Celestes de Santa Clara

Description: Almond jam, eggs, sugar, butter and lemon, surrounded by wafer slices. They have a cylindrical shape and yellow color on the top and white on the sides (wafer). They are small, 3,5 cm high and 3 cm in diameter. The presentation is individual or in cardboard boxes of 6 or 12 units.

Region: Lisbon and Tagus Valley.

Particularity: Small, cylindrical cakes, wrapped in wafer and with a toasted yellow top.

History: The Celestes de Santa Clara de Santarém were born in the Convent of Santa Clara, in Santarém, founded in 1259 and to which the names of D. Afonso III and his daughter, Leonor Afonso, are linked. According to legend, the recipe was conceived by the angels of heaven, who gave it to the nuns as a reward for their faith. They were initially sold in Santarém, in a grocery store that no longer ex-ists, then owned by Ajax Augusto da Silva Rato who, at the previously scheduled time and day, would pick them up around the convent. In the meantime, through novices or postulants, the recipe was divulged, although the Ajax Rato house continued to be the place where the Escalabitanos were going to acquire them. They are tradi-tionally presented at the Santarém Gastronomy Festival and included in the gastronomy of the tourist itineraries of the Ribatejo Tourism Region.

To use: Like all pastry cakes, they are eaten at any time of the day.

Know-how: Add the grated almonds to the sugar and bake in the oven. Remove from the oven, let it cool and add the beaten egg white with the egg yolks, butter and lemon. It goes back to the oven, after which they are wrapped in a slice of wafer.

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001