Are you planning a trip to Portugal? Get ready to taste some amazing desserts! Pastry lovers may be familiar with traditional Portuguese custard tarts, called Pastéis de Nata, which are creamy, bite-sized delights surrounded by a light pastry shell. These baked confections have a unique history, as they belong to a category of pastries that are often referred to as “Convent Cakes,” and were originally created as a result of equal parts necessity and serendipity.

What is the history of convent cakes? 

Centuries ago, convenience and chance were the catalysts for the inception of these distinctive pastries, as they were made by nuns who lived in convents. These religious community members used egg whites to starch their habits, and needed a purpose for the leftover yolks. After experimenting in the kitchen with a variety of ingredients, they eventually whipped up an array of small, individually-sized cakes that fit in the palm of your hand. Convent cakes were born.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, these cakes were known for their high-quality ingredients, and the recipes were kept as closely-guarded secrets. In more recent years, Portugal has seen a renewed appreciation of these incredibly delicious classic treats as they are experiencing a resurgence in popularity around the country. Today, inventive pastry chefs create a variety of shapes, flavors, and textures.

Taste convent cakes today

Food expert and writer Céilia Pedroso is the author of Eat Portugal: The Essential Guide to Portuguese Food, and conducts culinary tours in Lisbon for Culinary Backstreets. She enjoys introducing food lovers to local specialties, including these distinctive baked goods. She pointed out that there are convent sweets in other European countries, such as Spain and Italy, but due to a law in the 1800s that shut down convents and monasteries in Portugal, the recipes and the custard-filled cakes, such as the famous pastéis de nata, became available to everyone.

Get the Recipe: Queijadas

As Lisbon has been growing as a major tourist destination in recent years, several newer bakeries in the city now specialize in these pastries, including Alcoa, Pudim do Abade, and Casa dos Ovos Moles, the latter of which offers group baking lessons.

Pedroso says, “The Portuguese have always loved these pastries, but it was not always easy to find convent sweets in Lisbon. Now with these new shops available in the city center, we don’t have to go to Aveiro, where the ovos moles were created, or to Alcobaça, the original home of Alcoa, to get them.”

Restaurants in Lisbon that serve convent cakes today

Upscale restaurants are also offering their own versions of tiny specialties. In Lisbon, Michelin-starred chef, José Avillez owns several award-winning restaurants and features a variety of modern-style convent cakes on the menus. At his two-Michelin-starred Belcanto restaurant, Avillez offers a dessert with flavors largely inspired by convent cakes, called Citrus and Egg Sweets. This balanced confection offsets the richness of the egg with a light freshness of citrus.

Avillez explains, “Convent confectionery holds a very rich heritage. There’s an extraordinary world to discover in convent sweets if you’re a dessert lover. At Belcanto, I have Toucinho-do-céu, which translates to heavenly bacon. It’s prepared with pine nuts and almonds cooked at low-temperature, making them crunchy on one side and creamier on the other, served with yuzu purée, along with a combination of herbs, flowers, and salted bacon.”

Get the Recipe: Abade Prisco’s Pudding

Chef Avillez’s other restaurants offer his special pastéis de nata recipe and other, less traditional versions of convent cakes. For example, at Café Lisboa, there’s Toucinho-do-céu de Lisboa. It’s made with egg yolks, almond, and sugar, and served with raspberry sorbet, fresh raspberries, and mint. At Canto, guests can enjoy a traditional version from the country’s Alentejo region that’s made with figleaf gourd.

Avillez mentioned that these treats will always be evolving. “Many chefs and patisseries still follow the original recipes. However, the amount of sugar used in the preparation of these sweets was cut down,” he says. “I think convent sweets that cannot be recreated using less sugar in their preparation might run the risk of disappearing — or being less in demand, because people, as taste evolves, will not be able to tolerate such high levels of sugar.”

Still, Avillez finds Portugal’s history is an essential ingredient in his culinary creations, even if he chooses to improvise and modify along the way. “I love to revisit traditional Portuguese confectionery and to find ways of reinventing it and keeping its soul alive.”

The post What are Portuguese Convent Cakes and why are they so delicious? appeared first on Marla Cimini.

A self-proclaimed “dreamer,” José Avillez is a Portuguese chef and restaurateur who has, in recent years, opened over ten unique establishments, earned two Michelin stars for his most renowned restaurant, Belcanto, and in the process, reinvigorated an entire neighborhood in the city of Lisbon.

Known widely throughout the culinary world for his contemporary Portuguese cuisine and restaurants with menus as creative as the distinctive and diverse décor, award-winning Avillez continues to surprise and delight his loyal food-loving enthusiasts.

