page_title: Portuguese cuisine
section_title: Pastries and sweets
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese cuisine / Pastries and sweets
caption_attribution_description: English: Marzipan - Lisbon, Portugal.
context_page_description: Portuguese cuisine was first recorded in the seventeenth century, with regional recipes establishing themselves in the nineteenth century. Culinária Portuguesa, by António-Maria De Oliveira Bello, better known as Olleboma; was the first ‘Portuguese-only’ recipe book published in 1936.
  Despite being relatively restricted to an Atlantic, Celtic sustenance, the Portuguese cuisine also has strong French and Mediterranean influences.
  The influence of Portugal's former colonial possessions is also notable, especially in the wide variety of spices used. These spices include piri piri, white pepper, black pepper, paprika, clove, allspice, cumin and nutmeg are used in meat, fish or multiple savoury dishes from Continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira islands.
  Cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, aniseed, clove and allspice are used in many traditional desserts and sometimes in savoury dishes.
  Garlic and onions are widely used, as are herbs, such as bay leaf, parsley, oregano, thyme, mint, marjoram, rosemary and coriander being the most prevalent.
  Olive oil is one of the bases of Portuguese cuisine, which is used both for cooking and flavouring raw meals.
context_section_description: Portuguese sweets have had a large impact on the development of Western cuisines. Many words like marmalade, caramel, molasses and sugar have Portuguese origins. 
  The Portuguese sponge cake called pão-de-ló is believed to be based on the 17th century French recipe pain de lof, which in turn derived from Dutch “loef”. The French eventually called their cake Genoise.
  Probably the most famous of the Portuguese patisseries are the pastéis de nata, originally known as Pastéis de Belém in the Lisbon district with the same name in the early nineteenth century. It is unclear when and where the recipe was first started. 
  Monks of the military-religious Order of Christ lived in a church on the same location and provided assistance to seafarers in transit since the early fourteenth century, at least. 
  The House of Aviz and the Jerónimos Monastery followed, the monastery lastly being occupied by the Hieronymite monks. Following the 1820 liberal revolution, events led to the closure of all monastic orders. The Pastéis de Belém were first commercialised just outside the Jerónimos monastery by people who had lost their jobs there. The original patisserie, adjacent to the monastery still operates today.  This pastry is now found worldwide, it is known in the UK by its original name or also as Portuguese custard tart.
  Many of the country's typical pastries were created in the Middle Ages monasteries by nuns and monks and sold as a means of supplementing their incomes. The names of these desserts are usually related to monastic life; barriga de freira (nun's belly), papos d’anjo (angel's chests), and toucinho do céu (bacon from heaven). 
  For that reason, they are often referred to as doçaria conventual or receitas monásticas (monastic recipes). Their legacy dates back to the 15th century when sugar from overseas became easier to access by all classes. Nuns at the time, were often young nobles who inherited knowledge from their households and developed recipes. These recipes were passed and perfected from generation to generation, usually within the secrecy of convents. Many of today’s Portuguese deserts originated in convents and monasteries.
  The Andalusian influence in Southern Portugal can be found in sweets that incorporate figs, almonds and honey, namely the Algarve marzipan colourful sweets.
  Most towns have a local specialty, usually egg or cream-based pastry. Some examples are leite-creme (a dessert consisting of an egg custard-base topped with a layer of hard caramel, a variant of creme brûlée) and pudim flã. 
  Other very popular pastries found in most cafés, bakeries and pastry shops across the country are the Bola de Berlim, the Bolo de arroz, and the Tentúgal pastries.
  Doce de Chila/Gila is made from squash), wafer paper, and candied egg threads called fios de ovos or angel hair.Rice pudding is also popular.
caption: Marzipan in Lisbon
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