Portuguese · dessert

Queijadas de Sintra

Queijadas de Sintra reads richness 6.9, sweetness 6.5 and salinity 4.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Portuguese dessert, about 1 hr 37 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 6.9 · Sweetness 6.5 · Salinity 4.3 · Umami 4.1 · Warm Spice 2.4 · Floral 0.9 · Nutty 0.8 · Earthy 0.5 · Sourness 0.5

What's in it (11)

Time & effort: about 1 hr 37 min (47 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 270.4 kcal, 6.7 g protein, 8 g fat, 43.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

  1. Queijadas have been made in Sintra since at least the thirteenth century and were once used to pay rent. They are small, wrinkled, cinnamon-heavy cheese tarts in a paper-thin crust, and they are not related to the custard pastel de nata beyond both being Portuguese and both containing sugar.
  2. Make the pastry first. Rub the lard into the 200 g of flour with the salt, add the warm water, and knead 8 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough — it should feel like a firm pasta dough, not a shortcrust. Wrap and rest 30 minutes; without the rest it will not stretch.
  3. Beat the sieved requeijão with the sugar and egg yolks for 3 minutes until smooth. Fresh sheep or goat curd is what Sintra uses; drained ricotta is the nearest thing elsewhere, but press it in a cloth first because wet cheese makes the filling weep in the oven.
  4. Fold in the 30 g of flour, the cinnamon and the salt. The cinnamon quantity looks high and is not a mistake — these tarts should taste emphatically of it.
  5. Heat the oven to 220C (430F). Roll the dough on a floured surface as thin as you possibly can, until you can see your hand through it, then cut 10 cm rounds and press them into a shallow bun tin, pinching the edges up into a rough frill. Allow 20 minutes for this and expect the first two to tear.
  6. Fill each to just below the rim and bake 15 minutes, until the filling is puffed, cracked and browned in patches and the pastry is crisp. Cool 20 minutes in the tin — they sink and wrinkle as they cool, which is exactly how they should look. Eat the same day.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Keep reading: what richness, sweetness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.