One thing that surprises many visitors is how many traditional Portuguese desserts are made with egg yolks.
The story goes back hundreds of years.
In Portuguese convents and monasteries, egg whites were often used to starch clothes, clarify wine and in bookbinding. That left the nuns with plenty of egg yolks.
At the same time, Portugal had easy access to sugar from Madeira and, later, Brazil. Instead of wasting the egg yolks, they began creating rich desserts by combining them with sugar, almonds and other local ingredients.
Over the centuries, these recipes became some of Portugal's most famous sweets and are still known today as Conventual Desserts.
Here are five you should try:
🥚Pastéis de Belém / Pastéis de Nata
Portugal's most famous pastry. The original recipe was created by the monks of the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém and has become one of the country's greatest culinary icons.
🥚Pão de Ló
A light sponge cake where egg yolks are the star ingredient. Depending on the region, it can be light and fluffy or have a delicious soft centre.
🥚Pastel de Tentúgal
Created by Carmelite nuns in the village of Tentúgal, this delicate pastry is filled with a rich egg yolk cream and wrapped in incredibly thin layers of pastry.
🥚Castanhas de Ovos
Small convent sweets made with egg yolks, sugar and almonds, traditionally shaped to resemble chestnuts.
🥚Toucinho do Céu
One of Portugal's richest almond cakes, made with plenty of egg yolks. Despite its name, most modern recipes no longer contain pork fat.
This is one of the reasons Portuguese desserts are so rich, creamy and unlike almost anywhere else in Europe.
Have you tried any of these? Which Portuguese dessert is your favourite?
📍 Planning your trip to Portugal?
If you'd like to discover more Portuguese food, local traditions and places worth visiting, have a look at my travel guides for Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve, plus my Portugal Google Maps collections.
Everything I genuinely recommend to friends visiting Portugal is there.
www.portugaldigitalguides.com
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