Portuguese pastries will sweeten your convention experience
by Susie Ma
The Rotarian -- August 2012
After sinking your teeth into the soft, custardy center of a flaky travesseiro, you might wonder why Portuguese pastries are not as celebrated as their French counterparts. Rotarians attending the 2013 RI Convention in Lisbon, 23-26 June, will be able to sample these delights and decide for themselves.
Lisbon’s Belém district offers much to see, including the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery. It also has a signature sweet called pastel de Belém, a petite tart sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar that, with a cup of coffee, provides a perfect break from sightseeing. Using a well-guarded recipe, a bakery called Antiga Confeitaria de Belém has made pastéis de Belém since 1837. The recipe was first created by nuns at the Jerónimos Monastery. You can find similar treats, called pastéis de nata, all over Portugal.
At Pastelaria Piriquita in Sintra, about 20 miles from Lisbon, lines snake out the door and around the block for travesseiros and a tartlet called a queijada that’s filled with a mixture of egg yolk, sugar, and fresh cheese. Business is so good that a second Piriquita bakery was established nearby, a three-minute walk away. Stop by in the morning before the tourist buses arrive.
The bakeries will pack these treats to go, and some, such as queijadas, travel well, even overseas.
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