Melindres

Description: Cakes made with eggs, sugar and flour, with a diameter of about 5 cm and a thickness of 1 cm. They are usually sold in 250 and 500 g packages.

Region: North.

Other denominations: Melindres de Arouca.

Special feature: Small, circular cakes, with a golden inner color and fluffy dough. The outer surface is covered with white glaze.

History: It is a traditional sweet from Arouca, whose recipe is passed from family to family, by oral tradition. The Squeamishness are directly or indirectly linked to certain days of liturgical feasts, which annually rekindle the founding myths of their existence. Among these festivals we highlight Christmas and Easter, as well as the feast of Queen Santa Mafalda, who was abbess of the extinct Convent of Arouca.

Use: Previously, the making of these cakes was linked to the liturgical feasts mentioned above. However, the reputation achieved by these cakes has made their consumption widespread, being consumed throughout the year and at any time of the day.

Know-how: Beat the egg yolks for a long time with the sugar until a whitish cream is obtained. Add the flour and egg whites. The dough is rolled out into circular cakes 1 cm thick and 5 cm in diameter, which will be baked in a wood oven. They are allowed to cool and cover with a mixture made with egg whites and sugar (glacé).

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001