His restaurants offer diverse culinary adventures, with a whimsical style, clever recipes and presentations that are a treat for the senses from beginning to end. In addition to the highly acclaimed Belcanto, a few of his other establishments include Bairro do Avillez, Mini Bar, Pizzeria Lisboa, Cantinho do Avillez.

A theme among a number of his restaurants is “expect the unexpected.” Several are home to a “secret” dining room, as well as a deft attention to fascinating detail.

For example, his Rei Da China is a tiny, fast casual Asian-inspired eatery that once inside, reveals a passageway to another (completely different) stylish and elegant restaurant, Casa dos Prazeres. It’s an establishment he created in partnership with chef Estanis Carenzo.

Chef Avillez explained, “I have a passion for cooking. Regardless of the style, I always bet on quality and my goal is to offer truly pleasurable moments to people. If I had to name the restaurant style that truly defines me as a chef, I would definitely choose Belcanto. At Belcanto, I offer a contemporary Portuguese haute cuisine. This is the style that truly expresses the course of my creativity and reflects my evolution.”

Interior of Bairro do Avillez — Photo courtesy of Jose Avillez

With an abundance of energy and creativity, Avillez takes pride in his Portuguese roots. He said, “Portugal is an amazing country. It’s small but very diverse in terms of landscapes and geography, from the north, to the south, to the beautiful Madeira and Azores islands…We have a great cuisine, great products, amazing wines, and we Portuguese are one of the most genuine and welcoming people I ever met. It’s very rare to find this combination.”

He added, “My culinary philosophy is: flavor comes first and technique serves the product. At my restaurants, we always bet on quality in terms of ingredients and service.”

For traveling food-lovers who wish to experience his Lisbon restaurants, he recommends starting their culinary journey at the landmark Belcanto, which recently moved to a larger location nearby.

Belcanto interior — Photo courtesy of Jose Avillez

He suggests, “For someone who comes to Lisbon for the first time, I would recommend the ‘Evolution Menu’ at Belcanto because I think it offers a very interesting and unique approach to Portuguese contemporary cuisine. I often say that even tradition evolves.

“When we talk about contemporary cuisine, and when we talk about creative cuisine, we are actually going through a constant process of evolution. We fearlessly recreate, reinvent and revisit traditions and recipes because we believe we can always do better, or, at the very least, walk uncharted paths. The evolutionary process of a dish represents all of our evolutionary and creative process and paths.”

For a chef with a multitude of award-winning restaurants serving life-altering dishes, it can’t be easy to choose your favorites. Avillez reveals that he’s partial to a few, such as the “Dip in the Sea,” a sea bass dish served at Belcanto featuring a variety of seaweed and shellfish arranged in a fantastic nautical-inspired presentation.

Seafood specialty — Photo courtesy of Jose Avillez

He said, “The flavor is amazing. I grew up in Cascais (a Portuguese beach town) surrounded by pinewoods and the sea, so this dish evokes childhood memories in me…It defines me.”

He also enjoys “Brás style” cod, a flaked cod sautéed with onion, shoestring fried potatoes, eggs, minced parsley and olives that’s served at Café Lisboa. “I really like this dish because it comforts me, it takes me back to my childhood. I perfected the recipe over the years.”

For dessert, Avillez adores the classic Portuguese pastry, pastel de nata, which is on the menu at Bairro do Avillez. “Pastel de Nata is a thin base of puff pastry filled with cream and eggs. I prefer light cream puffs, with a very crisp dough and a not-too-sweet cream, served warm with a dash of cinnamon powder on top. I like custard tarts so much that I created my own recipe for pastéis de nata.”

Pastel de nata — Photo courtesy of Jose Avillez

In addition to building his restaurant empire, Avillez has authored cookbooks, hosted radio shows and has been featured on several television cooking programs. Most notably, he appeared on “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” in 2012.

Avillez shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, he is continuing to partner with international chefs and develop Asian restaurants in an effort to rediscover and rekindle the gastronomic connection between Portugal and Asia. He continues to be inspired by today’s multicultural aspects of Lisbon and plans to continue to offer an authentic, sensory-focused cuisine.

He says,”We are striving to contribute to boost the international notoriety of the Portuguese market by inviting chefs from abroad to bring their cuisines to Lisbon: Diego Muñoz with whom we opened Cantina Peruana, Roberto Ruiz with whom we opened the Mexican restaurant Barra Cascabel, and Estanis Carenzo, with whom we recently opened two Asian restaurants, Rei da China and Casa dos Prazeres.”

Currently, chef Avillez and his team are busy with their next projects, and although they are not revealing much at the moment, it’s only a matter of time before the next restaurant is revealed…sure to offer plenty of culinary specialties and elements of surprise.

