…
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Fios de Ovos: The Portuguese Egg Thread That Conquered Siam
Egg yolk falling in a thin stream into boiling syrup, and coming out as golden thread. Fios de ovos may be the most spectacular gesture in Portuguese pastry —…
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