Casa Piriquita has been part of Sintra since 1862, but the pastry that made it especially famous came much later.
The Travesseiro was created at Piriquita during the 1940s, in the difficult years of the Second World War.
During a period of shortages and rationing, the family was looking for new ideas when an old recipe was found in a cookbook. After some changes, the Travesseiro was born.
The name means "pillow" in Portuguese, because of its shape.
It is made with puff pastry and a sweet filling of egg cream and almonds. Part of the recipe is still kept secret by the family.
Today, the Travesseiro is one of the pastries most associated with Sintra, and Piriquita is still a family business, now in its sixth generation.
There is another Sintra classic you can try here too: the Queijada de Sintra.
The Queijada wasn't created by Piriquita. It is a much older Sintra tradition, with references going back to the 13th century.
Piriquita is one of the historic places where you can try them, but if you like Queijadas, I also recommend Casa do Preto, another traditional pastry shop in Sintra known for them.
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