10x Try something other than pastel de nata
Pastel de nata is delicious. I love it, and secretly I eat at least one a day when I’m in Portugal. But let’s not forget that Portugal has much more to offer when it comes to pastries, desserts and sweets. So: ten alternatives. Warning: are you on a diet? Stop reading now.
1. Toucinho do Céu
This golden pastry generally consists of three ingredients: lots and lots of egg yolks, ground almonds and a shocking amount of sugar. It’s still reasonably healthy if you look at the original recipe; it used to be made with pork fat. Toucinho do Céu therefore means ‘bacon from heaven’.
2. Bola de Berlim
Some sweets are so delicious that they cross borders. You’ll find the Berliner in Germany and the Netherlands, but in Portugal you’ll also find the ‘Bola de Berlim’. In Germany they’re often filled with jam, while the Portuguese like to fill them with ‘doce de ovo’, a sweet cream made from eggs, which the Portuguese are very fond of using in their desserts.
3. Pão de deus
When a pastry is called ‘God’s bread’, you know you’re about to bite into something delicious. This sweet coconut bread is available in many shops and bakeries in Portugal, but honestly, you’ll find the best pão de deus at the well-known chain A Padaria Portuguesa, a kind of Bagels & Beans of Portugal.
4. Salame de Chocolate
Salame (yes, this does indeed mean salami) has nothing to do in terms of flavour with the meat we know, but everything to do with its appearance. Its shape resembles that of a salami sausage, and the crushed Maria biscuits look like the white flecks of animal fat in salami. You can order a slice of chocolate salami in any pastelaria. Hooked on the drug? Then buy a whole “sausage” at the supermarket.
5. Nata de Amêndoa
Okay, we’re cheating a little with this pastry. It’s actually just a pastel de nata, but with almonds. Crispy puff pastry with yellow custard, but with an extra crunch from the sugared almonds on top. Delicious!
6. Bolo Rei
Bolo Rei, literally translated as king cake, is available in pastelarias all year round, but appears especially during the holidays. It’s Lisbon’s Christmas cake, and every Portuguese grandmother makes one herself. The cake is generously topped with nuts and dried fruit. There isn’t really one definitive recipe, so every time you order one, the cake will taste different.
7. Bolo de arroz
You often come across rice desserts in Portugal. There’s the creamy arroz doce (sweet rice with cinnamon), a classic Portuguese dessert. Would you rather have a tasty pastry on the go? Get a bolo de arroz at a pastelaria and eat it on the way.
8. Queijo de Figo
Hallelujah! They can do it! Queijo de Figo is sort of healthy. And vegan! Finally, no thirty egg yolks in a Portuguese pastry. This delicacy mainly consists of dried figs and almonds. The fig cake originates in the Algarve. So if you’re visiting the south of Portugal soon, remember Queijo de Figo.
9. Torta de Laranja
This orange cake is everything you need on a warm summer’s day. Lovely and refreshing, and not as heavy as most other Portuguese bakes.
10. Palmier
They say the way to the heart is through the stomach; we’ve known that for a long time. Visiting Lisbon with your loved one? Surprise them with a palmier. This originally French pastry made from puff pastry and sugar is always baked in the shape of a heart and is large enough to share. Because we’re in Portugal, there’s obviously also a generous layer of doce de ovo (the sweet egg cream) in between. This makes the Portuguese version of the biscuit a little more moist than the usually somewhat dry French palmier.
Read also:
- Must visit: Lisbon’s oldest pastelaria
- Your new favourite pastries
- The most delicious custard desserts
