Sweet Portugal: The Very Best of Portuguese Desserts

Published in Portugal, in English, this collection of home baking recipes includes many of the country’s beloved classics, from the iconic pastéis de nata egg custard tarts to cakes, cookies, jams, and puddings.

Among the treats you’ll find:

• Azevias, fried dough pockets filled with a mixture of sweetened, mashed chickpeas and almonds

• Bolo Real de Chila, a cake made with almond flour and pumpkin jam

• Olive oil, honey, and citrus pudding

• Encharcada, a baked egg-syrup confection 

Recipe instructions are somewhat terse, but in the case of pastéis de nata, supplemented by step-by-step photo sequences.  We could wish for more informative headnotes about the different desserts, and we’ll point out that it’s worth reading all recipes carefully because of occasional obvious confusions, as with a meringue-based cookie which calls for egg yolks in the ingredient list, but the necessary egg whites in the instructions.

But given the paucity of material on this subject in English, we’re delighted to have a specialized book on a rich, centuries-old tradition.

Measurements are in metric and by weight. There are attractive photos of each of 40 desserts.

Paperback. Color photographs throughout. (Sample images show Portuguese text, but our copies are all in English.)