The post Meet Chef Jose Avillez, The Culinary King Of Portugal appeared first on Marla Cimini.

Portugal is a delightful country, featuring exquisite beauty and fun surprises at every turn. Despite its relatively compact size (especially compared to its next-door neighbor, Spain), Portugal is home to an abundance of intriguing ancient sites, historical landmarks, heavenly beaches, picturesque mountains, stunning wine country, and more. It’s tempting to remain in one region, as there is plenty to see and do in each destination, but the country is exceptionally tourist-friendly to those who wish to explore several areas.

Overall, when visiting, it’s most convenient to rent a car. The good news for drivers is that the highways in Portugal are well-paved and easy to navigate. Best of all, traffic jams are rare, unless you find yourself in the center of a busy area at rush hour.

If you have a week in Portugal, this itinerary will guide you from Southern points around Lisbon up to Porto in the North. Tip: Most of these destinations are day trips from the major cities, so you can avoid switching hotels daily.

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The city of Lisbon is one of Europe’s most incredibly picturesque destinations, with an intriguing history, world-class restaurants, lovely outdoor spaces, fascinating sights, and stunning views at every turn. With hilly, cobblestone streets, this charming, compact town is ideal for weekend visits, as it’s a walkable city and easy to move around town. Many of the main sights and museums are within a short distance of each other, as well. Overall, it’s an optimal city for those who wish to enjoy culture as well as delectable food options and a fun nightlife.

DAY 1: MORNING

10 a.m.: After arriving at the Lisbon Airport, check-in at your centrally-located hotel, Pousada de Lisboa. This stylish boutique property on the waterfront is situated in a historic building that’s been transformed into a modern hotel with an indoor swimming pool. The lobby itself is striking and worth a look. If your room isn’t ready yet, no worries! Just and drop your bags at the front desk and wander across the street for a stroll around the banks of the beautiful Tagus river and spend a few hours exploring the sunny city on foot.

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The city of Lisbon offers a wide array of fun activities and great tourist attractions during the daylight hours. But when the sun goes down, the city really shines with a fabulously varied and robust nightlife scene. There’s much to choose from in the evening, as Lisbon is home to many cool bars, clubs, live music venues, and restaurants. So, if you’re into checking out the local culture, the Portuguese capital doesn’t disappoint. When visiting Lisbon, be sure to enjoy a few exciting nighttime activities in the city: 

BARS 

Lisbon boasts a cool and entertaining bar scene throughout the city. These diverse watering holes range from traditional and historic to modern and hip. When you’re planning to sip a few drinks at a bar, keep in mind that most places are very casual, laid-back, and friendly. As a bonus, it’s also not unusual for the bars to serve customers a small plate of complimentary snacks (such as olives or chips) to accompany the beverages.

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Lisbon is home to an extensive and convenient public transportation system that’s budget-friendly and relatively easy to navigate. This small city offers many options for getting around, including busses, trams, underground subway trains (called the metro) and ferries, which bring passengers across the river.

Generally speaking, if you are planning to remain in the city during your trip, it’s easier to take public transportation than renting a car. And depending on where you need to go outside of Lisbon, the train or bus will be much easier (and stress-free) than attempting to drive and potentially be faced with heavy traffic. Ideally, it’s best to familiarize yourself with at least the basics of Lisbon’s public transportation system before your visit, as it will save you time and money.

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A top destination in Europe, Portugal is a beautiful country that offers something for everyone, with bustling cities, charming medieval towns and pristine coastal areas. Home to a vibrant food and wine scene for avid gastronomes, there’s also plenty of noteworthy ancient sites and world-class museums for history buffs. Beach lovers visiting Portugal adore the dramatic coastline with its magnificent beaches—a popular area with a number of shore breaks that are considered top surfing destinations as well.

PLANNING YOUR TRIP: BEST TIME TO VISIT

Portugal is a welcoming destination that offers the best of both worlds, so if you want to experience a peaceful and pristine trip, you can head to a less populated rural or coastal area. However, if you desire a much more spirited vacation, try to visit the country when there’s an annual festival happening. Visit Lisbon in early June for the Feast of Saint Anthony, and Porto around June 24 for the Feast of Saint John the Baptist. For both events, the cities are in full-on celebration mode, with businesses closed, traditional food available everywhere, and outdoor parties throughout the neighborhoods—often with live, loud music that goes well into the early hours of the morning. 

Everyone is welcome, and you just can’t help but join in the festivities when visiting Portugal! 

If you are seeking a less touristy time to visit, choose the fall or winter, as the climate is relatively mild enough to visit year-round. Keep in mind that some of the interior regions, such as the Duoro Valley tend heat up drastically in the summer.

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